The sunset over Thunderbird Stadium was gorgeous on Friday night — a contrast to watching the UBC Thunderbirds lose 33–10 to the University of Manitoba Bisons.
The defeat came less than a year after the 2023 conference semifinals, when the ‘Birds beat Manitoba 29–21 en route to the national championship.
This time, despite an early lead and some passionate attempts, the Thunderbirds could not overcome a litany of mistakes. UBC committed two fumbles, three interceptions, ten penalties and numerous errors that won’t show on the stats sheet, like sloppy punt returns. Mistakes consistently undermined good plays and key opportunities, killing the ‘Birds’ momentum.
“It is frustrating,” said UBC head coach Blake Nill. “I want to say that it’s not overly unexpected, what’s happened here. You got a group of guys, little bit of a championship hangover. It certainly happens to a number of programs.”
Fittingly, the contest began with a penalty against UBC during the initial kickoff. Still, UBC controlled the opening quarter, scoring the game’s first touchdown at the climax of a ten-play drive.
The Thunderbirds started the second quarter with a nice 10–0 lead, after a field goal from kicker Keiran Flannery-Fleck. But they didn’t score a single point in the remaining 45 minutes.
Manitoba gained momentum slowly. It began with a field goal. Then a simple, two-play drive. Starting in their own redzone, Bisons' quarterback Jackson Tachinski threw an incomplete pass as he was nearly sacked, but a UBC penalty moved the Bisons up anyway. Tachinski then connected a beautiful deep ball to Vaughan Lloyd, who ran to the endzone.
The Bisons put together two more scoring drives in the second quarter, and both were supported by UBC penalties. Tacking on a T-Bird safety, Manitoba held a 26–10 lead by the end of the half.
The third quarter was scoreless, but a success for Manitoba. The Bisons dominated possession at the beginning, bleeding out the clock — and UBC’s chances of a comeback.
When the ‘Birds finally put together a decent drive, it amounted to a failed third-down conversion and five fewer minutes to play.
The ‘Birds’ fight didn’t die in the final quarter, even as Manitoba scored again and UBC’s starting quarterback was subbed out. However, as in previous quarters, good plays — like Luca Blasi forcing Manitoba to fumble — were outweighed by bad ones. Despite UBC’s efforts, the clock hit zero on a 33–10 scoreboard.
So far, this Thunderbirds squad seems a far cry from last year’s championship team.
“I’m still of the opinion we’re a talented group here,” said Nill. “We have enough veterans coming back that they should recognize that we gotta start playing better.”
With the loss, UBC drops to 0–2 while Manitoba improves to 2–0. The Thunderbirds have a chance to end their losing streak on Saturday as they face the University of Regina in their first away game of the season.
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