LIVESTREAM – BUCS Title Game: University of West England Bullets vs Nottingham University Gold, March 21, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 7 pm GMT, 3 pm EDT)

By Brad Duff

On Tuesday, the two top teams of the highest level of university football in the UK will clash at Nottingham’s David Ross Sports Village.

The undefeated University of West England Bullets will face the 9-1 Nottingham University Gold in a repeat of last year’s final which ended 28-21 in the favor of UWE.

UWE will be playing to retain their title as the top collegiate side in the UK, while Nottingham will be on the hunt for their first national title.

This championship game is by far the biggest event in the British American football scene, with last year’s final amassing over 26 thousand views and being labelled immediately as the best game British University football has seen.

The UWE Bullets are coming off a historic season including a record-breaking 106-0 win over the UEA Pirates, the most points ever scored in a BUCS fixture.

Although undefeated since pre-COVID, the Bullets came close to having their winning streak snapped last weekend against a star-studded Leeds Beckett side; UWE were down 24-8 before tying the game in the fourth quarter and taking the lead with a deep touchdown from quarterback Hamish McClure to Dante Sparaco as time expired.

The ex-Nevada quarterback has been lights-out all season, leading his team to average almost 70 points per game, thanks to an offense consisting of ex Division 1 NCAA receivers such as Colorado’s Dante Sparaco and Syracuse’s Ethan Fischler.

University of West England Bullets vs Nottingham University Gold, March 21, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 7 pm GMT, 3 pm EDT)

Conceding points in only three games this year, the UWE defense is also a force to be reckoned with. A dominant front-seven including several Team GB standouts such as Max Parkinson and SGS PRIDE graduate George Rimes will be no easy task for the Nottingham offensive line.

This year’s Nottingham side are also no joke, going 7-1 in the regular season, falling only to Leeds Beckett in one of two matchups between the teams.

Nottingham is coming off a dominant 28-6 victory against UWE’s local rivals, the SGS PRIDE. Nottingham’s interior defense stood out as a huge reason for their success, holding the Louis Benzey led SGS offence to just one score, and containing the PRIDE backfield for the majority of the game, a feat only achieved by UWE in the first of their two games in the regular season.

Nottingham’s quarterback Robby Rowell, formerly of the California Golden Bears, has been key to the Gold’s success, helping the offence put up 44 points per game.

University of West England Bullets vs Nottingham University Gold, March 21, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 7 pm GMT, 3 pm EDT)