GAME INFORMATION

Date: Friday, Sept. 30
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Saskatchewan Huskies
Location: Saskatoon, Sask.
Venue: Griffiths Stadium
Watch: Sasktel 49, 349 / Canadawest.tv
Listen: HuskieFAN

SCHEDULE | WATCH LIVE 

Undefeated and back at home.

After taking care of business in back-to-back weeks away from Saskatoon — the Huskies are back at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park this Friday night.

Saskatchewan is set to play host to the Manitoba Bisons in what is a rematch of the 2021 Hardy Cup — a game the Huskies won, a win that eventually led to their first Vanier Cup appearance since 2006.

The Huskies have bigger ambitions than just reaching the Vanier this season. This year, their goal is to win the Vanier Cup. They've started the season 4-0 for the first time since that 2006 campaign and for just the fourth time since the turn of the century.

After three-straight victories for the Huskies against nationally ranked opponents, Friday night presents another Top 10 test. The Bisons entered the latest national rankings at number-nine. After shocking most of the country with an 0-2 record, the reigning conference runner-up has looked like the team the coaches ranked number-two in the preseason poll.  

The Bisons will take the field looking to put up three-straight in the win column following 21-26 and 46-4 wins over the UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos — but the undefeated Huskies are their biggest challenge yet.

With this being the lone meeting between the pair of programs this regular-season, playoff implications are already on the line. Last year, it was the Bisons who came to town for the Hardy Cup. This year, Saskatchewan wants the road back to their third Hardy Cup in four seasons to run through Griffiths Stadium once again — and for good reason. The Huskies have proven to protect home field unlike nearly any team in the nation over the last three seasons as they enter the matchup with a 13-game win streak at Griffiths Stadium.

They'll look to control home field once again on Friday night, move to 5-0 and inch one step closer to locking up home field throughout the postseason. 

5(ish) Things:

1. This Friday night's game — which will be held on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — will feature postgame, orange-themed fireworks, residential school survivors participating in the pregame coin toss and a halftime performance from Indigenous dancers.
2. After their 4-0 start, the Huskies have started the Vanier Cup era with an undefeated record through four weeks eight times (1965, 1973, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2022). Three of those seven previous 4-0 starts resulted in Vanier Cup appearances. (HT/Huskie Alumni)
3. Saskatchewan is looking to start the season 5-0 for the sixth-time in program history.
4. Since the beginning of their 13-game home win streak, Saskatchewan has outscored their opponents 454-208.
5. The Huskies enter the meeting as winners of five of the last six against Bisons, including the last three meetings on home turf with the Bisons not winning at Griffiths since Oct. 28, 2017.
6. The Huskies defeated the Bisons 10-9 in their single preseason game back on Aug. 25, 2022, at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park.
7. Since taking over as the Huskies starting running back, Ryker Frank has thrived. Frank ran for 128 yards and a touchdown against Alberta in Week 4. Frank is averaging 99-yards-per-game which ranks eighth in the nation.

Quotables:

Flory on Friday night's matchup with the Bisons:

"First off — it's nice to be back at home. I feel like it's been a long time, I mean, with three of our first games of the season being on the road, so it's nice to be back at home in the confines of Griffiths Stadium — that's first foremost. Second off — yeah, we've got a really good opponent coming into our place who are probably playing more to their potential lately. They're a really good football team. They're well coached. They got a ton of athletes."

Flory on the respect he has for Bisons head coach Brian Dobie and the Manitoba program, as well as what he's seen on tape from them so far this season:

"We got a lot of mutual respect between our programs. It's another reason why we've had them all here in the last couple of years and they've graciously come to play non-conference games — we just have so much so much respect for him. Earlier in the season, I don't know if they quite looked like themselves. But I think they're, they're definitely starting to get more confident and are coming to their own just from what I've seen on tape. You can tell they're playing fast. They're their physical team too. They've got a fifth-year quarterback who is doing some really good things and I know he's continuing to get back into it —  he's been out of playing football, but he just seems to get better each and every each game and each and every snap too. Then defensively, they got some veteran guys back there. I know, they've had a couple injuries, but every team does, and their next guys up are really good football players too. We've got to make sure we're detailed in what we're doing on the offensive side."

Flory on what he feels like is the big difference in this matchup compared to the 2021 Hardy Cup matchup:

"I think the DNA of the teams aren't fundamentally that different. It'll come down to that chess match and the personnel side of things too and putting our players in the position to make plays. But as always, in football, if you can have the best plan you want but if you can't execute it — it's meaningless. So that's going to be a big part of it. I know that they're going to have a good game plan and we will too. We just got to make sure our athletes fresh and are ready to go and can execute the game plan."

Flory on the Huskies success on home field and the team playing three of their final four games at Griffiths: 

"We don't dictate the schedule — we've got to play wherever they tell us to play. Our guys have rise to the occasion in each one of the games so far this year and we expect nothing less this week. It's just that we don't have to get on a plane or a bus. We get to sleep in our own beds to be able to do it. We are in no way taking our opponent lightly or in no way does that guarantee us any success at all. We know that and we preach that daily. We've got to make sure that we take advantage of the opportunity to stay at home and not have that travel schedule and use that to the best of our abilities as best we can."

Flory on the emergence of Nyhus' name in the Hec Crighton race:

"You can ask him — I don't care. I just want to win football games and I think he does too. I really don't care about that stuff and I know, knowing that young man, regardless of whatever happens, he'd give it all up — any award or anything — for our team to have a chance to hoist the Vanier Cup at the end of the year and I know every one of his teammates would do the exact same. At this juncture, those are all meaningless."

Head-to-head vs. Manitoba:

• All-time vs. Manitoba: Saskatchewan is 47-45
• Last 10 regular-season meetings: Saskatchewan is 6-4
• Huskies 2021 regular-season record vs. Manitoba: 1-0
• Last regular season meeting: 41-12 Huskies win on Oct. 30, 2021 in Winnipeg

Scouting the Bisons:

Brian Dobie, who is the winningest coach in Bisons program history, is looking to guide this veteran laden team back to the Hardy Cup. Dobie has led Manitoba to the postseason in three-straight seasons and after getting the team back to the .500 mark — they currently are tied for third in the conference with Alberta — they're currently positioned to be back in the dance come November.

Manitoba is led by fifth-year quarterback Des Catellier, who is back under centre as the Bisons starter on a full-time basis for the first-time since the 2019 campaign. After a cancelled 2020 season, the Calgary product was injured in Week 1 of 2021 against Regina. He did not play again last season. He elected to come back to the Bisons for 2021 for one last dance. Catellier is 56-100 passing with five touchdowns and five interceptions thus far this season and is fresh off a 183-yard performance in Week 4.

Breydon Stubbs was the engine for the Bisons offence in that win over Calgary. The second-year running back ran for 173 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Stubbs was held out of the Hardy Cup clash against Saskatchewan last season and will be making his first-ever appearance at Griffiths Stadium.

In place of All-Canadian linebacker Nick Thomas, who has missed the last two games due to injury, Dolan Hills has stepped up. Hills recorded nine total tackles, a sack and an interception — en route to him being named the U SPORTS defensive player of the week.