SASKATOON, Sask. - It's time for another chapter to be added to one of the most storied rivalries in Canada West as the Huskies head west for a matchup against the UBC Thunderbirds this Friday, September 20. In what will likely prove to be a crucial game for both teams in their quest for the 87th Hardy Cup, the Huskies and Thunderbirds both enter the contest with 1-2 records.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, September 20, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM (6:00 PM Local)
Opponent: UBC Thunderbirds (1-2)
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
Venue: Thunderbird Stadium
Watch: CanadaWest.TV / SaskTel
Listen: HuskieFAN
2024 SCHEDULE
2024 ROSTER
JUMP TO: PREVIEW |
HEAD-TO-HEAD |
TEAM STATS |
PLAYER STATS |
LOOKING AHEAD
Huskies Looking to Play Spoiler at UBC Homecoming
Friday night the Saskatchewan Huskies will head into Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver looking to play spoiler in the University of British Columbia's homecoming game. The last time these two teams met, the Huskies pulled out a 34-31 home win in a trilling back-and-forth affair.
The Huskies are coming off of their first win of the 2024 campaign, a 44-40 double-overtime homecoming victory against the Calgary Dinos. It was the Dogs' best offensive performance of the season, led by standout running back
Ryker Frank who produced one of the best rushing performances in program history. The fourth-year engineering student carried the ball 34 times for 224 yards and a hattrick of scores, setting new personal records in nearly every statistical category. His performance also climbed the Huskie program records, placing him top-5 in attempts (2nd), rushing yards (T-4th), and touchdowns (T-2nd). Through the air Huskie fans saw another strong performance from starting quarterback
Anton Amundrud who connected on 76% of his dropbacks for 276 yards. Unlike the first two weeks of the season, Amundrud's favourite target was not veteran receiver
Daniel Wiebe but fifth-year pass catcher
Jesse Kuntz wh caught four balls for 100 yards.
On defence, the Huskies allowed a season-high 447 total yards of offence but made key stops in critical moments to come away with the win. The biggest such stop came in double overtime when linebacker
Seth Hundeby made a second-down tackle to force the Dinos to settle for a field goal and give the Huskie offence a chance to go for the win. Saskatchewan continues to be led by a stout linebacking corps through the first three weeks of the season, with Hundeby (15.5 total tackles),
Jayden Engel (11.0 total tackles), and
Zach Zary (9.5 total tackles) securing the second level. Going up against the best passing offence in Canada West, the Dogs will also be looking to a veteran secondary to shut down UBC quarterback Garrett Rooker.
For the defending Hardy Cup champion Thunderbirds, they return home following a narrow 14-12 win over the Regina Rams on the road last week. Despite recovering three fumbles, UBC was unable to extend the lead, trailing the Rams for the majority of the game. It was a 7-yard touchdown run from Dane Kapler early in the fourth which eventually gave the Thunderbirds the win.
Offensively, the Thunderbirds are led by a backfield featuring quarterback Garrett Rooker and running back Isaiah Knight. Rooker currently ranks second in the conference in passing, averaging 271 yards per game, while throwing for two touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Knight leads the way with 246 yards and two touchdowns, both good enough for top-5 in the conference. On the other side of the ball, Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown leads the way with 18.5 tackles and forced fumble.
This will be the only meeting of the season between the two teams, with the Huskies drawing the Bisons, Dinos, and Rams as repeat opponents in 2024.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
All-Time vs UBC: 199-62
Last 10 Meetings: 7-3 Huskies
2023 Record: 1-0
Last Regular Season Meeting: Huskies win 34-31 on September 29, 2023
Last Playoff Meeting: Huskies win 23-8 on November 12, 2022 (85th Hardy Cup)
THE STATS
|
Saskatchewan |
UBC |
| PPG |
26.0 (T-3rd) |
17.3 (6th) |
| YPG |
386.0 (4th) |
423.0 (2nd) |
| Passing |
295.5 (2nd) |
296.3 (1st) |
| Rushing |
90.5 (5th) |
126.7 (3rd) |
| Defense (Points) |
35.0 (6th) |
29.0 (4th) |
| Defense (Yards) |
423.5 (3rd) |
431.3 (1st) |
* (Canada West ranking)
TEAM LEADERS
| Saskatchewan |
UBC |
| Passing (COMP / YDS / TD / INT) |
| Anton Amundrud |
76-109 / 867 / 4 / 3 |
Garrett Rooker |
61-92 / 813 / 2 / 4 |
|
| Rushing (RUSH / YDS / AVG / TD) |
| Ryker Frank |
66 / 349 / 5.3 / 4 |
Isaiah Knight |
37 / 246 / 6.6 / 2 |
|
| Receiving (REC / YDS / TD) |
| Daniel Wiebe |
18 / 318 / 3 |
Sam Davenport |
15 / 244 / 1 |
| Jesse Kuntz |
12 / 201 / 1 |
Mark Webb |
12 / 277 / 1 |
| Rhett Vavra |
7 / 88 / 0 |
Shemar McBean |
8 / 82 / 0 |
LOOKING AHEAD
Next week the Huskies will return home for just the second game at Griffiths Stadium this season. On Friday, September 27, the Dogs will play host to the U SPORTS No. 9-ranked Alberta Golden Bears. Tickets to next week's home game are available online at
huskietickets.com.
