VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (2-5) host the Manitoba Bisons (3-3) this Friday in their final game of the season and will honour their seniors playing in their last home game. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live on CiTR's webcast.

A Look at the Thunderbirds

UBC comes into their final game of the season looking to snap a five-game losing streak. They have been outscored 124-34 in their last three contests and have just their regular season finale to end the season on a high note.

The T-Birds rank seventh in the conference in both scoring offence (13.3 points per game) and scoring defence (34 points allowed per game) and they are allowing 413.3 yards per game. Their pass defence continues to be among the best of the conference as they are just one of two schools holding opponents to under 200 yards passing per game (195.1), however, they are the only school allowing more yards on the ground than through the air (218.1 rushing yards allowed per game). Saftey Alex Babalos still leads the Canada West with 49.5 tackles and 7.1 tackles per game and rookie linebacker Andy Algar ranks fifth in the league with 34 tackles and 5.7 tackles per game.

Offensively the T-Birds have struggled scoring the last two games with just eight points. Against the Clan last weekend, however, despite their scoring woes, the T-Birds moved the ball relatively well. Errors at key times held them back from converting their success moving the ball into points. UBC rushed for 141 yards against the Clan and running back Dave Boyd still ranks second in the league with 101.1 yards rushing per game. QB Billy Greene ranks fourth in the league with 183.6 passing yards per game and has attempted the second most passes in the league with 202 through seven games.

A Look at the Bisons

The Bisons have lost their last two games to drop to 3-3 on the season but are still in the think of the Canada West playoff race. Since beating UBC 36-10 and Alberta 20-13, the Bisons dropped a 35-24 decision to Calgary and a 31-11 game to Saskatchewan. Much like the Thunderbirds, Manitoba ranks near the bottom of the conference in scoring offence (18) and scoring defence (26.3 allowed) which ranks them sixth in both categories. Their passing offence has been the worst in the league, averaging just 152.7 yards per game through the air. Their offence has been propped up by their running attack which ranks third in the league at 159.1 yards per game behind Matt Henry's 73.7 yards per game. Jeremy Botelho ranks fourth in the league in all purpose yards with 124.7 per game as he ranks among the league leaders in punt and kick return yards and has been a solid receiver for the Bisons.

Eddie Steele leads the defence and has 25.5 tackles through five games and ranks 10th in the league with 5.1 tackles per game. Defensive lineman Everton Black is third in the league with five sacks and has a team high 30 tackles. Manitoba ranks fourth in the league in total defence (401.8 yards allowed per game), however, they are last in red zone defence having not held opponents pointless in 15 possessions (eight TDs, seven field goals allowed).

Fan Appreciation Night

The final home game of the 2009 season is also Fan Appreciation night. Come out and celebrate the seasons with tons of free giveaways as thanks for your dedicated support all season long.