The UBC Thunderbirds travel to take on the Calgary Dinos. UBC is looking to maintain their status being tied for first in the conference while the Dinos are seeking their first win of the season.
Other Articles:
#6 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-1) at #11 Alberta Golden Bears
#14 Manitoba Bisons (2-3) at Regina Rams (1-4) Preview
CFL Week 19 Fantasy Football Picks
BC Lions vs Winnipeg Week 19 Preview
75+ Players to Follow and Consider for the 2023 CFL All-Star Fan Vote
Predicting the Rest of the CFL Season
Mike Mitchell’s CFL Week 18 Power Rankings
U Sports Canada West Football: Week 5 Team of the Week
U Sports Canada West Football: Week 4 Team of the Week
U Sports Canada West Football: 2023 Team Previews
CFL 2nd Period All-Star Team (Weeks 8-14)
CFL Midseason All-Star Team, Awards
First Period CFL and Divisional All-Stars
@JonathanClink on Twitter
#8 UBC Thunderbirds (4-1) at Calgary Dinos (0-5)
Date/Location: Saturday, October 14/ McMahon Stadium, Calgary, AB
Kickoff Time: 1 MDT (3 PM ET, 12 PM PT)
Ticket Price: Regular $16, Senior $11, Youth (7-17) $9, Student $9, Family (2 adults and up to 4 youths) $45
Calgary Season Tickets: Regular $50, Senior $40, Youth $30
#8 UBC Thunderbirds: The UBC Thunderbirds are coming off a close loss to Saskatchewan by a score of 31-34. It was the first time that Garrett Rooker was held to under 70% passing so far this season as he completed 50% of his passes with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The Thunderbirds look to get back to their winning ways in Calgary on Saturday. The T-Birds are currently tied with Saskatchewan and Alberta who are playing each other so if the Thunderbirds are to lose they will find themselves tied for 2nd with one of those teams.
Calgary Dinos: The Dinos are coming off a 21-34 loss to Manitoba which unfortunately for the Dinos was not as close as the score would suggest as Manitoba had a 34-7 lead in the final 3 minutes of the game. There were some positive signs for Calgary such as the 261 yards of passing as Dom Britton had 1 touchdown and no interceptions. However much of those yards came at the end of the game so Calgary will need their offense to begin firing earlier this weekend. Calgary also allowed 316 yards of rushing which has been an issue at times this season.
Thunderbirds to Watch
QB Garrett Rooker
Rooker has completed 100 of his 138 passes for 1,555 yards and 11 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. He leads the conference in passing yards, touchdowns, and efficiency.
RB Isiah Knight
Knight is second in rushing yards in the conference with 503 yards on 70 carries (7.2 average) and has 3 touchdowns.
WR Sam Davenport
Davenport has 19 catches for a conference-leading 464 yards and 4 touchdowns so far this season. Last week he had 5 catches for 115 yards.
WR Shemar McBean
McBean has 16 catches for 286 yards and 4 touchdowns so far this season. Last week he had 3 catches for 57 yards.
WR Dane Kapler
Kapler has 20 catches for 247 yards so far this season. Last week he had 4 catches for 41 yards.
DE Mitchell Townsend
Townsend was tied for the most QB hurries by a Canada West player last week as he had 7 QB hurries, 3 run stops, and 2 shared run stops.
DE Aiden Bertuzzi
Bertuzzi had a solo tackle and 2 assisted tackles. He also had 2 QB hurries and 2 shared run stops.
LB Phillip Obafaiye
Obafaiye had 8 solo tackles and 7 assisted tackles last week. He also had 3 solo run stops, 2 shared run stops, and 2 stops against the pass.
LB Jaxon Ciralo-Brown
Brown had 8 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles in week 5. He also had a QB hurry, 2 solo run stops, and 3 shared run stops.
S Ryan Baker
Baker had 5 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles in week 5. He also had a run stop and a pass breakup.
P Kieran Flannery-Fleck
In my opinion, Flannery-Fleck had the best weekend among punters in the conference in week 5 averaging 42.7 yards on 7 punts and had 3 punts inside the 20.
Dinos to Watch
QB Dom Britton
Britton has completed 48 of his 94 passes for 635 yards and 2 touchdowns with 3 interceptions over 3 games.
RB Nick Sua
Sua has rushed 54 times for 227 yards (4.2 average) so far this season.
WR Gob Deng
Deng is third in receiving yards in the conference with 19 catches for 419 yards and 4 touchdowns.
WR Matt Sibley
Sibley has 23 catches for 226 yards so far this season.
WR Zack Smith
Smith had 2 catches for 62 yards last week.
DE Adrian Minikata
Minikata had a solo tackle and an assisted tackle in week 5. He also had 2 QB hurries and a run stop.
MLB Everett Schmuland
Schmuland had 6 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles in week 5. He had a QB hurry, 2 run stops, and a shared run stop.
ZLB Sauce Odemwingie
Odemwingie had 3 solo tackles and 6 assisted tackles in week 5. He also had 5 QB hurries, a run stop, and a shared run stop, and provided good coverage on an incomplete pass deep downfield.
LB Chris Mushenza
Mushenza had 6 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles in week 5. He also had a run stop, and a shared run stop, and helped with a stop against the pass.
Prediction
I like the signs of potential that the Dinos have shown at times this season but based on what we have seen so far they are still rebuilding. The Thunderbirds are an excellent football team while the Dinos are still finding their way. I predict the Thunderbirds to win 30-16.
