Where 13th-seeded Arkansas State and No. 4 seed BYU fit into the D1A hierarchy remains to be seen ahead of their first-round playoff clash Saturday in Provo, Utah.

One of these teams will have to get through either No. 5 seed Penn State or No. 12 seed Arizona to make the semis, and neither of those potential opponents presents an easy quarterfinals matchup.

Back in 2012, ASU and BYU faced off in one of the more exciting D1A finals. While no one remains from that era aside from some of the BYU coaches, the memory of how competitive these teams were in that game does stick.

Saturday's game will be a physical clash that's won in the ruck and around it. What might make the difference is that BYU has some excellent speed out wide and, overall, an excellent backline led by Calvin Whiting, Zach Webber, and Kevin Schofield. But Zach Young is an All-American in the Arkansas State backline and teammate Tabo Maree is always dangerous.

ASU had trouble with Life in a 69-5 loss in early February in Marietta, GA. (Dave Williamson photo)

"We're very excited to be in the playoffs our 10th consecutive year," said first-year ASU head coach Blake White. "BYU is a very tough team with a great history and their coach David Smyth is obviously one of the best. This will be a great match to see how we stack up amongst the best."

These teams haven’t played the same opponents. They both have struggled against highly-ranked squads (ASU lost twice to Life, BYU lost twice to Saint Mary’s), but judging them head-to-head is difficult to do. 

FloRugby Pick: We've got to go with the home team. BYU doesn’t lose very often in Provo. But ASU has surprised before.