Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not?
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The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team will be looking to dig themselves out of what’s been a tough start to their 2024 season.
The Huskies are 0-2 to start the year after losing to Manitoba 37-24 in Week 1 and 33-28 to their rivals the Regina Rams in Week 2.
Now coming home for their homecoming game against the University of Calgary Dinos, the Huskies know this is a game they almost have to win to keep pace in the Canada West standings.
But head coach Scott Flory isn’t worried about his group and knows they will be ready come game day.
“Coming in, we knew it was going to be a tougher start to the season just given on the road, but those (games) we didn’t perform to our abilities in the first two games, but our guys haven’t wavered,” he explained.
“They’re working hard and we’ve got a lot of young guys, especially on the defensive side and they’re getting better with every snap. We’re just focused on playing Friday night and just playing our best ball of the year.”
In the Huskies’ slump to the start of the year, they’ve allowed the most points and are tied for the second-fewest points scored in Canada West.
Flory wants his team to focus on themselves and not on what happened the previous day.
“It just comes down to being in the moment,” he said. “It’s 0-0, the scoreboard doesn’t exist – when we’re in the first quarter we’ve got to focus on that play and that time and starting fast. In both games, it’s like we spotted the other team’s 21 points right off the start. We’re working on focusing starting that first quarter.”
Flory added there’s a lot of season left to go. They’ll continue to work with their young guys as they reload.
“We’ve got some new guys and young guys and that’s what happens in college football. We don’t rebuild, we just reload,” he explained. “Those guys are getting better each and every play. We’ve doubled our defensive starts in two games. That becomes a focus and I think when you’re confident and know what you’re doing you just play faster and that comes with experience sometimes. Sometimes you’ve got to take those lumps to be able to build and grow.”
On the other side of the football, the Dinos are coming off a stunning 36-22 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears — who are one of the favourites to win Canada West this season. They’re 1-1 to start the season and their only loss came against the Rams in Week 1.
Kickoff for tonight’s game is 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.
