VANCOUVER – There may still be three weeks left in the Canada West season, but as the march toward the Hardy Cup playoffs gets shorter, Saturday afternoon's battle between the UBC Thunderbirds and the Manitoba Bisons at Thunderbird Stadium is as close to a must-win game for both teams as it gets.

"That's how I'm looking at it and I'm sure Coach (Brian) Dobie is doing the same," said UBC Head Coach Blake Nill who is looking to get his team back to .500 with a win this week. "This is a big game for both programs, a game that will certainly benefit each of us in our opportunity to get to the playoffs so we're approaching it as a must win. We just have to be at our best and execute at our best come game day."

Both the T-Birds and Bisons enter Saturday with a 2-3 record on the season, as do the Alberta Golden Bears who face the 0-5 Calgary Dinos this week. With the Saskatchewan Huskies (5-0) and Regina Rams (4-1) holding down the top two playoff berths, the battle for the bottom two seeds is intensifying at this critical juncture of the season.



Saturday marks the second meeting of the year for the 'Birds and Bisons after Manitoba earned a 21-16 victory at a rain-soaked IG Field back on September 16^th. Despite UBC vastly outperforming the Bisons in terms of overall offence (469 yards to just 155), untimely turnovers and an inability to convert in the red zone proved too much to overcome.

This time around, the weather isn't expected to be a factor with the forecast calling for sunshine and close to 20 degrees come kickoff. The T-Birds have also seen their offence get back on track with a 39-29 week five win over Calgary heading into last week's Thanksgiving bye.

"We were able to convert on short yardage a couple times which has been a thorn in our side all year," said Nill of his team's improved performance against the Dinos. "The other thing I thought that wasn't maybe as obvious was we came back a couple times. Going in I think everyone thought Calgary was going to roll over – they were never going to roll over, their culture is a championship one, they're going to battle, their coaches have their kids prepared. I just thought we competed well and I was happy we completed enough plays."



That confidence boost combined with an extra week of preparation and rest ahead of Saturday's tilt with Manitoba can only bode well for UBC. But on the other side of the field is an equally hungry Bisons squad coming off a 43-22 week five loss in Saskatchewan.

UBC and Manitoba are the top two rushing teams in the Canada West with the T-Birds racking up an impressive 183.8 yards per game on the ground while the Bisons have managed 146.8. Second year UBC running back Isaiah Knight leads the conference with 440 yards on the season while fellow T-Bird Dane Kapler sits fifth with 262.

The Bisons also boast two of the top ten rushers in the Canada West with Breydon Stubbs sitting third in conference rushing yards with 285 while Surrey native Noah Anderson is seventh.

While both teams have been very effective on the ground, the T-Birds have the edge in the passing game on both sides of the ball. Led by second-year pivot Garrett Rooker, UBC averages just over 261 yards passing per game while Manitoba sits last in the conference with an average of 220. The 'Birds enter week six with the conference's second best pass defence, limiting the opposition to an average of 220 yards per game. However, UBC has also allowed 10 passing touchdowns against, the highest total in the Canada West.

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"We're 2-3, there's room for improvement," added Nill. "During the bye week we worked on different elements of our game. At the same time you want to use the time to help (the athletes) heal a bit, maybe take a little less pressure off them mentally. I think we do a good job balancing both but now we're back into work days and game prep. Hopefully the rest will pay off and also the opportunity to improve will pay off as we prepare for Manitoba."

In order to secure the two-game season series edge over the Bisons, the T-Birds need to win by six or more points Saturday afternoon. It's a potential tie-breaker that could prove valuable in a few weeks' time when it comes to securing a playoff berth.

Kickoff between the T-Birds and Bisons is set for 1:00 p.m. PT Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium. Tickets are available online and the game will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.