‘Just keeping things simple and not overthinking it’

The Manitoba Bisons are in the middle of the chase for a Canada West playoff spot, but might be without their quarterback for the second week in a row.

Jackson Tachinski’s status is up in the air for Saturday’s home contest against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at Princess Auto Stadium (12 p.m.).

Tachinski, who did not return to the field after halftime of the Bisons’ Sept. 20 game against the Alberta Golden Bears, missed last week against the Regina Rams.

The star fifth-year pivot practised this week, but head coach Stan Pierre could not say how confident he is that Tachinski will start.

If he can’t go, it will once again be first-year signal-caller Cole Anseeuw, who made his first career U Sports start last week. Anseeuw completed 13-of-20 passes for 119 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 30-8 loss to Regina, while also doing some damage with his legs, logging 42 yards on seven carries.

“I was definitely nervous going into the game,” said Anseeuw. “I guess I kind of settled in a little bit, but still kind of on edge. I don’t know. I didn’t feel, I guess, fully comfortable throughout the game just because we weren’t really getting into a rhythm. I kind of had some struggles on offence but, I mean, only going to learn from it and improve from there, so can’t really ask for much more.”

Anseeuw played well the week before in two quarters of action — going 7-for-9 for 102 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions — but he conceded that was under easier circumstances, as he assumed a 24-1 lead.

Last week, the young quarterback went on the road and attempted to lead a team that finds itself right in the thick of the race for one of four playoff spots.

“Against a really good team,” Pierre added. “I think he started out okay. I think he lost his confidence during the game. He saw a couple of things that he wasn’t sure about, and that kind of lingered the rest of the game for him, not all that surprising for somebody in their first U Sports start.”

Anseeuw was disappointed with the way he played in his first start, but with six quarters now under his belt, he’s confident the game will begin to slow down.

“I think it’s just a lot more learning and kind of getting comfortable with the guys and all the plays, and just being decisive and getting the ball out of my hands and into the hands of the receivers who will make some plays for us,” he said.

That group of playmakers is led by receiver Nathan Udoh, who is sixth in Canada West in receptions (25) and yards (326). The Bisons have maintained a solid rushing attack as well, averaging a conference-best 196.8 yards per outing, while running back Breydon Stubbs is third among all backs, averaging 80.6 yards per game.

“I think it’s just keeping things simple,” said Anseeuw. “It’s just one game of football, and throughout the week of practice, we’re preparing for them. It’s like any other game, like even pre-season exhibition games, we’re doing the exact same things that we’re doing in-season, so I think it’s just keeping things simple and not overthinking it because once I get into my head and start second guessing myself, that’s when I start to become hesitant in the plays, which I kind of felt like it was like against Regina.”

It’s also up to offensive co-ordinator Blair Atkinson, who is tasked with building a game that is tailored to Anseeuw’s skillset.

“It’s definitely a balancing act,” Pierre said. “I mean, you’re balancing a team that has been designed to play within Jackson’s strengths and kind of moulding that to fit some of Cole’s strengths as well. You can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, and Cole’s been here the whole year, so it’s not like he doesn’t know the plays; that’s not an issue. It’s just a matter of experience.”

At 2-3, the Bisons are tied with Calgary and UBC for the third and fourth playoff spots, but are on the outside looking in due to tiebreakers. The Bisons would need to beat the Thunderbirds by 13 or more to capture that tiebreaker, and they will need to beat the Dinos by two or more at home next week.

The entire conference remains wide open, as Regina and Saskatchewan are still catchable at 4-1.

“There’s no time to wallow. I’d be lying if I said I was really pleased with the way the kids played on the weekend. I thought we were a bit flat, and we didn’t respond very well. I think there was times in the beginning of the football game where we really could have established ourselves, and we were doing a lot of good things, but nothing was happening,” he said.

Manitoba has been in low-scoring affairs all season, as the offence is averaging a conference-worst 17.2 points per game while the defence is allowing a conference-best 18.6 points per contest. Pierre believes his team is falling short of the mark collectively, however, and that it can find another gear in the second half of the season.

“We just need to get over that hump, man, we’re kind of flat right now, where we’re in periods where we do a lot of good things, but then we’ll get a penalty or we’ll turn the ball over,” he said. “We need to be more consistent. I mean, I’ve said this a lot during this year, it feels like, but we just need to find some more consistency.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam