It's already been a season to remember for the UBC Thunderbirds football program, but a win in Saturday's 51st Vanier Cup would make it one to never forget.
 
Coming off a dominant 36-9 victory over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in the Uteck Bowl, the Thunderbirds roll into the Vanier Cup sporting a seven-game win streak, as a matchup with the defending national champion Montreal Carabins looms large.
 
"It's been a year that defies logic," first-year UBC head coach Blake Nill said. "This group comes in, a group that has no real culture, or experience of going as long into the playoffs as we have and they've just played well. They've bonded as a team and here we are."
 
To call 2015 a turnaround season for the T-Birds would be a massive understatement.
 
After going 2-6 during the regular season in 2014, UBC has returned to national relevance rapidly and with a win Saturday can cap off Nill's first year in Vancouver in style after the veteran coach left Calgary in the offseason after nine seasons with the Dinos.
 
Saturday marks UBC's sixth trip to Canadian university football's biggest stage and first since 1997, when the program won their third national title. 
 


For Nill, it will be his eighth trip to the big game as a head coach, after five appearances while head coach at Saint Mary's and another three while with the Dinos.
 
"The team that plays as close to perfect as possible is going to win this game," said Nill, whose only wins in the big game came in 2001 and 2002 with Saint Mary's.
 
Leading much of the Thunderbirds' success this season has been a pair of offensive sparkplugs – quarterback Michael O'Connor (Orleans, Ont.) and running back Brandon Deschamps (Prince George, B.C.)
 
In the case of O'Connor, Nill's recruiting prowess was on full display when the UBC coach was able to land the former Penn State pivot in the offseason. Winning the O'Connor sweepstakes, one might argue, was UBC's biggest victory in 2015 and for years to come.
 
O'Connor has been nothing short of terrific for the T-Birds, getting better as the season has progressed, as evidenced by his playoff outings.
 
Most notable among O'Connor's key performances this season was the 79th Hardy Cup when he tossed 374 yards in UBC's stunning 34-26 win over Calgary on the road.
 
And while O'Connor has been terrific this season, it's been the play of veteran running back Deschamps, who Nill inherited from former UBC head coach Shawn Olson, that's led the UBC offence at key times this post-season. 
 
Coming off his Uteck Bowl MVP award after rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown, along with 50 receiving yards, Deschamps and the offensive line has provided UBC with a hard-nosed rushing attack to balance O'Connor's big arm.
 
"He's definitely been the key change when you look at our team in August and you look at our team here in November," Nill said of Deschamps, who led UBC's revitalized rushing attack in the second half of the season. 
 
"We've finally got a run game in place, but with that run game has been the improvement of the offensive line, which was a real concern of ours at the start of the year and does remain a concern. There's no question that's the critical area, at least in my opinion, of your team and our o-line is playing better."
"What Brandon is doing is just providing a level of urgency and a level of toughness that's helping us get our run game going."
 
Couple a strong offence with a defence that has allowed an average of only 15 points during the playoffs and the stars have aligned for a deep playoff run.
 
"The defence the last three games has played its best football," Nill pointed out. "We're undersized on defence, but I think we've done a very good job of scheming our opponents."
 
Now, Montreal stands in the way of UBC ending their dream season with a win.
 
The Carabins, who defeated Guelph 25-10 in the Mitchell Bowl to advance to the Vanier Cup, enter the game with a winning pedigree after last year's thrilling 20-19 victory over the McMaster Marauders.
 
"They're built on defence and the ability to run the ball," Nill explained. "They're a big, strong team. They play with very good tempo, a lot of urgency and a lot of skill."
 
The 51st Vanier Cup goes Saturday, November 28 and can be seen live coast-to-coast on Sportsnet, with kickoff slated for noon central, 10 a.m. Pacific.