It's hard to imagine a more meaningful mid-season battle between two Canada West powers than what's about to go down at Thunderbird Stadium on Friday, September 20.
Homecoming 2024 features the UBC Thunderbirds (1-2) hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies (1-2), both of whom are looking to build off week three victories while desperately hoping to avoid falling behind the pack.
The T-Birds are fresh off a gritty 14-12 road win over the Regina Rams (2-1) last Saturday in a contest that saw a tremendous response from a UBC defence which had been under fire. It was far from an ideal performance, but the team enters week four with renewed confidence having secured their first victory of the season.
"We were fortunate to be on the right side of the scoreboard," said UBC head coach
Blake Nill who avoided the team's first 0-3 start since 2019. "We've got to build, take the positives of that game, the positives of the two previous ones and start getting some traction going into the last five games of the regular season."
The Huskies, meanwhile, also came away with their first win in week three, needing double overtime to secure a 44-40 victory over the Calgary Dinos.
With UBC and Saskatchewan sitting in a four-way tie for third in the Canada West along with the Golden Bears and the Dinos, the historic rivalry between the 'Birds and Huskies – which saw the two battle in both the 2021 and 2022 Hardy Cup Finals – is set to take yet another dramatic turn.
"The rivalry with Saskatchewan over the last few years has been significant," Nill added. "Like us, their season is going to be heavily impacted by this game and I'm sure Coach Flory and his staff are doing everything they can to try to gain the competitive advantages they feel are necessary. It's not a secret that Saskatchewan has a culture of tough, gritty football and we have to be able to match that grit and that physicality and then hopefully make some plays against a very experienced group."
Aiding the T-Birds turn a corner has been the team's significantly improved defensive play. Along with holding the Rams to just three points and 167 yards in the second half on Saturday, UBC also won the turnover battle, recovering three Regina fumbles.
"Coach Tracey and his staff, Coach Harris and Coach Cantor specifically have been working hard to revamp the defence to the strengths of the players, to the adjustments we've had to make because of injuries, etc. We did play faster and I was happy with the physicality of the defence."
Helping lead that defensive turnaround has been veteran linebacker,
Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown who was named Canada West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts at Mosaic Stadium.
"Jaxon in my opinion is a pro calibre athlete," praised Nill. "Athletically he's one of the best we have, he's not afraid of the physicality. But, he's got to be more consistent. Our goal, as it is with all our players, is to get him to reach his football potential and to get him out of here with a degree. We're on track for both of those. It's big for us he's back."
While UBC's defence is riding a high, the team's highly powered offence has yet to truly showcase its potential. The 'Birds enter week four averaging just 17.3 points per game despite a number two ranking in terms of average yards per game with 423. But there's full confidence improved execution is inevitable, given both the talent on the roster and past proof of accomplishments.
"I met with my offensive staff to discuss it and figure out where the disconnect is between the expectations and the realities of what's happened this year. We need to do more at the coaching level to make sure our athletes are in the best position to execute. But at the same time, the athletes need to be able to perform at levels that we know they can. A combination of the coaches maybe enabling a higher level of performance is important but at the same time our athletes have to do what they're capable of doing."
Kickoff for Homecoming 2024 – Presented by Fizz Mobile – is set for 6:00 p.m. Friday night at Thunderbird Stadium.
An extremely limited number of tickets are still available for purchase online. The game will also be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
