A match-up between undefeated teams on Friday night as the Golden Bears travel to take on the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver. The Thunderbirds are coming off a resounding 56-10 victory over the Bisons. The Golden Bears upset the Saskatchewan Huskies last week on the road. Players who are coming off strong performances last week as well as predicting the outcome of the game.
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#10 Alberta Golden Bears (3-0) at #8 UBC Thunderbirds (3-0)
Date/Location: Friday, September 16/ Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, BC
Kickoff Time: 6 PM PDT (9 PM ET, 8 PM CST)
Ticket Price: Ticket Price: Adult $15 | Youth (13-18) $5 | Alumni, Staff, and Seniors $10 | Students and kids (0-5) Free
Where to Watch: CanadaWest.TV
#10 Alberta Golden Bears (3-0): Are fresh off an upset win over the reigning conference champions the Saskatchewan Huskies. Alberta beat the Huskies in their own building last week 26-22. Matthew Peterson had a monster game rushing 16 times for 191 yards (11.9 average)
#8 UBC Thunderbirds (3-0): The Thunderbirds defeated the Manitoba Bisons who were without their starting quarterback last week. UBC dominated both sides of the ball winning 56-10. UBC leads the conference in points for with 126 points in 3 games and has only allowed 35 points.
Golden Bears to Watch
QB Eli Hetlinger
Last week Hetlinger completed 23 of his 35 passes for 309 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions. He threw a 45-yard pass with pressure coming off both edges last week.
RB Matthew Peterson
Peterson was a beast last week rushing 16 times for 191 yards (11.9 average) with his longest being a 104-yard rush. He also caught 5 passes for 104 yards. He had a 52-yard reception that was mostly YAC breaking a tackle on the way.
WR Carter Kettyle
Kettyle caught 5 passes for 75 yards. He made a man miss on a 29-yard gain and had another catch for 19 yards pulling in a ball down over his head in the 4th quarter.
WR Kolby Hurford
Hurford caught 4 passes for 66 yards. He had a good catch for 45 yards in the first quarter last week.
K/S Jonathan Giustini
Giustini made 4 of his 5 field goals last week and both extra points. Giustini also had a 1 handed interception and a stop against both the run and the pass.
MLB Reiss Flunder
Flunder had a QB hurry, a run stop a shared run stop, and a sack last week.
DT Kwadwo Boahen
Boahen had 3 QB hurries last week as well as a run stop and 2 shared run stops.
NT Ryley Szafranski
Szafranski hurried the quarterback 3 times last week.
Thunderbirds to Watch
QB Garrett Rooker
Rooker completed 13 of his 17 passes last week for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns before leaving the game when a large lead was established. He made a great throw to Davenport in the face of pressure for 34 yards. He fumbled a snap on one play and quickly recovered throwing a good ball for a 13-yard gain near the left sideline.
RB Isaiah Knight
Knight rushed 12 times for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns last week. He had a 75-yard run in the 2nd quarter.
WR Sam Davenport
Last week Davenport caught 3 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. He had a 54-yard touchdown pulling the ball down in tight man coverage. He spun a corner off him on another reception to get some YAC on a 34-yard gain.
WR Jason Soriano
Soriano caught 3 passes last week for 99 yards and a touchdown last week.
OL Theo Benedet
Benedet is ranked 3rd on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s 2024 draft prospect ranking. Benedet was a Canada West All-Star last year at tackle.
OL Giovanni Manu
Manu is ranked 8th on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s 2024 draft prospect ranking. Manu was a Conference All-Star last year at guard.
DL Clark Leonard
Last week Leonard had 2 QB hurries and shared 2 run stops.
WLB Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown
Ciraolo-Brown may very well have been the most impactful linebacker in Canada West last week as he had 3 run stops and 2 shared run stops. He also had a QB hurry and a QB hit.
HB Ben Sangmuah
Last week Sangmuah had 2 run stops. He had 4 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles.
HB Max Kennedy
Last week Max Kennedy had 2 interceptions.
S Ryan Baker
Baker had 2 run stops and a shared run stop.
Prediction
Last week UBC did a really good job limiting Manitoba’s ground game while Alberta’s ground game dominated in Saskatchewan. Based on how well Alberta’s run game has been as of late I think this is going to be a really close game. However, the way Garrett Rooker is playing lately and the rest of UBC’s passing offense I don’t think it’s going to be enough to upset UBC at home. I predict UBC to win by a score of 30-23.
