VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds football team fell out of the CIS Top 10 after an opening weekend loss to the Manitoba Bisons. This week, they make the trip to Regina for a Friday night tilt with the Rams, who lost 37-21 to the Calgary Dinos last Saturday.

UBC was 2-0 against the Rams last year, but know if they hope to come away with a win on Friday night, they will need to improve in all three facets of their game. 

"We played exceedingly average in every aspect of the game against Manitoba," said head coach Shawn Olson. "Despite that we came within a fumble in the final two minutes of having the opportunity to tie the game. Special teams has to better, the offence has to getting going earlier, and the defence has to do a better job of tackling."

Offensively, UBC put up a Canada West best 523 yards of total offence in week one, including 291 yards on the ground; however, they were unable to translate those yards into points until the final quarter, which by that time was too little, too late.

"Billy (Greene) was off early, missing his mark, and by the time we got going we were too far down," said Olson. "The biggest key is to improve our efficiency. Our run game was solid, but our completion percentage was only 50 percent. I would like that to be 65 percent or better moving forward." 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Thunderbirds have had to deal with a number of injuries, especially among the DB's. This week in practice they have had as many as nine defensive backs down, so you can expect to see a number of guys get an opportunity Friday night. As well, UBC has been with out one of their best defensive lineman, Martin Park. He was injured in a car accident prior to the home opener.

"Martin is still having some neck issues, but is trying to rehab and get into a position to play. Unfortunately it is up in the air right now," said Olson.

As for the Rams, the key to shutting them down is preventing fifth year quarterback Marc Mueller from getting going. The grandson of CFL legend Ron Lancaster, Mueller played only one offensive series last year after injuring his throwing shoulder against UBC in the opening week of the 2011 season. He showed no signs of rust in the 2012 season opener in Calgary. Despite the loss he threw for 344 yards and one touchdown. Mueller's favorite receiver is Mark McConkey, who had 12 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown against the Dinos. The Rams managed only 55 yards on the ground.

"The key to slowing down the Rams offence is to force them to make mistakes," said Olson. "Mueller is a fifth year guy who gets the ball away quick and therefore is tough to pressure. We need to put some points on the board ourselves, get a lead, and force their offence to take chances."

Kickoff is 6 p.m. PST Friday night at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The game can be seen live on Shaw TV.