It may be time to hold off on the parade planning for the UBC Thunderbirds. After a flying start to the year that saw them beat the powerful Laval in the preseason and open up the regular season 2-1, the sixth ranked ‘Birds were dealt a sobering 45-29 defeat at the hand of the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies.
Nill thought his team's sixth placed ranking may have lead them to have a false sense of confidence.
“I hope it wasn’t taking the Saskatchewan program for granted because, as an experienced coach, I know that they are going to come out and play hard and physical.”
After winning a high-scoring affair last week in Manitoba 51-48, the Thunderbirds’ offence did not come out looking as sharp and the defence looked as vulnerable as ever. Michael O’Connor threw for 335 yards and scored a touchdown for the T-Birds, but never truly seemed comfortable. The Penn State transfer uncharacteristically missed several throws high, one of which led to an early interception.
After taking their opening possession into the end zone, the Huskies capitalized on the aforementioned O’Connor interception to take an early 14-0 lead. The damage was not done there however.
Facing second down from their own 40 yard line, wide receiver Liam Haime had the ball ripped from his hands by Saskatchewan’s Dylan Kemp who promptly returned it to the house. This stunned the crowd of 2,650 who watched the home side fall into an early 21-0 hole.
After a safety and a Quinn van Gylswyk field goal brought the score to 21-5, Huskies running back Jarvis James scampered in from five yards out for the first of his two touchdowns of the night. The fourth-year tailback would finish the night with 155 yards on 26 carries.
The Thunderbirds’ headed into the half on a high after wide receiver Will Watson scored on a one yard hand off just before the break. The momentum appeared to be swinging back in the home sides’ favour. The opening drive of the second half produced a field goal for UBC and cut the score to 28-19.
Needing an answer, Saskatchewan turned to James and the ground game to stem the tide. With the crowd back into it, the Huskies embarked on a 75 yard drive that was capped by James’ second score of the game. All 75 yards were accumulated on the ground on that drive.
Not to be outdone, UBC’s Trivel Pinto returned the ensuing kick 95 yards to the Huskies 10 yard line. O’Connor quickly converted, finding Malcolm Lee on a slant to make the score 35-26 halfway through the third quarter.
However, as they had all night, Saskatchewan found an answer. Fourth-year quarterback Drew Burko, who had been sharp all night, rolled right and lofted a hopeful ball into the back corner of the end zone looking for Tevin Godfrey. The Huskies receiver made a fantastic, one-handed catch with the UBC corner draped all over him. The highlight reel score ignited the visitors’ sideline and it began to feel as if this would not be the Thunderbirds’ night.
With 10 minutes remaining, down by 16 and threatening inside the red zone, UBC faced a make-or-break third and seven from the Huskies 11 yard line. O’Connor’s pass fell incomplete and the ‘Birds comeback attempt was cut short.
The loss dropped the Thunderbird’s to 2-2 on the season and the has brought up some serious questions as they prepare to head to the University of Alberta next weekend. The defence, which gave up 48 points to Manitoba last week, was gashed time and time again both on the ground and through the air. They allowed the visitors to rack up over 500 yards. Adjustments have to be made and a coach with the experience of Nill won’t hesitate to make those changes.
“We’re going to have to realize that the athletes that we have maybe can not play the kind of defence we’re asking for the entire time,” said Nill. “We’re going to have to go more of a bend-but-don’t-break type approach.”
Pinning tonight’s loss squarely on one side of the ball would be an inaccurate portrayal of events. Overall, the team lacked a general crispness to their game and, on both sides of the ball, there were key breakdowns and mistakes that proved too much to overcome. If the T-Birds are to return to their winning ways, Nill knows he is going to need more out of his key players.
“I need better play out of my veteran players,” the coach said. “I need guys who I feel want to come out and earn a win and not have one given to them.”