The Ruggers are now ranked No. 3 in the country after their MARFU win and facing the No. 8 Cougars is the next step toward Penn State's first national title. Coming off of the 29-18 win against a fast Navy team, the Ruggers face a BYU team that plays a similar style.
"Our backs are very fast," Penn State captain Timmy Ryland said.
"But so are theirs -- it's as even a matchup as you can get."
The Ruggers have been practicing for the last two weeks, preparing to counteract BYU's center Salesi Sika, who hails from Tonga.
Sika, who has played with the U.S. National Team, is a player who Ryland said the Ruggers must stop to win.
"Sika is a force for his team," Ryland said. "We need to shut him down."
In practice, the Ruggers have mainly been working on kickoffs, penalty plays and recognizing the other team's defenses throughout the week.
But being a higher seed in the tournament does not mean an easy win.
"At this point, much like in the NCAA tournament in basketball, all of the teams are good," Ryland said. "Any team can beat any team."
But on a big stage like this tournament, success will depend on each team's scrum and defense. The defense in the past few games has stepped up in each of the Ruggers' wins, and Ryland said he expects a big game out of the forwards this week.
He pointed out senior Steve Flad and juniors Matt Miller and Andrew Kerwin as players who are going to rise to the challenge.
"Those three guys can change the game by themselves," Ryland said.
If the Ruggers win today, the team's next game will be tomorrow in the Round of Eight against the winner of the Army/Clemson game.
But winning the MARFU title should give the team confidence heading into the finals weeks of the season. Though the team has only lost once in the spring season -- to Texas A&M on its spring tour -- the Ruggers said that they have yet to play up to their potential.
"Our team is ready for the days ahead," Ryland said. "We still have yet to play the perfect game."
