VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds took to a refurbished field at T-Bird Stadium with a renewed sense of optimism on Saturday. Their season-opening match up against the University of Alberta Golden Bears represented Day 1 under a new coaching regime, and the start of a new era for T-Birds football. Unfortunately, a 36-28 loss to the Golden Bears wasn't quite the start the revamped Thunderbirds had hoped for.

"We need to improve in a couple of areas," commented UBC rookie head coach Shawn Olson. "We left some plays on the field, we left things too late in the game; in the first and second quarter we weren't doing what we should do offensively.

"But our guys battled," continues Olson, finding the silver lining, "and that's a start for us. They battled and they didn't quit. They played with heart on all sides of the ball."

The two teams kept pace through the game's early going, but when the Bears' passing game started to click, the UBC defence didn't have an answer. Alberta racked up 373 total passing yards, including four touchdown passes.

One of the most impressive passing plays from U of A came in the third quarter when Bears' quarterback Julian Marchand faked a hand-off to Matthew Jarvis before dishing to receiver Michael Wojcicki on the end around. The 'Birds defence headed for Wojcicki, leaving Jess Valleau alone in the end zone. Wojcicki hit Valleau with a 15-yard receiver-to-receiver touchdown pass.

Another factor in the success of the Bears' passing game was UBC's failure to put pressure on Marchand. The 'Birds finished with zero sacks, and rarely hurried the U of A quarterback.

However, UBC defensive back Chris Mark was a bright spot in the struggling secondary. Mark finished the day with two interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, T-Bird quarterback Billy Greene led the way for the Blue and Gold. Greene had 98 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown combined with 308 yards through the air and three passing touchdowns.

The passing game did suffer long dry spells. Greene dumped two passes to running back Robert Giorno early on, but didn't find a receiver until late in the second quarter when he hit Spencer Betts with a 27-yard touchdown pass to put UBC on the board.

"Billy's got all the talent in the world, we just need him to be more consistent," said Olson. "He's everything you're looking for in a quarterback. He can make plays with his feet, he can make plays with his arm. He's young, though, and young guys are going to make mistakes."

Spencer Betts was Greene's favorite target, leading all receivers with seven receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns. SFU import Victor Marshall caught two passes as well, each of them for over 40 yards, showing his game-breaking potential.

At times, the game looked like it could go either way. But a pair of crucial moments tipped the scales in Alberta's favor.

The first of those was in the third quarter, when a bungled option play led to Giorno dropping a pitch from Greene. U of A recovered and drove the ball 31 yards on the ensuing possession. That drive culminated in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Marchand to Ryan Meraw that put the Bears up by 15 points.

"Football games usually come down to three or four plays that could go one way or the other, and that was definitely a play that hurt us," commented Olson. "We didn't take enough care with what our responsibilities were. But it's not about the mistakes you make, it's about the plays you make. Today we didn't make quite enough plays to win that football game."

The other turning point was the series that opened the fourth quarter. The T-Birds started with a first-and-goal on the Alberta two and failed to punch the ball over the goal line. That left UBC down by three possessions.

"The first-and-goal on the two will haunt me," said Olson. "I knew when it happened that we needed to get in there and it turned out to be the difference in the game. That's how it goes sometimes. We've got to make sure we overcome those mistakes."

UBC bounced back with two more touchdowns - an 8-yard run from Greene and a 37-yard catch-and-run by Ryan Couper, but it wasn't enough.

The T-Birds missed starting running back Dave Boyd, who went without a carry due to a hamstring injury. He is expected back for next week's road game at Saskatchewan.