VANCOUVER – With just two weeks remaining, the UBC Thunderbirds are back home for their final regular season contest on home field as they host the Regina Rams for the 100 Years of UBC Football Legacy Game on Saturday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium.
Suffering a surprising 20-6 defeat last week in Calgary, the T-Birds (4-2) returned home to lick their wounds while quickly turning focus to getting their offence back on track with an opportunity to still clinch a home playoff berth.
"It was a situation where we just weren't ever able to get on track moving the football," said UBC head coach
Blake Nill on the week six stumble against the Dinos. "A combination of ill-timed penalties, missed opportunities early, we got off track and just weren't able to get back on track. As I've always said, in Canada West, it doesn't matter your rankings, where you're placed, if you don't play your best each and every week, you're going to lose. We did not play our best, and full credit to the Calgary Dinos and Coach Harris because his group came motivated, they played fast and we were out-performed on the field."
What's done is done for the No. 10 ranked T-Birds who clinched a Hardy Cup playoff spot by virtue of the Rams (1-5) losing at home to Manitoba last week.
With two left in the regular season, UBC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba all know they'll be playing beyond the end of October. But with the 'Birds able to finish anywhere from first to fourth, the seeding situation is clear as mud.
What is clear for UBC, is the need to pick themselves up and start gaining some positive momentum heading into the playoffs as the depth and skill the team possesses hasn't changed regardless of the last two weeks' results.
"This week we have
Isaiah Knight back and obviously he's going to impact the game right off the top," said Nill of his star running back who did not dress in week six. "This program is built for the run game, built through the offensive line. I think we need to get back to what we do well and running the ball with Isaiah is definitely at the top of our list. That in itself will help us with the pass game by just opening up, spreading out the defence and making sure the defence can't focus just on one aspect."
Despite missing last week's game in Calgary, Knight still sits second in conference rushing with 503 yards along with three touchdowns as well as a receiving major.
UBC leading receiver
Sam Davenport also didn't dress against the Dinos nor did fourth-year wide out
Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez.
But week seven's lineup promises to look more like what the T-Birds dressed in their last meeting with Regina back in week one, a 25-10 victory at Mosaic Stadium.
The Rams, however, will look quite different compared to the first week of September having turned to rookie quarterback Owen Sieben. The Langley, B.C. native put up 234 yards passing last week against the Bisons and currently ranks 10
th in the country in both passing yards per game (246.5) and completion percentage (64.8).
A potential Canada West rookie of the year candidate, Sieben is pitted against 2021 award winner
Garrett Rooker who continues to lead the conference with 292.2 yards per game passing and a 69.2 completion percentage.
The Rams may have already seen their playoff hopes dashed, but there's little doubt they'll be ready to go, aiming to spoil UBC's party.
"They're a very well coached football team with very motivated athletes," said Nill. "They're going to come and play the game the old fashioned way. They're going to hit you in the mouth and then hit you in the mouth again, and if you don't respond back, you'll be in tough."
Saturday will also feature UBC's annual Legacy Game where several alumni – as well as the 2015 Vanier Cup championship team – will be officially honoured as inductees into the Frank Gnup Wall of Honour.
"You play for your alumni, you play for the men who wore the jersey in the past and who built the foundation of UBC football. There's a big tradition of excellence and when you look at coaches like Frank Gnup, Frank Smith, Casey Smith, and all the athletes like Shawn Olson who's someone I want our players to emulate. He was a quarterback who led his team to a national championship and then had the courage to lead his program and now is an exceptional alumnus. Guys like that you want to go to bat for."
Kickoff for the T-Birds' final regular season home game of 2023 is 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 21.
Tickets are available online now and the game will also be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
