#8 Manitoba Bisons embarks on first road trip when they play at the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday, September 14 with a 4 p.m. CT kickoff.
Manitoba and UBC both at 1-1 and tied for third in Canada West standings at start of 2013.
The Manitoba Bisons eam leaves the friendly confines of their new stadium – Investors Group Field – on the U of Manitoba Fort Garry campus and embarks on the first road trip of the 2013 Canada West season. They will play at the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday, September 14 at 4 p.m. CT held at Thunderbird Stadium.
The Bisons opened the new season with a 65-41 home win over Alberta in front of a boisterous crowd on August 30 and then in week two, lost a heartbreaker at home by a 36-34 result to then #8 Saskatchewan Huskies on September 7. UBC lost in week one at home to defending Canada West champion Calgary Dinos by a 41-31 score but bounced back with a 39-36 (OT) thriller on the road at the Alberta Golden Bears after rallying from a 27 point deficit.
In the 2013 Canada West football standings, five-time and defending Canada West champion and now #5 ranked in latest CIS poll Calgary and now #6 ranked Saskatchewan lead with perfect 2-0 records and then Manitoba and UBC are tied for third with 1-1 and Alberta and Regina are tied for fifth at 0-2 heading into week three action.
Last season, Manitoba won the conference regular season series against UBC (Manitoba won 31-24 at UBC on Sept. 1/12; Bisons won 37-31 at home on Oct. 20/12) and overall during Brian Dobie’s 17 year tenure has produced a 15-11 conference regular season overall record versus the T-Birds and on the road are 9-5 in the regular season.
This will be the first of two meetings this season between the two teams as they meet again at Manitoba on Saturday, October 5 with a 1 p.m. CT kickoff.
In early 2013 conference regular season stats, Manitoba is first in scoring offence (49.5 points per game) while UBC is fifth (35.0). On scoring defence, both the T-Birds and Bisons are tied for fourth (38.5). On total offence, Manitoba was first (583.0 yards per game) while the Thunderbirds are third (509.5). On total defence, UBC is fourth (500.5 yards per game) and Manitoba is fifth (551.0).
Bison Football Notes: Kickoff will occur at 4 p.m. CT and can be seen live on webcast at canadwest.tv
Key Stats – Bison FTB History vs. UBC last 17 seasons
(Regular season: Bisons 15-11; Bisons at home vs. UBC: 6-6; Bisons on the road vs. UBC: 9-5)September 14, 2013
Manitoba vs. UBC TBD at UBC
October 20, 2012
Manitoba 37 UBC 31 at Manitoba
September 1, 2012
Manitoba 31 UBC 24 at UBC
September 24, 2011
* Manitoba 1 UBC 0 at UBC
(*UBC forfeits win due to ineligible player)
– The original score was UBC 29-23
October 30, 2010
Manitoba 35 UBC 25 at Manitoba
September 18, 2010
Manitoba 40 UBC 17 at UBC
October 23, 2009
Manitoba 25 UBC 17 at UBC
September 19, 2009
*UBC 1 Manitoba 0 at Manitoba
(*Manitoba forfeits win due to ineligible player)
– The original score was Manitoba 36-10
September 13, 2008
UBC 28 Manitoba 0 at Manitoba
October 13, 2007
Manitoba 26 UBC 14 at Manitoba
September 8, 2007
Manitoba 21 UBC 12 at UBC
October 27, 2006
Manitoba 43 UBC 20 at UBC
September 16, 2005
Manitoba 35 UBC 6 at UBC
October 15, 2004
UBC 41 Manitoba 22 at UBC
September 4, 2004
UBC 18 Manitoba 11 at Manitoba
October 25, 2003
Manitoba 25 UBC 23 at Manitoba
September 14, 2002
Manitoba 29 UBC 13 at Manitoba
September 28, 2001
Manitoba 23 UBC 0 at UBC
October 13, 2000
Manitoba 33 UBC 23 at UBC
September 2, 2000
Manitoba 35 UBC 27 at Manitoba
October 8, 1999
UBC 30 Manitoba 12 at UBC
October 23, 1998
UBC 53 Manitoba 14 at UBC
September 19, 1998
UBC 33 Manitoba 15 at Manitoba
October 31, 1997
UBC 27 Manitoba 6 at UBC
September 27, 1997
UBC 32 Manitoba 0 at Manitoba
November 2, 1996
UBC 24 Manitoba 20 at Manitoba
September 28, 1996
UBC 17 Manitoba 14 at UBC
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Via UBC Sports Info
Vancouver, BC – When the UBC Thunderbirds (1-1) and the #8 Manitoba Bisons (1-1) square off Saturday afternoon at David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium prepare not to blink as two of the conference’s top offensive teams go head to head. The tailgate party starts at 1:00 pm and kickoff is 2:00 pm.
UBC is averaging 509.5 yards offence/game and a conference best 305 yards/game on the ground, while the Bisons are tops in the conference with 583 yards of total offence/game and second in rushing with 267.5 yards/game.
So it might be safe to say, whichever defence comes up big on Saturday will be the team that wins the game.
“It seems this year defence has struggled across the league,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “When teams have to face the likes of Brandon Deschamps and Anthony Coombs (Manitoba) on a regular basis its understandable. However, I think the big wild card come Saturday will be special teams. Make a difference there and it could be the difference between winning and losing.”
The Thunderbirds benefited from timely special teams plays last week in a 39-36 overtime win over Alberta. They successfully executed a fake punt and an onside kick, not to mention hitting a couple of clutch field goals with the game on the line. Manitoba is no slouch either. They boast the best punter in the conference and have two of the best returners in the country in Coombs and Nic Demski who returned a punt 96 yards for a touchdown in last year’s first meeting of the season against UBC.
“We want to keep the ball out of their hands (Coombs and Demski), whether it be kicking the ball out of bounds or to somebody else,” said Olson. “The other key will be to tackle effectively. We need to get as many heads on the football as possible because these guys have too much talent for just one player to bring them down.”
Saturday will also be a showdown between Coombs and Deschamps. A third year running back from Prince George, Deschamps was named the Canada West Offensive Player of the Week after racking up 212 yards on the ground and two touchdowns versus Alberta last weekend. Coombs meanwhile has big play potential. He is averaging 11.8 yards per carry and 25.7 yards per reception.
“Coombs is a special player and thrives in open space,” said Olson. “He has the Barry Sanders mentality, where he could easily have three or four negative plays and then all of sudden will break a big one. We have to frustrate him and limit his explosive plays.”
The best way to do that is to not allow the Bisons offence to get hte ball in their hands. The ‘Birds need to do a better job of taking care of the football. They have seven interceptions and one fumble through two games of the season. According to Olson, that is six interceptions too many as far as he is concerned. However, the improved play of quarterback Carson Williams in the second half against Alberta, where he led a game tying drive with time running out will hopefully give the pivot confidence heading into homecoming weekend in which a soldout crowd is expected.
“Homecoming is the signature event of the season and anytime an athlete gets to play in front of a large crowd, it adds to the excitement of the event,” said Olson. “We hope this game brings everybody together from all across the university and is the galvanizing point for which UBC students can come celebrate their fellow students and feel apart of the Thunderbird community.”
Photo credit: Rich Lam
Source: UBC Thunderbirds Sports Information
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