THIS GAME: UBC at Alberta, Sat., Oct. 16, 12:00 p.m., Foote Field
EDMONTON, AB - With a 1-4 record, the UBC Thunderbirds have entered must win territory for the rest of their 2010 Canada West regular season campaign. The first stop on this journey is in Edmonton as they take on the Alberta Golden Bears (2-3) on Saturday.
A LOOK AT THE T-BIRDS
The UBC Thunderbirds started slowly in last week's Shrum Bowl but showed they have the ability to compete hard when they staged a near comeback in the fourth quarter of their 27-20 loss to the SFU Clan.
A disgruntled UBC head coach
Shawn Olson said that the biggest problem in the Shrum Bowl was his team's poor mental preparation. Seeming to support Olson's analysis is the fact that the T-Birds have been wildly inconsistent so far this season.
The UBC offence has shown the ability to drive the ball and eat up a ton of yards, but haven't been able to come away with points to show for it. The 'Birds have 2248 yards of total offense with 98 points. By contrast, Alberta has managed the same number of points with just 1777 yards. And the conference's highest scoring offense, Regina, have racked up 184 points with only 75 more total yards than UBC.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Thunderbirds have also been inconsistent. UBC allowed two touchdowns in the first ten minutes against SFU, but only allowed one major over the ensuing 50 minutes. They've shown they have the ability to stop offences, but are prone to giving up a big play.
UBC is still without key players like all-star running back
Dave Boyd, linebacker and defensive leader
Nathan Kanya, and defensive lineman
Josh Williams. Quarterback
Billy Greene has been able to step up at times, and is a threat through the air and on the ground. His favorite target is
Spencer Betts, who has been one of the best T-Birds week in week out. Betts leads Canada West with four receiving touchdowns and is second in both receptions (22) and receiving yards (334).
A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN BEARS
The University of Alberta Golden Bears are on a three-game losing streak after starting the season with a pair of wins, including one over UBC. The Bears have struggled in the past couple of weeks with lopsided losses to both Saskatchewan and Regina. Alberta put up 67 total points in their first two games of the season, but just 17 total points in their last two.
With Canada West's fewest rushing yards, the Bears rely on their passing game to move the ball on offence. That said, running back Matthew Jarvis has collected 404 yards on the season, and is not to be taken lightly. Through the air, quarterback Julian Marchand leads the attack, hitting Jess Valleau and Laine Rogers with frequency. Both receivers rank in the Canada West top ten with 17 and 18 catches respectively.
Alberta's defence also represents a sincere threat. The Bears lead Canada West with 12 sacks, and will put pressure on a banged up T-Birds' offensive line. Defensive end Dale Stevenson and linebacker Tyler Greenslade lead the conference in sacks with 3.5 apiece, while Greenslade also leads Canada West in tackles with 32.5. Jean-Marc Jones and Duncan Morris round out a formidable linebacking corps.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
In their last meeting, the 2010 season opener, Alberta defeated UBC 36-28. The teams were neck and neck through the first half, but the Bears hung 21 points on the T-Birds in the third quarter. UBC battled back with a pair of touchdowns to get themselves within striking distance but ran out of time in their comeback effort.
Overall, the 'Birds are 4-5 in their last nine meetings with the Bears going back to 2001, with the Blue and Gold winning meetings with Alberta in each of the last two seasons.
COACH OLSON ON...
Keys to improvement:
“The big battle we're fighting right now is mental and how our guys prepare for the game. We need to approach games with some urgency and focus, and we tend to do a better job of that on the road than at home. I'm expecting our guys to come out of the gate and play hard. We've battled hard every game but we need to make sure that we're focused on winning.”
Consistency:
“I think it comes down to mental focus. We have a tendency to be complacent until we feel like we need to do something drastic. We have to be realistic about what it takes to achieve our goals. It takes 12 guys doing their job. Sometimes it seems like we have nine [doing their job] and three guys not doing their job and that's when the big plays go against us. We're really close. We're usually about two or three plays in each game from coming out as winners.”
The importance of this game:
“This is basically the season for both teams. If we don't win this game, our playoff hopes are out. If we win, we're very much alive. Both teams are playing for their lives. I don't think you can understate that at all. One of our issues has been not being urgent enough at certain points in the game. Especially because the first game was so close, the points for and against could swing quite evenly in this match.”
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