THIS GAME: Saskatchewan at UBC, Fri., Oct. 22, 7:00 p.m., Thunderbird Stadium
RADIO: 101.9 CiTR FM
Live Stats
VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds enter their final regular season home game with a 2-4 record. One of their wins came on the road in Saskatoon earlier this season by virtue of a stunning 31-12 victory over the then no. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies. Saskatchewan hasn't lost since then and is back up to no. 4 in the CIS rankings. The Huskies will be looking for a measure of revenge when the two teams meet Friday under the lights of Thunderbird Stadium.
A LOOK AT THE T-BIRDS
The UBC Thunderbirds are coming off a season-saving last-minute victory over the Alberta Golden Bears and should be flying high coming into Friday night's game against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The 'Birds have been on the wrong end of a couple of nail-biters this season and can use the confidence boost of the win over the Bears.
Perry Harder came up with a huge effort against Alberta, running for two touchdowns, including the 32-yarder with 11 seconds left that earned UBC the win. Harder has seen limited action this season, but split the running duties with
Tibi Banica, who has also stepped up in the absence of all-star running back
Dave Boyd, who remains injured.
Billy Greene led the charge on offence for the Blue and Gold again last week. He was the team's leading rusher, including one scamper for a critical touchdown in the dying minutes of the game. And although his passing numbers weren't his best (17 of 37 for 278 yards), he got the job done when he needed to, finding
David Scott in the end zone to respond after Alberta opened the scoring with a major.
On defence, linebacker
Nathan Kanya made his return to the line-up after sitting out the last four weeks, and will be a welcome addition against the Huskies. Kanya was a standout in the first game against Saskatchewan, earning CIS defensive players of the week honours for his role in UBC's massive 31-12 upset, and will look to recapture his week two performance on Friday night.
A LOOK AT THE HUSKIES
Since the Thunderbirds last met the Huskies, the season has been a tale of two different teams. Saskatchewan has won their last three games by a total score of 133-29, hanging lopsided defeats on Manitoba and Alberta, both of whom hold wins over UBC this season.
In last week's Huskies win over Calgary, defensive back Nico Higgs logged one sack and an interception he took 41 yards for a touchdown. The performance was good enough to earn him Canada West's defensive player of the week honour. Higgs is part of a Saskatchewan defence that ranks second in every statistical category in the conference. Only the monstrous Regina defence puts up better numbers. Add to that the fact that the Huskies have something to prove after allowing 31 UBC points in week two and this unit should be ready to perform.
Saskatchewan also has the top ranked passing offence in Canada West. Their 310 yards-per-game average is nearly 40 more yards per game than the next best team. Laurence Nixon may be the best quarterback in the conference, and will test the T-Birds secondary come Friday. Running back Ben Coakwell is a dangerous weapon as well, averaging 95 yards per game. That kind of threat keeps defences guessing, and allows the potent passing game to operate.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Blue and Gold scored a 31-12 win over the Huskies in Saskatoon last time the two teams met. Since then, UBC has gone 1-4, while Saskatchewan is riding a three game winning streak into Thunderbird Stadium.
Prior to this year's defeat of the Huskies, the Thunderbirds had lost each of their last ten games against Saskatchewan going back to 2002.
COACH OLSON ON...
Staying focused at home:
“We've brought it to the forefront in our team meetings, and they know that our focus level and determination before the game has been different on the road as opposed to at home. We've made sure our guys know it's an issue. We'll change a few things that we do before the game, the way things are done in the locker room, that will give more focus and help with our mental preparation. Other than that, we're going to do things the way we've done all year, which is working hard, pushing them on the field, and if we're doing something well to make sure the guys know it. I think it's important to be consistent.”
How to approach a Huskies squad hungry for revenge:
“We'll have some wrinkles this week to try to take advantage of some of things we see on film. The big thing coming into the game is that we need to be consistent on offence and move the ball to keep the defence off the field, especially against a Saskatchewan offence that is chugging along these days. And defensively we need to tackle and stop the run. They're a good passing offence but everything they're doing is predicated on their ability to run the football. If they're running the football well, usually it's going to be a very long day for any defence. The last three or four weeks we've had trouble stopping the run, so I'd be surprised if they didn't come at us and try to play a little smash-mouth football.”
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