VANCOUVER – Saturday's UBC Homecoming game against the Regina Rams will be nearly nine months in the making for head coach Blake Nill and the No. 10-ranked UBC Thunderbirds football team. The tilt at Thunderbird Stadium will be Nill's home debut after being officially hired on December 19, 2014 as the 18th head coach of the school's football program.

Coincidentally, it was Nill's Calgary Dinos that defeated the Thunderbirds by a score of 59-11 in the 2014 edition of UBC Homecoming in front of a packed stadium of 4,245 fans. Both Regina and UBC are looking to bounce back after Week 1 losses in which they held early leads but failed to weather the opposing team's comeback.

"When I initially considered the UBC job, one of the thoughts that came into my head was the 2014 Homecoming game where I was the opposing coach," said Nill prior to Saturday's contest. "I thought if we could attract that type of crowd for every game we could create a very special experience for our players."

The Thunderbirds began their Canada West regular season against those same No. 2-ranked Dinos last weekend, losing 49-16 in Calgary at McMahon Stadium. Despite a school-record 102-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage, the Thunderbirds couldn't hold on to an early 10-5 advantage.

Making his CIS regular season debut, Michael O'Connor (Orleans, Ont.) finished with 253 yards on 17-of-38 passing including a touchdown and an interception. Marcus Davis (Victoria, B.C.) finished with 111 receiving yards on three catches, including the remarkable 102-yard play to begin the game. Davis is the reigning Canada West rookie of the year.

The Thunderbirds also lost the services of Brandon Deschamps (Prince George, B.C.) on Saturday, forced out of the game due to injury. In total, UBC managed just 35 total rushing yards, with O'Connor racking up 18 of those.

Despite the Thunderbirds' defeat last weekend, the team can build off its impressive 41-16 victory over the Laval Rouge et Or in the team's lone preseason game. Laval has won a Canadian Interuniversity Sport record eight Vanier Cups and is the only team to have played in four straight Vanier Cups. Facing arguably the greatest football program in CIS history, UBC jumped out to a 27-0 at halftime and cruised to victory at Stade TELUS-Université Laval.

On paper, the Rams and T-Birds are similarly matched, splitting last year's two-game season series and finishing just two points apart in the Canada West standings. In splitting the season series, the Thunderbirds lost the away game by a 33-23 margin before earning a 33-32 victory at Thunderbird Stadium. Entering this weekend, UBC's all-time home record against the Rams stands at a 7-5 mark dating back to 1999, the year Regina joined the CIS.

"I've stressed the need for us to take advantage of this opportunity [UBC Homecoming], play well and give the fans a good product," added Nill. "We have all worked hard to generate student interest with the help of upper administration, our athletic department and our football backers led by the 13th Man Foundation."

A team with similar fortunes against an Alberta university to begin its Canada West regular season, Regina lost its home opener against the Alberta Golden Bears by a 29-22 margin. The Rams had Alberta on the ropes at half time enjoying a nine-point cushion but were outscored 22-6 in the second half en route to an opening week defeat.

At running back, the Rams' Atlee Simon is coming off a career-high 189 yards on 28 carries, averaging 6.8 yards per carry in the losing effort against Alberta. Simon had a superb rookie season as a true freshman, rushing for over 100 yards in Regina's final three regular season games en route to a seven-touchdown season, third all-time in Regina's single-season history.

As a redshirt sophomore, quarterback Noah Picton finished 25-for-37 throwing for 321 yards and pair of touchdown passes. Despite the big offensive numbers, Picton also threw for three interceptions in the game. Picton was the 2014 Canada West leader in yards per game (289.9) and was the first Canada West rookie to throw for more than 2000 yards in a season.

The UBC Homecoming game begins Saturday at 6 p.m. PT on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium in what will be the only meeting between the two teams during the 2015 Canada West regular season.