Riding the wave of last week's impressive season opening win over the Manitoba Bisons, the No. 8 ranked UBC Thunderbirds head to Saskatoon for a major early test against the seventh-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at Griffiths Stadium.

Leaping into the U SPORTS top ten thanks in large part to a stellar defensive effort in week one, the T-Birds' task doesn't get any easier in their first road trip of the season against a Huskies squad which has won five of their last six regular season games at home. Saskatchewan's record at Griffiths against UBC is even more impressive, posting five consecutive victories with the 'Birds last earning a win back in October of 2017.

"It's an incredibly tough place to win, they play so well at home," said UBC head coach, Blake Nill, who just earned his 55^th win with the T-Birds last week. "You factor in the effort of travel, getting the kids into Saskatoon, getting them somewhat rested and then all of a sudden it's a big game against a physical opponent in a super charged environment and it makes it quite difficult to get success there."



Familiarity may help with UBC this go around as the team was in northern Saskatchewan just two weeks ago for a pre-season contest. In a game that was called at halftime due to severe weather in the region, the T-Birds were reminded of the physical, intense brand of football Saskatchewan is known for, a standard which UBC showed in their week one win over the Bisons.

"I thought you saw at times just an incredible ability of the twelve athletes on the field to play the game, and then at times there was an inconsistency, reverting back to a more average level of urgency," said Nill of his team's season opening performance. "But, you saw the potential and if they're playing full speed, playing with a focus, you saw what they can do and it was quite impressive."

The biggest question for UBC heading into 2025 was how the team would deal with the quarterback position. Perhaps more of a consequence of circumstance than anything else, last week saw both Drew Viotto and veteran Derek Engel get plenty of time under centre with both putting together touchdown drives and solid management. It's proof the 'Birds can have success under a two QB system, something the team is quite comfortable with.



"I've done that in the past, I know Coach (Khari) Jones has done that in the past, it's healthy to have those two guys out there competing. The interesting thing about this situation is that I think both quarterbacks are very supportive of one another and they fit well together. I know they both want to be on the field and ultimately those are coaching decisions and we'll try to do what's best for the program."

Perhaps the second biggest question for the T-Birds was, how to fill the hole left by graduated All-Star running back Isaiah Knight? There answer there in week one was also a platoon system. Toluwalope Ayedegbe led the ground game with 48 yards with Jaxon Allen and Caleb Yang both getting carries along with a combined 45 yards between Viotto and Engel.

"I think it's what you're going to see from us at least for the next few weeks until we determine if there's a go-to guy or not. Right now we're not certain, so we have to be able to share responsibility amongst a few backs."
 

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The Huskies earned a 29-20 week one win in Alberta, but the Golden Bears managed to limit Saskatchewan to 303 yards of total offence. Even so, veteran Huskies pivot Anton Amundrud threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, completing 20 of his 27 pass attempts.

UBC's defence was terrific last week, but they'll have to once again come up big in key moments in order to keep the Huskies' offence at bay. Limiting penalties will need to be a focus in order to succeed after the 'Birds were tagged for 126 total yards against the Bisons.



"We have to be smarter because where we got in trouble in the Manitoba game was when drives were extended with the help of penalties. It's not a habit of success, being a highly-penalized team, it's going to hurt you. I know we realize that, but our actions have to be of consequence that we don't take the foolish penalties."

Not only will Friday night be an opportunity for UBC to put up a key road win for a 2-0 start, it's a chance at redemption against the team which ended their 2024 season in the Hardy Cup semifinal.

Kickoff at Griffiths Stadium is 6:00 p.m. PT Friday with the game streamed live on Canada West TV.