Bowled over by bowl game memories

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This article was published 01/07/2025 (274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first Stampede Bowl takes place Thursday night in Calgary, but for many of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it won’t be their first rodeo.

With the Calgary Stampede starting Friday, the Stampeders (2-1) have decided to get in on the action by hosting this new event to kick off the city’s famous summer festival.

Most members of the Bombers (3-0) are no strangers to playing in bowl games as they likely experienced at least one before reaching the professional level.

To set the mood for Thursday’s clash at McMahon Stadium (8 p.m. CT), the Free Press spent Tuesday afternoon going around the Bombers locker room asking players about their favourite bowl game experience (outside of the Banjo Bowl, of course).

QB Chris Streveler

Chris Streveler’s most memorable one had nothing to do with the actual game itself.

It was in 2014 when he was a backup with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and they took on Missouri in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl in Orlando. The players got a $600 per diem — which, before the NIL days, was a big deal — a $500 Best Buy gift card, and the team got to visit Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios.

Not a bad week of school.

The following year, however, wasn’t quite as fun when Streveler and Minnesota travelled to Detroit to play Central Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field.

“It was the day after Christmas, so, we spent Christmas in Detroit. And you know, when you go from Orlando one year with Universal Studios to Detroit, and it’s like ‘Let’s go see the Ford Museum,’ it doesn’t quite hit the same,” said Streveler with a laugh.

C Chris Kolankowski

Chris Kolankowski didn’t exactly attend a powerhouse program.

In his five years at York University, the Lions went a dismal 7-33. They did, however, always have the Red and Blue Bowl to play for, though, as every season, they’d square off with the University of Toronto in a rivalry game.

“There would be like 200 people in the crowd, you could hear parents be like ‘Go Christopher!’ It was bad. We both sucked.”– Bombers centre Chris Kolankowski

Good memories? Not so much.

“Two out of the five I had season-ending injuries. U of T’s field always got me. Broken leg, popped ankle,” said Kolankowski.

“There would be like 200 people in the crowd, you could hear parents be like ‘Go Christopher!’ It was bad. We both sucked.”

LB Tony Jones

It was the game that punched his school’s ticket to the 2017 Birmingham Bowl that really sticks out to Tony Jones.

Jones and the Texas Tech Red Raiders had to go into enemy territory and knock off the Texas Longhorns in front of a sold-out crowd of 100,000-plus and they did just that with a 27-23 comeback victory.

They went on to lose in Birmingham to the South Florida Bulls — who featured his current teammate, cornerback Deatrick Nichols — 38-34.

“Coming out of the tunnel and seeing 100,000 and actually hearing 100,000 is a feeling that you can never forget. You feel it through your entire body.”– Bombers linebacker Tony Jones

“I made a big stop on a third and three (against Texas). They tried to run the ball, and I got a tackle for a loss. They had to punt the ball and then we went down and scored in the last minute and a half, so I was pretty fired up about that,” said Jones.

“Coming out of the tunnel and seeing 100,000 and actually hearing 100,000 is a feeling that you can never forget. You feel it through your entire body.”

WR Dalton Schoen

The Sunflower Showdown is an annual meeting between two longtime foes: the Kansas State Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks.

During Dalton Schoen’s five years at K-State, they were a perfect 5-0 against their state rival.

“I remember my junior year, we were actually playing a horrible game, we were really struggling. I had an out and up (route) and I got collisioned on the sideline and our quarterback still threw it and gave me a chance,” recalled Schoen.

“I kind of threw my hands out there and snagged it and then I think we ran it in the next play and turned the tide of the game. So, yeah, that one kind of sticks out and it was at home, too, so those are probably always a little more fun.”

RT Kendall Randolph

As someone who won a national championship with the Alabama Crimson Tide, it’s safe to say Kendall Randolph knows a thing or two about bowl games.

The one that brings up the fondest memories for him is the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn. It’s a storied rivalry that goes back to 1893 and the two sides have met every year since 1948.

Randolph will always remember 2021 when he and Bama prevailed on the road 24-22 in overtime after quarterback Bryce Young — who was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2023 NFL Draft — led a 97-yard touchdown drive to tie the score at the end of regulation.

“Growing up living in Alabama, it was kind of like you had to choose which school was your favourite, and you would side with that team for basically the remainder of your childhood, or, life,” said Randolph.

“I loved going to play at Auburn. Going into someone else’s stadium and dominating on someone else’s field is always a great feeling.”

DE Willie Jefferson

When Willie Jefferson suited up at Stephen F. Austin (SFA), the Battle of the Piney Woods was a game that was always circled on the calendar.

SFA and Sam Houston used to have a tradition where they played for a 21-pound solid cedar trophy at NRG Stadium in Houston near the halfway point of the season in a game that meant a great deal to the football community in Texas.

“It was bigger than homecoming. It was a destination game, it was kind of a central location for Stephen F. Austin fans and Sam Houston fans.”– Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson

“It was bigger than homecoming,” said Jefferson. “It was a destination game, it was kind of a central location for Stephen F. Austin fans and Sam Houston fans.”

While Jefferson never won the battle, it’s still an experience he cherishes today.

“I think I have a picture on my Instagram. I made a big play, and it was my first year at Stephen F. Austin,” said Jefferson.

“The quarterback did a QB read and one of the receivers tried to block me, like try to cut me, and I jumped over him and made the tackle.

“That was one of the games to figure out who was gonna be at the top of the conference.”

LB Shayne Gauthier

Shayne Gauthier and Laval smacked Acadia 42-7 in the 2012 Uteck Bowl — the U Sports semifinal — en route to hoisting the Vanier Cup. The following year, they’d win big in the Uteck Bowl again, this time a 48-21 result over Mount Allison, before repeating as national champs.

“We won both (Uteck Bowls) by quite a bit. It wasn’t a tight game or anything, so, that’s why they’re not really games I remember,” admitted Gauthier.

He believes it’ll be a different story in Calgary.

“I mean, that would be great,” said Gauthier on the idea of blowing out the Stamps.

“But I think it’s going to be harder than that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca