At 2:45 p.m. last Friday, the UBC Thunderbirds (3-5) season seemed all but over. By 2:53 they had scored a pair of touchdowns to tie the Regina Rams and at 3:08, Alexander Hillyard hit the field goal which secured the overtime win and a trip to Saskatoon for this Saturday where blue and gold will battle the first place Saskatchewan Huskies (7-1) in a BioSteel Hardy Cup semifinal at Griffiths Stadium.

The shocking comeback was proof of what the T-Birds' young roster is capable of, and put the rest of the conference on notice they're not a group to be taken lightly – just ask the Regina Rams.

Clinching the final Canada West playoff berth is all well and good for UBC, but they're fully intent on heading to Saskatoon to continue what's been a remarkable turnaround in the second half of the season.
 

?? FB | @ubcfbl kicker Alexander Hillyard on the season-saving field goal last week in Regina and heading into Saskatoon for Saturday's @BioSteelSports @CanadaWest Hardy Cup semifinal ?? pic.twitter.com/EJDQaQLu6Y

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 29, 2025

"First of all, we have to embrace this opportunity, it almost never happened and now we get a chance to grow as a program," said UBC head coach, Blake Nill, who has successfully guided his team to a fifth straight playoff berth. "So, it is a positive for us, now it's a matter of going in and seeing what we're really made of. We know we're playing the best team in the conference. There's no secrets between us, both sides know one another, we're just going to have to go out and execute."

Despite losing two of their final three games of the season, since halftime of UBC's week six game at Manitoba, the 'Birds have outscored their opposition by a combined 69-60 while outproducing on offence to the tune of a combined 1187 yards to 905.

In those same final three games, quarterback Drew Viotto exploded for 1202 yards, finishing the regular season as the conference's leading passer with 1984 yards, despite splitting duties in weeks one through four.

But as good as UBC's offence has been of late, the defence can take plenty of credit as well for a substantial improvement, allowing just 217 passing yards per game since week six.



"The defensive staff has done a tremendous job simplifying the schemes, knowing what our athletes are best at and you're seeing the results of that," said Nill. "I think there's less confusion on defence and it's all attributed to the individuals who develop the schemes and game plan. Coach (Noah) Cantor and his staff have just done a great job with that."

The T-Birds have every right to feel good about themselves, but the Huskies also have plenty of confidence following a 7-1 regular season that included a pair of dominant wins over UBC.

Saskatchewan led the conference in total offence along with the Canada West's second best run defence. Oddly, the Huskies allowed the highest average passing total per game at 291 yards, despite limiting their opposition to the lowest combined point total.

Including the 'Birds' pre-season contest in Saskatoon in mid-August, this semifinal marks the third trip this year to northern Saskatchewan and the fourth meeting overall with the Huskies. Griffiths Stadium has, to say the least, been a difficult place to play for UBC with the T-Birds losing their last six regular season or playoff visits including week two's 51-14 result.



But that was then, and this is now.

"There's no question this is where I want to play," Nill insisted. "I've always been of the belief when you're developing a young team, you need to go into the lion's den and just try to survive and that's what this is going to be. It's going to be a group of kids against a very veteran team with a tremendous culture and I think it's going to expedite our development. I'm looking forward to it and hopefully we play our best football game of the year.

"We just have to go in and realize the field is the same, it's the same football, the same group of opponents. Focus on what's on field and not the surrounding circumstances that may impact young kids. The hostility in the crowd, the fact that some people would think it's like leading lambs to the slaughter in there, but you have to embrace that. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to see what we're made of."
 

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It's the second straight year the Huskies and T-Birds have met in the Hardy Cup semifinal with the Huskies defeating UBC in dramatic fashion last year at Thunderbird Stadium. It's also the fourth time in the last five years the two Canada West rivals have battled in the post-season, the Huskies winning each of the previous three.

Kickoff for the 2025 BioSteel Hardy Cup semifinal is set for 1:00 p.m. PT Saturday, November 1 at Griffiths Stadium. The game will be available live on Canada West TV.