2023 Vanier Cup

[Robbie]

I think this topic deserves its own thread. Congratulations to the UBC Thunderbirds for advancing to the 2023 Vanier Cup. I'm sure a few of you are alumni of UBC or have had some association with UBC in one way or another. And as such, you should be proud and have some affinity to your alma mater as an alumni.

I'd say the quarterfinal win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears is nothing from a miracle and should fall in the same category as the BC Lions 1994 WDF final drive in that the Thunderbirds forced a fumble/turnover late in the game to give its offence a chance but they still had a huge uphill climb by having to go 95 yards for a TD and only 52 seconds left. But the Thunderbirds rose to the challenge by led by a huge 63 yards pass and run completion. But then a UBC holding and then offensive pass interference brought the ball back to the Alberta 52 yard line with 31 seconds left. But two more completions and a short run led to 3rd down and 2 at the Alberta 13-yard line with 0 left on the clock and it was do or die for offence. And they did it by a 13-yard TD pass to tie the game. An unsportsmanlike conduct by the Thunderbirds after the TD brought the conversion back for a 27-yard point after, but the kicker made it for a 28-27 win and winning the Hardy Bowl.



One expected that the Thunderbirds would have a hard time against the undefeated St. FX X-Men in the semi-final, but the Thunderbirds rolled for a relatively easy 47-17 win to capture the Mitchell Bowl for a berth in the 2023 Vanier Cup:



Two side issues.

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Late 2016, CIS announced that it would be changing its name to U Sports. As such, perhaps the description for ALL SPORTS can be changed:

Discuss the NHL, NFL, CIS, NCAA, Lacrosse, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Motorsports, Golf, Rugby, Amateur Sport, Curling, Wrestling ... Whatever Sport or Leisure activity you like!

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In this message board, we talk about the Seattle Seahawks sometimes so as such, how about mentioned their local boys in Seattle in that the Washington Huskies football are now 11-0 and the final regular season game will be the Apple Cup against the lowly Washington State Cougars and it's likely the UW will easily win for a purrfect 12-0 season and have already won a Pac-12 championship berth.

[Robbie]

Too bad that the UBC Thunderbirds came just short of their Vanier Cup quest with their 16-9 loss to the University of Montreal Carabins. Better luck next year for UBC.

I guess congrats to the city of Montreal for winning two local football championships - first on the professional level and then on the varsity level.

[Walt67]

Congrats to the T-Birds for reaching the Vanier Cup, but the game was frustrating to watch for a few reasons.

One, in this modern era, U Sport playoff games need video review options that are taken for granted in other leagues. (I realize resources are limited for regular season games, but should be in place for playoffs.)

In back-to-back plays in the first half, UBC lost out due to a serious pass-interference play that was never called (acknowledged by the CBC telecasters), and on the very next play a key long reception was mistakenly called out of bounds, when the replay showed the receiver was in. Playing on the road in front of a hostile crowd, the T-Birds did not get any breaks.

Two, while Rooker is a good passing QB (clearly the best passer in this game), it was strange to see UBC not run the ball in the closing minutes given the drive started with four minutes at mid-field. Instead the Birds passed on every down, even facing a makeable second and five. Even had UBC tied the game, Montreal would have had time to drive for a field goal. (The lack of reliance on the run sadly reminded me of another BC-based team.)

All that said, congrats to Coach Nill and the young men from Point Grey. Well done!

[Walt67]

One more thing as we discuss UBC football - does anyone know what happened to QB O'Connor after last CFL season?

[Robbie]

UW barely won the Apple Cup over WSU 24-21 in a last minute field goal and a gutsy fourth down play in the final Huskies drive. UW now have an undefeated 12-0 season.

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That said, do you miss the Shrum Bowl after it was revived in 2022 when it was cancelled from 2011-2021, only to be cancelled for good after disbandment of the SFU gridiron football program?

[Toppy Vann]

One more thing as we discuss UBC football - does anyone know what happened to QB O'Connor after last CFL season?

Off season, Michael O'Connor was one of many QBs including the Rourkes and Trevor Harris working out with Rob Williams in North Van.


If I had one tip for O'Connor as QB, it'd be to play a just bit faster (not much) if you're not moving out of the pocket which makes you a statue QB and not likely successful in many offences.

You'd have to dig through his feed to get to pre-season.

https://www.instagram.com/qbmotion/?hl=en

Trevor Harris (Virtual - but he was in Vancouver last pre-season):


Nathan Rourke:







https://www.instagram.com/sportcoreperformance/?hl=en

The Canadian biomechanics expert who’s remotely teaching Power 5 QBs how to fine-tune their throws

https://theathletic.com/2599738/2021/05 ... ir-throws/

[Robbie]

In this message board, we talk about the Seattle Seahawks sometimes so as such, how about mentioned their local boys in Seattle in that the Washington Huskies football are now 11-0 and the final regular season game will be the Apple Cup against the lowly Washington State Cougars and it's likely the UW will easily win for a purrfect 12-0 season and have already won a Pac-12 championship berth.

Congratulations to the University of Washington Huskies for winning the Apple Cup first to go 12-0 which turned out to be much harder as the Washington State Cougars gave them a huge battle, and then winning the very last PAC-12 championship over the Oregon Ducks after giving up a 20-3 lead for an eventual come from behind 34-31 win and make their season at a purrfect 13-0. Now that the Pac-12 Conference will essentially be disbanded in 2024 as 10 colleges decided to join other conferences, then this win is even more memorable and special.

Good luck to the UW Huskies in their final Bowl Game - whichever bowl game they will be assigned to.

[Robbie]

In this message board, we talk about the Seattle Seahawks sometimes so as such, how about mentioned their local boys in Seattle in that the Washington Huskies football are now 11-0 and the final regular season game will be the Apple Cup against the lowly Washington State Cougars and it's likely the UW will easily win for a purrfect 12-0 season and have already won a Pac-12 championship berth.

Congratulations to the University of Washington Huskies for winning the Apple Cup first to go 12-0 which turned out to be much harder as the Washington State Cougars gave them a huge battle, and then winning the very last PAC-12 championship over the Oregon Ducks after giving up a 20-3 lead for an eventual come from behind 34-31 win and make their season at a purrfect 13-0. Now that the Pac-12 Conference will essentially be disbanded in 2024 as 10 colleges decided to join other conferences, then this win is even more memorable and special.

Good luck to the UW Huskies in their final Bowl Game - whichever bowl game they will be assigned to.

While Seattle doesn't have much to cheer about for their Seahawks, the city certainly has a lot to cheer about for their college boys. The University of Washington Huskies managed to get a 37-31 win over the Texas Longhorns to win the Sugar Bowl and remain undefeated at 14-0 and now advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship game against Michigan.

Go Dawgs!