Huskies focus to sit atop logjam
Final games of season will settle playoff picture in tightly packed conference
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies will place first in the Canada West football standings if things break their way on Saturday.
They’ll finish fourth if things don’t.
Such is the nature of this year’s title chase that a tightly packed conference is down to one final weekend, and a wide range of scenarios.
Scott Flory, the Huskies’ head coach, hasn’t spent much time dwelling on the possibilities.
“Obviously, there’s implications,” he says. “We don’t control the other stuff.
“At the end of it, we’ve got to take care of our business here, at home, and be at our best for three hours on Saturday afternoon.”
The 4-3 Huskies play the 4-3 Alberta Golden Bears Saturday (2 p.m.) at Griffiths Stadium. The Manitoba Bisons are also 4-3, while front-running Calgary is 5-2. Those four teams will make the playoffs. The question is how they line up when they march into that post-season.
Saskatchewan will place first if they beat Alberta and Calgary loses to British Columbia. The latter squad improved to 2-5 this past weekend when they dumped the Huskies 38-37.
If Calgary and Saskatchewan both win, the Huskies will clinch second. If Saskatchewan loses, they’ll hit the road for playoffs.
“We’re focused on taking care of our business, and we’re focused on winning the football game on Saturday,” says Flory, who has talked all season about the importance of process and laser focus. “All the other stuff ... we don’t control other teams. We don’t control any of that.”
Last weekend was a strange one for Canada West. The top three teams — Calgary, Saskatchewan and Alberta — lost to the bottom three. Manitoba dumped Calgary 43-29, and Regina got past Alberta 31-17.
The Huskies’ chance to make a bold move ended with that onepoint loss in B.C.
So now the regular season comes down to three final games, starting Friday, when Manitoba tries to push further up the standings with a game against host Regina.
On Saturday, Calgary hosts UBC one hour after the Huskies and Golden Bears kick off. Three hours after that, the playoff picture will — finally — become nice and clear.
Campus notes: Five Huskies soccer players earned conference honours on Thursday. Nikolas Baikas and Jacob Powell earned men’s first team all-star berths, while Kuhle Bekwayo was named to the all-rookie team. On the women’s side, Maya Gabruch was a first-team all-star while Halle Krynowsky cracked the all-rookie squad.