T-Birds host #4 Huskies in final home game of season

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds enter their final regular season home game with a 2-4 record, however, one of their wins came on the road in Saskatoon earlier this season by virtue of a stunning 31-12 victory over the then-No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies.

Saskatchewan hasn’t lost since then and is back up to No. 4 in the CIS rankings. The Huskies will be looking for a measure of revenge when the two teams meet Friday under the lights of Thunderbird Stadium.

A look at the T-Birds
The UBC Thunderbirds are coming off a season-saving last-minute victory over the Alberta Golden Bears and should be flying high coming into Friday night’s game against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The ‘Birds have been on the wrong end of a couple of nail-biters this season and can use the confidence boost of the win over the Bears.
Perry Harder came up with a huge effort against Alberta, running for two touchdowns, including the 32-yarder with 11 seconds left that earned UBC the win. Harder has seen limited action this season, but split the running duties with Tibi Banica, who has also stepped up in the absence of all-star running back Dave Boyd, who remains injured.

A look at the Huskies
Since the Thunderbirds last met the Huskies, the season has been a tale of two different teams. Saskatchewan has won their last three games by a total score of 133-29, hanging lopsided defeats on Manitoba and Alberta, both of whom hold wins over UBC this season.
In last week’s Huskies win over Calgary, defensive back Nico Higgs logged one sack and an interception he took 41 yards for a touchdown. The performance was good enough to earn him Canada West’s defensive player of the week honour. Higgs is part of a Saskatchewan defence that ranks second in every statistical category in the conference. Only the monstrous Regina defence puts up better numbers. Add to that the fact that the Huskies have something to prove after allowing 31 UBC points in week two and this unit should be ready to perform.

Head-to-Head
The Blue and Gold scored a 31-12 win over the Huskies in Saskatoon last time the two teams met. Since then, UBC has gone 1-4, while Saskatchewan is riding a three game winning streak into Thunderbird Stadium.
Prior to this year’s defeat of the Huskies the Thunderbirds had 10 straight games against Saskatchewan, going back to 2002.

Happy Kreter, UBC Sports Info Assistant

Picture: Billy Greene and the UBC Thunderbirds need a win over the Huskies to stay alive in the 2010 Canada West playoff race.
Schedule
Saskatchewan at UBC, Friday, Oct. 22, 7:00 p.m., Thunderbird Stadium

Media
Radio: 101.9 CiTR FM
LiveStats

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