Having already clinched a home playoff berth for a Hardy Cup semifinal, the No. 6 ranked UBC Thunderbirds carry their five-game win streak into Winnipeg Saturday to battle the conference leading Manitoba Bisons with first place overall still up for grabs in the final week of the Canada West regular season.
This week eight matchup concludes the two-game regular season series between the conference rivals with the Bisons (6-1) earning a convincing 33-10 week two win at Thunderbird Stadium. A UBC (5-2) win on Saturday would tie the two programs atop the conference with equal 6-2 records, but the T-Birds would need a victory by at least 23 points in order to even the season series and finish in first place for a second straight season.
"We're going to go in there and do everything we can," said UBC head coach
Blake Nill whose main goal isn't to take a run at overcoming that point differential. "I just want to have our best game, I want to make sure we're protecting well, our effort's good, our defence is good and use it as a catalyst for the playoffs. It's a big obstacle in terms of the point differential but I'm not overly concerned with it. But I am concerned about making sure we'll be properly prepped to have our best game of the year."
Stringing together five straight wins for the second consecutive season, UBC's last six-game win streak came in 2015 – culminating in their most recent Vanier Cup title. Outscoring their opponents by a 140-96 margin over the last five games, the T-Birds have also limited their opposition to an average of 322 yards of offence per game during that span. Ball security has also been exceptional of late for the blue and gold, easily winning the turnover battle by nearly a 3:1 margin.
As confident as UBC is heading into the Manitoba capital, the No. 8 Bisons are equally so, especially after surviving a scare in Edmonton last week that saw them overcome a 24-point halftime deficit to earn a 38-37 overtime victory.
"Coach (Brian) Dobie's had a great year, he's got his guys playing with confidence and to be honest, they're playing as well as I've seen them in a long, long time," said Nill of his longtime coaching rival and his program. "You've got a senior group, a veteran coaching staff so they know one another really well. Terrific athletic component throughout the entire program. They are guys who run well, they're big and strong, they're hungry; this is going to be a really good football game, a really good test for UBC to go into a venue that hasn't been easy for us throughout my career actually with the travel and the type of attitude, how they play at home. It's a good test for us, I'm just preparing to make sure we can offer them our best come game day."
Earning Canada West Offensive Player of the Week, Manitoba quarterback Jackson Tachinski once again showed how dangerous he is on his feet, racking up 146 yards rushing vs the Bears along with his sixth touchdown. The versatility of the Bisons' offence is certainly top of mind for UBC heading into their final game of the regular season.
"They have big play potential on the ground, big play potential through the air and when you think you got all that taken care of the quarterback runs for 30 yards. This kid is a lot like a former athlete of mine, Erik Glavic, a gunslinger type guy and he presents a challenge."
It's safe to say, though, Manitoba is equally as concerned about UBC's dynamic offence which provides a plethora of threats both on the ground and in the air. Most notably,
Isaiah Knight continues to pace the country with 897 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, already both career highs for the fourth-year from Ottawa who is a legitimate Hec Creighton candidate as U SPORTS Football MVP.
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"I think he deserves consideration," said Knight's head coach. "He's been a very consistent athlete throughout his tenure here at UBC. Related to that success on the ground game is the work that coach Peter Buckley who took over in a tough situation, and the work he's done with the offensive line and the response of the offensive line. That's a group of young kids who went through a difficult summer and have managed to re-group and just serve their current coach well. I also think it's a great reflection on their former coach through their effort and so I'm very proud of that group as well."
Kickoff for the final game of the regular season is set for 12:00 p.m. PT at Winnipeg's Princess Auto Stadium. The game will be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
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