The visiting UBC Thunderbirds capitalized on six turnovers to upset the No. 2 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies 31-12 Friday in Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.
Turnovers came on strong defensive play by the T-Birds blocking one field goal, recovering four fumbles and nabbing one interception.
Each time UBC was able to score at least a field goal earning 16 points off the turnovers.
“We weren’t ready for this game,” said Huskie head coach Brian Towriss. “The turnovers hurt us but credit goes to UBC for making us pay for our mistakes and playing a tough road game.”
It is the first win for the T-Birds over the Huskies since a 2000 44-21 win. Since 1998, UBC has only beat the Huskies four times including Friday’s win. Other wins came 30-24 in 1999 and 13-11 in 1998. All four of those wins have come in Griffiths Stadium. The loss is also the first at home in a regular season game since 2007 when the Rams won 34-31 in the final game of the season.
Olson commented on the huge win.
βAny time you win it feels good,β said Olson. βEspecially the first one; the first oneβs hardest to get.β
According to Olson, the difference in the game wasnβt talent or strategy, but attitude.
βIβm really happy for our guys because they showed a lot of heart and a lot of mental toughness,β said Olson. βI just think our guys wanted it a little bit more, and played a little harder. In every facet we made plays, and so many different guys made plays. Thatβs what itβs going to take for us to be successful – everyone is going to have to contribute. β
It is the first win for the T-Birds over the Huskies since a 2000 44-21 win. Since 1998, UBC has only beat the Huskies four times including Fridayβs win. Other wins came 30-24 in 1999 and 13-11 in 1998. All four of those wins have come in Griffiths Stadium. The loss is also the first at home in a regular season game since 2007 when the Rams won 34-31 in the final game of the season.
The Huskies found themselves in scoring position on their first two possessions of the game but rookie kicker Denton Kolodzinski missed two field goal attempts from 37-yards and 34-yards. One field goal resulted in a single point.
From there, UBC took over defensively and was able to find offence on the strength of kicker Billy Pavlopoulos’ leg. The second-year kicker found the uprights five times in the game.
UBC got on the board after a fumble by Huskie Travis Gorski on his own six-yard line after a Pavlopoulos missed field goal. UBC needed just one play β a six-yard pass to Spencer Betts from quarterback Billy Greene to make the game 7-1 at 7:01 in the first quarter.
The Huskies got the next points in the game scoring on a 19-yard Kolodzinski field goal at 8:45. UBC quickly answered back when Greene found Ryan Couper in the end zone after a seven play, 72 yard drive at 1:42 in the second quarter. UBC added more just one possession later when Jeff Effah recovered a block punt on the Huskies 24 yard line. Pavlopoulos made the game 17-4 with a good 42-yard field goal with 17 seconds in the second quarter.
After another Saskatchewan rouge, Pavlopoulos found the uprights again this time from 35-yards out with 9:55 left in the third frame. He again hit another field goal from 30-yards at 11:04 in the fourth quarter after a safety to make the game 25-5 in favour of the T-Birds. The 30-yard field goal came after a Trent Peterson fumble on his own 27-yard line.
Saskatchewan finally found the end zone with a Mitch Stevens nine-yard touchdown with 8:06 left in the final frame to bring the game within 13 points. But UBC didn’t let the comeback last long marching down the field and kicking a 19-yard field goal with 4:39 in the game. He added his fifth from 35-yards out to make the final 31-12 with no time left on the clock.
UBC’s Greene completed 15-of-29 passes in the game for 163 yards two touchdowns and one interception. Dave Boyd led his team on the ground with 115 yards on 24 carries. Spencer Betts and Victor Marshall led T-Bird receivers with 45 and 44 yards respectively.
Huskies starting quarterback Laurence Nixon completed 12-of-23 passes for 108 yards before being pulled near the end of the third quarter in favour of backup Peterson. Peterson finished out the game 7-for-11 with one touchdown pass, however, UBC was able to sack him four times. Receiver Rory Kohlert led with seven receptions and 64 yards for the Huskies, while running back Ben Coakwell finished with 104 yards on 16 carries.
Defensively, UBC shone with six sacks on the night. Linebacker Nathan Kanya led the way with nine tackles β seven of those solo β and two sacks. Mark Bailey followed with five tackles. Zach Hart led the way for the Huskies with 7.5 tackles, followed by Bryce McCall and Keenan MacDougall with five apiece.
Both the Huskies and T-Birds now sit at 1-1 in the standings. The University of Calgary Dinos and the University of Regina Rams also sit with the same record after a 24-21 Dinos victory Friday night. The University of Alberta Golden Bears and University of Manitoba Bisons face off Saturday afternoon, if Manitoba wins all teams in the Canada West will have a 1-1 record.
The Huskies will hit the road in Week 3 to take on provincial foe the University of Regina Rams Saturday, September 18 in Mosaic Stadium. UBC returns home to host the University of Manitoba Bisons on the same day at Thunderbird Stadium.
Source:
Saskatchewan Sports Info
UBC Sports Info
PHOTO CREDIT:
| UBC 31 |
Saskatchewan 12 |
| Saskatchewan (1-1) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| UBC (1-1) | 7 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 31 |
| Saskatoon, SK | Griffiths |
| 1 | 10:03 | Saskatchewan – | 0 – 1 |
| 1 | 07:01 | UBC – Spencer Betts 6 yd pass from Billy Greene. (B. Pavlopoulos kick is good). Drive: 1 plays, 6 yards in 0:22. |
7 – 1 |
| 2 | 08:45 | Saskatchewan – D. Kolodzinski 19 yd field goal. | 7 – 4 |
| 2 | 01:46 | UBC – Ryan Couper 1 yd pass from Billy Greene. (B. Pavlopoulos kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards in 2:19. |
14 – 4 |
| 2 | 00:17 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 42 yd field goal. | 17 – 4 |
| 3 | 09:55 | Saskatchewan – | 17 – 5 |
| 3 | 05:09 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 35 yd field goal. | 20 – 5 |
| 4 | 13:52 | UBC – Team safety | 22 – 5 |
| 4 | 11:04 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 30 yd field goal. | 25 – 5 |
| 4 | 08:06 | Saskatchewan – Mitch Stevens 10 yd pass from Trent Peterson. (D. Kolodzinski kick is good). Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:58. |
25 – 12 |
| 4 | 04:39 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 19 yd field goal. | 28 – 12 |
| 4 | 00:00 | UBC – B. Pavlopoulos 35 yd field goal. | 31 – 12 |
UBC Sask
| 22 | FIRST DOWNS | 23 |
| 9 10 3 |
Passing Rushing Penalty |
12 7 4 |
| 0% (0 of 0) | THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY | 0% (0 of 1) |
| 0% (0 of 0) | FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY | 0% (0 of 0) |
| 346 | TOTAL NET YARDS | 314 |
| 66 5.2 |
Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play |
56 5.6 |
| 163 | NET YARDS PASSING | 186 |
| 15-29 5.6 0 for 0 1 |
Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked:Number-Yards Had intercepted |
19-34 5.5 6 for 42 2 |
| 183 | NET YARDS RUSHING | 128 |
| 37 4.9 |
Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush |
22 5.8 |
| 11 for 369 | PUNTS: Number-Yards | 9 for 320 |
| 33.5 | Average | 35.6 |
| 74 | TOTAL RETURN YARDS | 126 |
| 9 for 73 2 for 1 2 for 0 |
Punt Returns:No-Yards Kickof Returns:No-Yards Int. Returns:No-Yards |
12 for 100 3 for 26 1 for 0 |
| 11 for 82 | PENALTIES: Number-Yards | 9 for 80 |
| 2-0 | FUMBLES: Number-Lost | 5-4 |
| 30:10 | TIME OF POSSESSION | 28:42 |
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| 85 | Victor Marshall | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 9 | Sam Carino | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 14 | Alex Babalos | – | – | – | 1-0 | |||||||
| 17 | J. Carpenter | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | 1 | – | – | |||
| 18 | Ian Finlayson | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 20 | Chris Mark | 4 | 0 | 4 | – | – | 1 | – | 1-0 | 1 | ||
| 22 | Kareem Ba | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | Jeff Effah | – | – | 1-0 | – | |||||||
| 2 | Levar Hayden | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | Mark Bailey | 5 | 3 | 8 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | Devin Kavanagh | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0-5 | 0-5 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 45 | Nathan Kanya | 7 | 4 | 11 | 2-8 | 4-14 | – | – | ||||
| 50 | Serge Kaminsky | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1-13 | 1-14 | – | – | ||||
| 55 | Brett Knull | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0-6 | 0-6 | 1-0 | – | ||||
| 58 | Thomas Harris | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 86 | Perry Harder | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 91 | Connor Flynn | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 96 | Josh Williams | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1-10 | 1-11 | – | – | ||||
| 98 | James Haddad | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 99 | Martin Park | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| TM | TEAM | – | – | 1-0 | – | |||||||
| TOTALS | 43 | 24 | 67 | 6-42 | 6-50 | 2 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 2 | |||
| 19 | Braeden George | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 18 | Travis Gorski | – | – | 0-11 | – | |||||||
| 10 | K. Macdougall | 5 | 1 | 6 | – | 1-4 | 1 | – | – | |||
| 17 | Cody Halseth | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | 1-1 | – | – | 1 | |||
| 5 | Luke Thiel | – | – | – | 1-0 | |||||||
| 22 | Seamus Neary | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 1-1 | – | – | ||||
| 24 | Mitch Friesen | 4 | 1 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 26 | Nico Higgs | 4 | 1 | 5 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 27 | Bryce McCall | 5 | 3 | 8 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 29 | Brodie Rothe | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 32 | D. Kolodzinski | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 35 | Charlie Power | 1 | 2 | 3 | – | 0-1 | – | – | ||||
| 37 | Tony Michalchuk | 2 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 44 | Zach Hart | 7 | 1 | 8 | – | 2-3 | – | – | ||||
| 51 | Vaughn Rice | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 56 | David Rybinski | 1 | 0 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||||
| 71 | Levi Steinhauer | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 2-4 | – | – | ||||
| 77 | Joel Seutter | 3 | 3 | 6 | – | 0-0 | – | – | ||||
| TOTALS | 44 | 16 | 60 | 0-0 | 7-14 | 1 | 0-11 | 1-0 | 1 |
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