Bisons Dominate Alberta for First Win

It came at an absolutely perfect time as a big fat band-aid to cover a gaping and potentially festering wound.

And so, while there were still some flaws that definitely need fixing, the University of Manitoba Bisons fully recognize what Friday night’s 42-12 thumping of the Alberta Golden Bears represents:

Relief.

“I’m honest. I’m an emotional person and I’m truthful about my emotions… I’ll use the ‘relief’ word, for sure,” said Bisons head coach Brian Dobie not long after his squad improved to 1-2 in Canada West.

“But as I said to our players in there: they dominated. And it was somewhat of a coming-out party, I think. They dominated. They physically dominated. We out-ran them, we out-hit them, we out-executed them.”

“We dominated. That’s not a comment on the University of Alberta, that’s a comment on the University of Manitoba. It’s the way our guys played the game tonight.”

Coach Dobie

The opening few minutes, however, gave no indication of the mauling that was to follow. The Bisons were down 10-zip before the game was five minutes old as Brent Arthur’s 25-yard field goal was followed by a 45-yard fumble recovery by the Bears’ Griffin Dear to put the visitors ahead and silencing the 1,438 at Investors Group Field.

“It’s tough to come back from something like that, but it was early in the game,” said Bisons receiver Riley Harrison, who finished with six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. “We all have that keep-your-head-up, next-play mentality. We know we have a powerful offence that can put the ball in the end zone, so it was just a matter of time before one of us went off.”

The Bisons would crank out 559 yards on offence, including 203 along the ground and 388 through the air. Manitoba quarterback Theo Deezar was spectacular, completing 21 of 27 passes for 345 yards with four touchdowns against zero interceptions, while also rushing three times for another 21 yards.

Two Bisons receivers – Harrison and Shai Ross (five receptions for 104 yards and two scores) – both eclipsed the century mark as Manitoba rolled up and down the field with the precision of a Roman legion.

“I never thought the offence wasn’t rolling,” said Deezar of the club’s 0-2 start. “We had 457 (yards) passing last game and a big game tonight as well. I was more efficient, that was the best part of the game. I’m happy I only had six incompletions.

“Is the offence rolling? We’re good. But is it enough to carry us to a Vanier (Cup)? It’s a team sport, so all pieces have to come together.”

Theo Deezar

The Bisons ran 64 offensive plays to get to their 559 total. But, in a testament to their defence, Alberta ran 60 offensive plays but only for 251 yards. Manitoba’s defence picked off three passes, while the penalty total – 10 for 86 – was dramatically lower than through the first two weeks.

Critical in the win was how Manitoba converted on all three of its trips to the red zone, especially after the work by the defence. Most important, especially with the Saskatchewan Huskies here next week for the homecoming game – 1 p.m. next Saturday – is simply the result.

“It was relief to see us rolling,” said Dobie. “Once we got rolling it was kind of put the foot on the accelerator. It was important for us to continue to play at a high speed and not let up. We needed to convince ourselves that we could go out and win games. We’ve had two tough losses and tonight our guys know we can win football games.”