The Matchup

In UBC Head Coach Blake Nill's year and a half at Point Grey there has never been a time where his squad needed a win as much as this Saturday. The Thunderbirds (1-2) are traveling to Edmonton for a date with the University of Alberta Golden Bears (0-3) and a win evens their record and puts them right back in the thick of things in the incredibly tough Canada West football conference.
 
The win, more importantly, would restore some confidence in the Thunderbirds who've played exceptional in some aspects of their game this year, but haven't been able to put the whole package together.  Their best game so far was their season opener, where they manhandled the same Golden Bears 39-24 before a rocking crowd of nearly 6,000 at Thunderbird Stadium.
 
The matchup can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV at 4 PM (PST) on Saturday.
 

Last Action

Nearly 8000 fans partied and roared in Thunderbird Stadium for UBC Homecoming, but the T-Birds couldn't capitalize on their opportunities inside the Regina 20 yard line. Four times UBC made trips into the Rams' "red zone" and 3 times they turned the ball over. The final score was 20-10 Regina and the Thunderbirds and their thousands of fans were left to ponder all of the points left on the board.


 
The Golden Bears chipped away as best they could at a 20-3 Saskatchewan lead in their home opener. In the end they ran out of time and fell 29-17. The Bears will be hungry for a win as dropping to 0-4 all but assures them of not making the playoffs in the Canada West.
 

By the Numbers

 
5 – the number of interceptions the ball-hawking UBC defence has through 3 games in 2016. The group led by the "Bakersfield Bandit" Stavros Katsantonis has been a very prominent bright spot for the Thunderbirds this season. UBC is only giving up 257 yards of passing per game, second best in Canada West.
 

BAKERSFIELD BANDIT STRIKES AGAIN: Katsantonis sets tone for @ubctbirds re-tooled defence! https://t.co/aFlDNCwQCE pic.twitter.com/LgHIRMKwGf

— Howard Tsumura (@htsumura) September 8, 2016

 
9.9 – the average yards per reception for Thunderbird pass catchers this season. Last year the team averaged 14.8 over the entire season. They get those 5 yards back per catch and 'Birds will be cooking with oil offensively.
 

Players To Watch

Michael O'Connor – (#15, QB) – people really need to take a deep breath when it comes to analyzing the UBC offense. O'Connor has 4 touchdown passes in his 3 games this season. After 3 games in 2016 he had 6, 4 of which came in one game (versus Manitoba). Let's not forget UBC started 2015 with 2-2 record before ripping off 8 straight wins and a Vanier Cup championship.


 
Ryan von Ende – (#77, LT) – 10 months removed from playing high school football for the South Delta Sun Devils, von Ende is getting serious reps at left tackle for the Thunderbirds. It shows how highly Coach Nill thinks of the Sauder School of Business student to have him already protecting O'Connor's "blind spot".
 
"When we committed Ryan, I thought he could be the top recruit of the 2016 season for the UBC program," says UBC Head Coach Blake Nill. "He's certainly lived up to his billing. He has tremendous athleticism for that role (left tackle) and we will be fortunate to have him in that position for years to come."
 

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