The University of Saskatchewan Huskies used a dominant second half to knock off the University of Manitoba Bisons by a score of 44–24.

The Huskies entered the game as the 10th ranked team in the country, but played far better than their ranking would indicate as they dominated the sixth ranked Bisons in front of 8,121 spectators.

Quarterback Drew Burko was impressive in the season opener as he completed 25 of 41 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns. His favourite target on the evening was Mitch Hillis, who hauled in eight catches for 55 yards.

Mitch’s older brother Kit recorded 52 yards receiving and a touchdown. John Trumpy, Andre LaLonde, Brydon Ozmun and Jarvis James also scored touchdowns for the Dogs.

Shane Buchanan paved the way along the ground with 94 yards rushing on 13 carries. Rookie running back Tyler Chow had 50 rushing yards, including a lengthy 22-yard scamper.

Safety Mark Ingram was named Canada West defensive player of the week after his performance against Manitoba. Ingram had five total tackles and two key interceptions that set the tone on defence. Keegan Arnyek also had an interception while Adam Morrison and Timi Agbaje both tallied sacks.

On the night of the annual toga run, the teams made the many sheet-clad students wait anxiously as the Huskies and Bisons combined for 22 first half penalties. An average football game takes around three hours to play out and the first half of the contest took just over two hours to complete.

The lengthy first half was a back and forth affair that saw the teams trade points all the way up until the halftime whistle.

Kit Hillis scored a major with just 18 seconds left in the second quarter to cut into the Bisons lead, making the score 24–21 at the half. The wily veteran coach Brian Towriss made some key halftime adjustmemts that allowed the Dogs to dictate the second half.

Kicker Denton Kolodzinksi connected on second half field goals of 34, 32 and 23 yards to finish 3 of 4 for the game, missing from 44 yards out in the second quarter. Kolodzinski also handled the punting duties and had 10 kicks for an average of 41.7 yards.

Running back Jarvis James scored the eventual game winner on a six-yard run with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, giving the Huskies a 31–24 lead. Ozmun would tack on the insurance midway through the fourth quarter on a 16-yard pass making the score 41–24 in favour of the home side.

The Huskies used a balanced attack throughout tthe game to keep the Bisons defence guessing. They racked up 419 total yards of offence on what is considered to be a strong, talented defence. 

The green and white were also aided by some superb special teams play. Kick returner Travoy Martinez had two returns for an average of 38 yards to help set up the offence with great field position. Punt returner Keegan Arynek had four returns for an impressive average of nine yards. 

Time of possession is usually a key stat to see who controlled the game and on this night the Dogs were on offence for 34 minutes, compared to just 23 for the Bison. 

Next up the Huskies will travel to Edmonton to take on the winless University of Alberta Golden Bears. Alberta was hammered 71–3 by their provincial rivals the University of Calgary Dinos in week one.

The game will take place on Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m.