With their playoff chances on life support, the Thunderbirds dropped to 2–5 last Friday night, falling 24–10 to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in UBC’s final home game of the season.
Boasting a conference-leading 5–1 record, the Huskies were the clear favourite in Friday’s match. They’d already beaten the ‘Birds earlier this year — at the beginning of the season, Saskatchewan dominated UBC 51–14, handing the Thunderbirds their largest defeat since 2021.
This time, however, the ‘Birds had more on the line. While the Huskies entered the matchup with a postseason berth guaranteed, UBC had a tenuous hold on the conference’s final playoff spot. With a home playoff berth out of reach, Friday was the final opportunity for UBC’s graduating players to win at Thunderbird Stadium.
“It meant everything, to be honest,” said fifth-year UBC wideout Shemar McBean. “I really wanted to win this game.”
With so much at stake, the T-Birds fought well against the Huskies. UBC out-gained the Huskies 371 to 307 in total yards, while the defence shut out Saskatchewan for 3 of 4 quarters. For 54 minutes, the ‘Birds were essentially even with Canada West’s top team.
Yet, in the span of 93 seconds, Saskatchewan scored 17 points — that was all they needed for the victory.
Neither team was flawless. From beginning to end, the game was riddled with penalties — Saskatchewan ultimately gave up 180 penalty yards, while the ‘Birds followed closely with 136. Otherwise, the ‘Birds looked good at the onset. On defence, the Thunderbirds eagerly pressured Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Farrell, who started under centre for the second time in his U Sports career, with the Huskies’ usual starter, Anton Amundrud out due to injury. UBC’s Deacon Sterna quickly forced a fumble from Farrell, and while a Huskie fell on the ball, the play still ended Saskatchewan’s opening drive.
The UBC offence followed up with their first and best possession of the quarter, with running back Riley Michaud advancing the offence into Huskies territory. UBC’s run game heavily relied on Michaud, who was credited with 15 of the team’s 17 rushing attempts on the night. Toluwalope Ayedegbe, UBC’s leading rusher on the season, was given only one attempt after struggling to make big gains in the prior two games.
Despite their initial progress, the ‘Birds missed their chance to score when rookie kicker Alexander Hillyard sent his field goal attempt wide right of the posts. Avoiding the rouge, Saskatchewan’s returner tore past UBC players, gaining 76 yards before being brought down by Hillyard. Though a holding penalty negated the run, the play was indicative of larger issues. The Thunderbirds would struggle on special teams throughout the night, consistently earning worse starting field position and averaging fewer yards in all major categories, including kickoff and punt returns .
The T-Birds continued to pressure Farrell, earning a sack and another fumble on the ensuing possession. After a roughing-the-passer call extended Saskatchewan’s drive, UBC’s Ben Sangmuah ended it, picking off a risky long attempt by Farrell.
While UBC’s defence held strong against an error-prone Huskies team, the offence struggled to regain traction. They finally found their footing in the second quarter, sparked by a 47-yard deep ball from quarterback Drew Viotto to McBean. While in the past, Viotto had struggled to connect with McBean, UBC’s leading receiver, that issue seemed resolved on Friday, as Viotto completed a 19-yard pass to McBean on the next snap.
An 18-yard pass to Colby Johnson put the ‘Birds on Saskatchewan’s 6-yard line, marking the first trip into the red zone for either team. After two incompletions, the Thunderbirds settled for a field goal to go up 3–0.
Saskatchewan's following drive was not initially remarkable, arriving at 3rd-and-6 soon after the Huskies crossed the halfway mark. Lined up to punt, the Huskies instead snapped the ball to running back Ryker Frank, who split up the middle for a 40-yard gain before he was brought down at UBC’s doorstep.
“We knew [the fake punt] was coming, and we had the call,” said UBC head coach Blake Nill. “It’s tough when they think they fooled you. They didn’t fool us — we just didn’t execute.”
In retrospect, the fake punt was the moment the momentum switched decidedly in Saskatchewan’s favour. Immediately after, a short touchdown run gave the Huskies a 7–3 lead with under six minutes remaining in the half. The Huskies would maintain their lead for the remainder of the game, largely thanks to a UBC collapse over the following few minutes.
Starting from their own 9-yard line, the ‘Birds were quickly halted by Saskatchewan’s aggressive defence. A short punt, exacerbated by a penalty against the Thunderbirds, gave Saskatchewan the ball in UBC territory with three minutes left in the half. The Huskies moved steadily down the field to hit paydirt, extending their lead to 14–3.
Suddenly facing a two-score deficit, again with poor starting position, UBC’s offence crumbled. Viotto was sacked on the second snap of the drive. On the following play, Viotto rolled out left, throwing directly to a Saskatchewan defender.
Starting from the UBC 12-yard line, Saskatchewan’s Daniel Wiebe added to their score on the play immediately following the interception, charging out left before cutting back across the field to find the end zone.
Down 21–3 with less than 30 seconds in the half, UBC’s offence made the risky decision to attempt a 3rd-and-2 from their own 28-yard-line. Ayedegbe, in his only rushing attempt of the night, failed to convert, giving the Huskies another chance at the end zone. The Huskies settled for a final field goal, going up 24–3.
Entering the third quarter, it looked like the game would be another blowout win for Saskatchewan. UBC continued to flounder against Saskatchewan’s defence as drops and penalties returned to plague both teams.
Despite the demoralizing situation, UBC’s defence fought fiercely, shutting out Saskatchewan to keep the T-Birds’ hopes alive. But their efforts would be for naught if the offence couldn’t score to close the three-score deficit.
At the end of the third, the ‘Birds gained some wind when Farrell’s pass rebounded off his intended receiver and into the hands of UBC defensive back Niko Kanagawa. In response, the offence — with Derek Engel briefly relieving Viotto, who was dealing with cramps, according to Nill — went two-and-out.
This would become a pattern in the fourth quarter — when UBC gained any positive momentum, it would immediately grind to a halt.
The ‘Birds, with Viotto back at QB, finally began advancing on their next possession, driving into Saskatchewan’s red zone for the first time in the half. Again, that momentum was short-lived. Their promising drive was cut short when Viotto gave up the ball while taking a sack.
On their following drive, UBC managed to find the end zone with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Viotto to Trey Montour. The Thunderbirds’ first touchdown was undermined by the ejection of Montour, who was penalized for the use of a “derogatory word,” according to the head referee. With over three minutes remaining, the loss of Montour — one of Viotto’s favourite targets — severely hampered UBC’s hopes of a comeback.
The ‘Birds botched their ensuing onside kick attempt, giving the Huskies the ball in UBC territory. Though Saskatchewan began their final two drives with favourable field position, the defence again held the Huskies outside of field goal range. However, the defence could not make up for the 14-point difference on the scoreboard, nor could they stop the Huskies from running out the clock.
With the touchdown and valiant defence, the T-Birds avoided another embarrassing loss. However, there was little solace in just being competitive for UBC’s fourth and fifth-year players.
Over the past four years, Saskatchewan has been responsible for some of UBC’s most heartbreaking losses, notably defeating the Thunderbirds with a late comeback in last year’s conference semifinal. Losing their final home game to the Huskies was salt in the wound for some of UBC’s graduating players.
“[Saskatchewan] has been a thorn in my side since my first year here,” said McBean. “It sucks to lose to them at home, seeing as we lost to them in the semifinals last year. It’s big. I wanted to win it for my senior players, the guys from last year.”
On a bleak night for the offence, McBean was one of the brightest spots, finishing the game with 144 yards over 7 receptions.
“The senior players, this is a big game for us,” he said. “It’s just a lot of emotion, a lot of time, effort put into training … and to lose after putting your heart into it, it really sucks.”
Despite the defeat, UBC remained in the final playoff berth thanks to losses by Calgary and Alberta. However, to secure their spot in the postseason, they’ll have to win their final game against the 6–1 University of Regina Rams, who are tied with Saskatchewan for first in the conference. If they lose, they’ll be out of the postseason for good, with the final spot going to whomever wins the matchup between Calgary and Alberta on Oct. 25.
That’s a tall task for a UBC team that’s still experiencing growing pains — but it won’t be impossible. Earlier this year, the Thunderbirds played a strong second half against Regina before ultimately falling 37–20. This team has improved since they faced the Rams, with a more resilient defence and Viotto settling into the starting position.
Yet, there are still problems with this team that’ll hinder them even if they manage to make the playoffs. With inexperienced players in key roles — like first-year Viotto at quarterback and second-year Montour at wideout — and other positions, like running back, not entirely figured out, the ‘Birds have been prone to unforced errors.
Nonetheless, coming off the field at Thunderbird for the final time, McBean tried to look on the bright side.
“It’s bittersweet. It’s good to be out here playing with my brothers,” he said. “It’s sad to lose my last home game at Thunderbird Stadium, but … we still have another game left in the season, so it’s only up from here.”
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