Boulder, Colorado- This weekend will be an exciting one for the RMLC.  With #2 seed Brigham Young playing #3 seed Colorado State at 4 p.m., and #1 seed Colorado hosting #4 seed Utah at 7 p.m. (according to the RMLC website), it should be anybody’s game.  Both games will be played on Franklin Field, as well as the championship game the following day at 4 p.m.

Colorado, having won the RMLC regular season championship after upsetting both Brigham Young and Colorado State, are the likely favorites to win the playoffs.  BYU, however, has the better regular season record with only 3 losses paired with 14 wins.

The opening game of the playoffs Friday afternoon featuring Colorado State and Brigham Young will be a rematch of an earlier game this season, with the Cougars fending off the Rams 9-6.  That has been a lopsided series in favor of BYU the past several years, but CSU played a tough game in their earlier match-up, especially in the second half.  They made some early mistakes that really cost them, but better play in the second half kept them in the game.  They could have crept even closer, but BYU’s defense held strong the entire game and limited CSU’s scoring opportunities.

The stage will be set for that game; the Colorado State-Brigham Young rivalry is one of the best in the nation, and for them to compete in the RMLC playoffs will be an electrifying show.  Despite their seven losses this season, Colorado State has the talent and the coaching to beat just about every opponent they face, and no team in the RMLC is the exception. 

The game earlier in the season between Colorado and Utah was a close fought battle, with Colorado pulling through to win 10-8.  Colorado has been rather successful in the series, only losing one game to the Utes since 2001, but that loss came last season when they lost decisively, 7-12.

Whoever wins the match-up between Colorado State and Brigham Young will have a chance to atone for their losses to Colorado this season, should Colorado win their game against Utah.  Both teams have had success against Colorado in the past, so either one would like to go back to those winning ways against their conference rival. 

To do this is a must for Colorado State.  They started off ranked 8th in the nation and still reside in that slot, according to the Prodigy MCLA Division 1 Poll, but they have faced several disappointing losses that could potentially keep them out of the MCLA tournament if they don’t win the RMLC championship on Saturday.

o defeat two of their biggest rivals this weekend will give Colorado State the chance to make a statement to the rest of the MCLA that they won’t go down without a fight.  It will be interesting to see if they can rise to the challenge.