Game Information

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Date: Saturday, Oct. 19
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
Venue: Thunderbirds Stadium
Watch: SaskTel Max / Canadawest.tv
Listen: CJWW 600
 
SASKATOON – Fresh out of the conference-wide Thanksgiving bye, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team will travel to the west coast in search of their third consecutive victory in a meeting against the UBC Thunderbirds.
 
The Huskies (4-2) will enter the matchup as the number-three ranked team in the U SPORTS top ten, which is a season-high for the program. Prior to the bye-week, Saskatchewan took care of business in their week-six clash against the Manitoba Bisons with a convincing 49-21 win on home turf.
 
Meanwhile, UBC (1-5) picked up their first victory of the season in week six at Mosaic Stadium after Thunderbirds defensive back James Vause intercepted Rams quarterback Bryden O'Flaherty in the endzone to seal the 33-28 road win over the Rams.
 
The Huskies win over the Bisons clinched the programs second-consecutive postseason appearance.
 
The last time Saskatchewan and UBC met in Vancouver was back on Nov. 3, 2018, when the Huskies came-from-behind to defeat the Thunderbirds 31-28 in overtime in the Canada West semifinal to advance to the Hardy Cup.
 
While the Huskies are 1-2 away from home this season, the team is chasing towards a 6-2 regular season record, which would be their best result since the 2014 season.

5 Things
 
1: After Adam Machart rumbled his way for 220 rushing yards against Manitoba, the Saskatoon native moved to third in Huskies program history for single-season rushing yards with 931 and now only trails Doug Rozon and David Stephens.
 
2: Saskatchewan is jockeying for postseason positioning, as they continue their fight their way towards hosting their first home playoff game since 2014. The Huskies enter the weekend tied with the Golden Bears with matching 4-2 records, with their week-nine matchup in Saskatoon playing pivotal.

3: The matchup pits the best rushing offence in the Canada West against the conference's worst rushing defence. The Huskies' 217.2 rushing yards-per-game is atop the conference, while the Thunderbirds are in last in rushing yards allowed with 169.3 per-game.
 
4: Saskatchewan's last regular-season win in Vancouver against UBC took place back on Sept. 15, 2015, when they defeated the hosts 45-29.
 
5: UBC has not gone winless at home since the 2010 season, where they went 0-4 in Canada West play. The Thunderbirds also lost every home game in 2011 after having all of their wins vacated due to the use of an ineligible player. 

By the Numbers
 
28.7% - Nick Cross and Ben Hladik have combined to record 28.7% of the UBC tackles this season, with the pair of linebackers totalling 93 of the Thunderbirds 324 tackles through six games.
 
28.6 – Josh Ewanchyna leads the Canada West in kick return yards average with 28.6. Ewanchyna's 72-yard return against the Bisons last week is now sixth for longest kickoff return in program history.
 
116 – Through three seasons of his Canada West career, Nicholas Dheilly sits in fifth in career conference sack yards with 116.
 
192 – With two regular-season games remaining, Huskies linebacker Ben Whiting is third in Huskies career all-time total tackles. Whiting trails Morley Miller, who sits second in program history with 217 total tackles and current Saskatchewan defensive coordinator Warren Muzika, who sits in first, with 221.0 total tackles.
 
Scouting the Thunderbirds
 
The Thunderbirds will miss out on the postseason for the first time in Blake Nill's five-year tenure at the helm of the program. Nill, who led UBC to their fourth Vanier Cup in his first season as head coach back in 2015, will fail to lead to the Thunderbirds to the Hardy Cup final for only the second time since taking over the job.
 
Quarterback Gabe Olivares led the Thunderbirds to their first win of the season in week six against the Rams, where he racked up 353 passing yards while throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Since officially taking over as the team's starter under centre in week five, the second-year pivot has been an improvement for UBC.
 
Running back Sharique Khan had the best game of his U SPORTS career in Regina, recording 112 yards on 17 carries. Khan is eighth in the conference with 227 rushing yards through six games.
 
Fourth-year pass-catcher Troy Kellogg is tied for third in the Canada West with 33 receptions, totalling 362 receiving yards and two touchdowns.