The UBC Thunderbirds (1-4) travel to Saskatoon this week to battle the No. 7-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies (3-1) in the Shaw TV Game of the Week. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST at Griffiths Stadium on Friday October, 9.

The T-Birds are looking to reverse the results from last year's meetings between these two schools. UBC and Saskatchewan met twice in the second half of last season with Saskatchewan winning both by scores of 37-3 and 28-3.

A Look at the Thunderbirds

The UBC offence has had flashes of success over the last two games as QB Billy Greene has thrown for 607 yards and five scores, however, their once powerful running game has mostly disappeared with just 163 yards over that same time span. Greene, the T-Birds second-year starter out of Holy Cross (Surrey), now ranks fourth in the conference in passing yards with 204 per game and is second overall with six passing touchdowns. Jordan Grieve, who caught nine passes for 127 yards and one TD against Calgary last week, is now eighth in the conference with 59 receiving yards per game. Spencer Betts, Greene's teammate at Holy Cross, leads all UBC receivers with three TD receptions, which has him tied for the CW lead, while first-year Brent Borthistle has emerged as a consistent inside receiver with 11 catches over his last four games. UBC running back Dave Boyd still ranks third in the conference with 101.8 yards per game despite being stymied last week by the Dinos top rated rushing defence. The third-year back had just 38 yards on 10 carries, his lowest totals in both categories this season.

On defence, the T-Birds have been one of the best teams in the conference at stopping the pass, however, they have also struggled the most at stopping the run. The loss of their top five defensive lineman from 2008 has caught up with the T-Birds and they are allowing a Canada West worst 234 yards on the ground per game, punctuated last week by the Dinos' 378 rushing yards. Their pass defence, however, ranks second in the league - they allow just 183.8 yards passing per game - as their secondary features a slew of talented playmakers. Sam Carino and Chris Mark have offered solid coverage all year at the corners and the duo has combined for three blocked field goals this season. Second-year safety Alex Babalos continued his breakout season with a 13.5-tackle performance against the Dinos and he now leads the CW in tackles (37.5), solo tackles (32), and tackles per game (7.5). First-year linebacker Andy Algar is another name to watch for and he has 22.5 tackles in four games since getting on the field following an injury to standout Nathan Kanya.

A Look at the Huskies

The no. 7 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies have made the most of their opportunities this season as their three wins have come all by one point (or less). Their lone regulation victory came over the Regina Rams 10-9 as they escaped thanks to a touchdown in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter. Their other two victories have come in overtime with both victories thanks in large part to costly mistakes by the Dinos and the Clan. How they earned those wins, however, doesn't matter since the perennial powers have found ways to come out on top. Their passing game has been as strong as ever behind standout Laurence Nixon who ranks second in the league with 260.5 passing yards per game. Nixon, however, has thrown five interceptions and just two touchdowns which has limited the Huskies offensive rewards. Their running game is also virtually non-existent and they rank last in the league with just 61.8 yards per game gained on the ground which is more than 40 yards behind second-last Regina. Tyler O'Gorman is their leading rusher with 159 yards but he has appeared in just three games this season.

The Huskies rank in the middle of the road in total defence, allowing 386.2 yards per game. They have been effective at stopping the run this season and are allowing their opponents just 142 yards per game, which ranks second in the conference. Their secondary is a bit more vulnerable - allowing 244.1 yards per game - however, they have conceded a league low one passing touchdown. Bryce McCall ranks second in the league with three picks through four games, while senior linebacker Taylor Wallace ranks second behind Babalos in tackles per game (7.1) and has 28.5 total tackles through the Huskies four games. Keenan MacDougall and Peter Thiel also rank in the top 10 in tackles per game with 5.5 and 5.4 per contest.