The Matchup

After two straight home victories, the newly minted No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (2-1) hit the road to face the Alberta Golden Bears (0-3) at Edmonton's Foote Field Saturday, September 23rd at 12:00 p.m. PT.

Following a penalty-filled week one loss in Regina, the 'Birds have shown big improvement in each of their last two games outscoring Manitoba and Saskatchewan by a combined 35 points while allowing just 18 points against in the last six quarters of play.



UBC sits tied with the Huskies and Rams for second in the Canada West while the Golden Bears and Bisons bring up the rear having yet to hit the win column.

The last time the 'Birds and Bears met in Edmonton was last September when UBC pounded Alberta 62-0. UBC is currently riding an eight-game regular season win streak over Alberta, having outscored the Bears by a combined 371-114 during that span.
 

Last Action

The 'Birds put up 660 yards of offence while holding Saskatchewan to just 3 points beyond the first quarter in a 31-10 win over the Huskies in front of over 9,500 fans for homecoming last Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium.

Alberta dropped their third straight game to start the season, 28-18 to the Rams at Regina's Mosaic Stadium last Saturday. Bears quarterback Brad Baker threw for over 300 yards and put together a late touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth but the comeback bid fell short.
 

By the Numbers

64 – UBC has allowed just 64 points against through three weeks of play, the best team defence in the Canada West. The T-Birds' run defence has been especially impressive holding the opposition to a combined 49 yards on the ground over the last two weeks combined.

543 – The total number of rushing yards this season by the T-Birds, tops in the conference. Third-year running back Ben Cummings is the Canada West's leading rusher with 395 yards.
 

Players to Watch

Trivel Pinto (#1, WR) – The third-year receiver earned the Canada West offensive player of the week with 243 all purpose yards against the Huskies including 166 yards receiving and a touchdown. Pinto sits tied for second in conference receptions with 20 and leads the CW in average kick return yards with 26.6.
 

Prolific Pinto wins @CanadaWest Offensive POW. All his highlights from @UBC Homecoming. #GoBirdsGo

Read: https://t.co/R6EjoEVcza pic.twitter.com/IiVhsHze3F

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) September 18, 2017

Malcom Lee (#9, DB) – The veteran defensive back had a total of six tackles (2 solo) in last week's win over Saskatchewan. The Surrey native now has 10 solo tackles on the season. In UBC's pre-season win over Alberta, Lee had two interceptions with 48 total return yards.
 

Coach's Take

While pleased with his young defence's work over the last couple weeks, UBC head coach Blake Nill is looking for better execution on offence in the red zone against Alberta.

"We've got to become a team that smells the end zone and does what it takes to get in there," said Nill who bemoaned his team's inability to finish off several drives. It's a mindset. There's nothing wrong with the systems or the ability of the athletes to execute them, it's a simple execution dysfunction and we need to overcome that."



While Alberta has yet to post a win this season, Nill has great respect for the Golden Bears team and a program he says has been playing each opponent tough.

"This could be as tough a conference as there has been in the last 15 years," said Nill. "You have to respect your opponent. If you don't respect your opponent in your preparation, no matter what their record is you probably will not have success."