VANCOUVER, B.C. - In less than 24 hours the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the UBC Thunderbirds will square off with a trip to the 87th Hardy Cup on the line. In their 14th playoff meeting all-time the Dogs and T-Birds enter the semifinal matchup with identical 5-3 records and eerily similar statistics on both sides of the ball, setting Saturday up to be another classic showdown between who storied programs.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM (1:00 PM local)
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
Venue: Thunderbird Stadium
Opponent: UBC Thunderbirds (5-3)
Watch: CanadaWest.tv/SaskTel
Listen: HuskieFAN.ca
2024 SCHEDULE
2024 ROSTER
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Key Stats |
Head-to-Head |
Team Stats |
Team Leaders |
Looking Ahead
Huskies and Thunderbirds Add Another Chapter to Postseason Rivalry in 2024 Hardy Cup Semifinal
For the third time in four years the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds will square off on the gridiron in the Canada West playoffs as the two teams are set for a Saturday afternoon showdown at Thunderbird Stadium.
The Huskies will be looking for their third Hardy Cup berth in the last four years and first since 2022 after falling the Alberta Golden Bears in the 2023 semifinals. In each of their two previous trips to the conference championship the Huskies emerged as the victors, including the 2022 Hardy Cup where the Dogs took down the T-Birds 23-8.
Saskatchewan enters the postseason with plenty of momentum behind them after earning four straight victories to close out the season, including two against top 10 ranked opponents, after a 1-3 start. Their last loss season came against the same opponent and in the same stadium as this Saturday's playoff game. In week 4 the Dogs suffered a 24-38 loss to UBC which saw the team struggle in second half after going into the break down just 21-17.
Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are coming off of their first loss since September 6 after falling to the Bisons 51-38 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg. Prior to their regular season finale loss, UBC had won five straight against the Rams, Dogs, Golden Bears, and Dinos (twice) and now enter the playoffs with a 5-2 record.
The Huskies are feeling confident heading into Friday's matchup and not because of the win streak, but also how they have won those games. 3 of their 4 wins over the last five weeks have been thanks to late-game drives and scores in the final few minutes of the game, with last week's win in Calgary potentially being the most-impressive of the bunch. That drive featured an 80-yard punt return from
Rhett Vavra to kick things off and was followed by four-consecutive
Ryker Frank rushes into the endzone to take the lead with seven seconds remaining.
Frank has been a key piece to the Huskies offensive success this season and has allowed the team to take a balanced approach to how they attack opposing defences. The nation's leader in rushing yards this season with 952 on the ground, Frank also finished 2nd in the country with 10 rushing touchdowns, edging UBC Isaiah Knight who closed out the season with 914 and nine.
Through the air, the T-birds and Dogs have seen early identical production, with Saskatchewan quarterback
Anton Amundrud throwing for 2,275 yards in eight games to UBC's Garrett Rooker who finish the campaign with 2,265. Both field generals also turned the ball over nine times, but Amundrud closed out the season with the advantage in scorers, throwing for 12 majors to Rooker's seven.
The Huskies would also seem to have the edge in the pass-catching department, with
Daniel Wiebe finishing the regular season as the nation's second-most productive receiver behind only Laurier's Ethan Jordan. Wiebe hauled in 52 passes for 807 yards and seven touchdowns. One of those majors came in the week 4 loss to UBC and saw the fourth-year athlete go 87-yards for an early second quarter score.
Saturday's game will serve as the 14th postseason meeting in the storied rivalry, with Saskatchewan holding a lopsided 11-2 advantage and possessing a 48-year postseason streak, with the last UBC playoff win coming in 1976.
The Dogs will look to continue that streak on Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium when they kick off against the Thunderbirds at 1:00 PM local time (2pm CT). For those unable to attend catch every second of the semifinal matchup on
CanadaWest.tv.
Key Stats:
- The Huskies and Thudnerbirds matchup evenly in nearly every statistical category for the regular season. The only exceptions are passing TDs (12-7 Huskies), 3rd down % (64%-50% T-Birds), Field Goal % (72.2%-58.8% Huskies), Sacks (15-4 T-Birds), and Penalties (53-67 Huskies).
- Last week the Thunderbirds gave up 436 yards on the ground to the Manitoba Bisons, including 244 to Bison running back Breydon Stubbs, in a 51-38 loss to the No. 1-seed in Canada West.
- Over the course of the Huskies 4-game winning streak to close out the season, the Dogs have shown composure late in games, making game-winning scores in 3 of their 4 wins.
- In their week 4 meeting in BC, the T-Birds ran for over 209 yards, 189 coming from Isaiah Knight, and five majors.
- THe Huskies have a pretty prouctive run game of their own too and boast the nation's leading rusher in Ryker Frank who ran for 952 yards and 10 scores this season.
Head-to-Head
All-Time vs UBC: 119-63
Last 10 Meetings: 6-4 Huskies
All-Time Playoff Record: 11-2 Huskies
Last Playoff Meeting: Huskies win 23-8 in 85th Hardy Cup (11/12/2022)
2024 Regular Season: 0-1, Lost 38-24 @ UBC (09/20/2024) [Stats Below]
|
Saskatchewan |
UBC |
| First Downs |
24 |
27 |
| Total Offence |
429 |
529 |
| Passing: Att-Comp-Int |
27-39-2 |
22-29-0 |
| Passing Yards-TDs |
329-2 |
320-0 |
| Rushing Yards-TDs |
105-0 |
209-5 |
| Penalties-Yards |
5-55 |
11-102 |
| 3rd Down Conversions |
2-for-4 |
1-for-1 |
| Sacks-Yards |
0-0 |
1-4 |
| Time of Possession |
28:50 |
31:10 |
Team Stats
| Saskatchewan |
|
UBC |
| 29.1 (2nd) |
Points Per Game |
27.0 (4th) |
| 29.1 (1st) |
Points Against |
27.8 (3rd) |
| 445.5 (3rd) |
Yards Per Game |
451.4 (3rd) |
| 422.0 (4th) |
Defensive Yards |
423.6 (3rd) |
| 287.5 (2nd) |
Passing Yards |
294.9 (1st) |
| 158.0 (3rd) |
Rushing Yards |
156.5 (4th) |
| 12 (1st) |
Passing TDs |
7 (4th) |
| 13 (3rd) |
Rushing TDs |
17 (2nd) |
| 23.3 (4th) |
1st Down Per Game |
24.0 (3rd) |
| 50% (4th) |
3rd Down % |
64% (1st) |
| 72.2% (2nd) |
Field Goal % |
58.8% (5th) |
| 89% (3rd) |
Red Zone % |
90% (2nd) |
| 39.6 (5th) |
Punt Average |
37.9 (6th) |
| 31:02 (2nd) |
Time of Possession |
28:29 (5th) |
| 4 (6th) |
Interceptions |
7 (5th) |
| 4 (6th) |
Sacks |
15 (1st) |
| 53 (5th) |
Penalties |
67 (2nd) |
| 521 (4th) |
Penalty Yards |
616 (1st) |
Team Leaders
| Saskatchewan |
UBC |
| Passing (COMP / YDS / TD / INT) |
| #11 Anton Amundrud |
194-282 / 2275 / 11 / 9 |
#11 Garrett Rooker |
160-234 / 2265 / 7 / 9 |
| Rushing (ATT / YDS / AVG / TD) |
| #34 Ryker Frank |
152 / 952 / 6.3 / 10 |
#5 Isaiah Knight |
136 / 914 / 6.7 / 9 |
| Receiving (REC / YDS / AVG / TD) |
| #2 Daniel Wiebe |
52 / 807 / 15.5 / 7 |
#83 Sam Davenport |
40 / 618 / 15.4 / 2 |
| #82 Dawson Lennea |
30 / 481 / 16.0 / 1 |
#88 Mark Webb |
21 / 422 / 20.1 / 2 |
| #17 Jesse Kuntz |
32 / 379 / 11.8 / 1 |
#13 Shemar McBean |
24 / 400 / 16.7 / 0 |
| Defence (TKLS / SACK / TFL / BRUP / INT) |
| #4 Seth Hundeby |
41.0 / 2.0 / 4.0 / 1 / 0 |
#42 Mitchell Townsend |
53.0 / 2.0 / 4.5 / 1 / 0 |
| #48 Lane Novak |
31.0 / 0.0 / 2.0 / 2 / 1 |
#22 Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown |
39.5 / 2.0 / 2.0 / 0 / 0 |
| #39 John Stoll |
29.5 / 0.0 / 0.0 / 4 / 0 |
#17 Maka Bangura |
26.0 / 0.5 / 1.5 / 0 / 0 |
Looking Ahead
The victor of Saturday's semifinal will go on to play to in the 87th Hardy Cup against the winner of the Regina Rams & Manitoba Bisons semifinal matchup. The 2024 Canada West football championship will take place on either Friday, November 8 or Saturday, November 9, depending on the host.
The winner of the Hardy Cup would then host the winner of the RESQ in the 2024 Mitchell Bowl with a spot in the 59th Vanier Cup on the line.
