EDMONTON – In what will be a pivotal Week 6 matchup, the surging UBC Thunderbirds visit the reeling Alberta Golden Bears on Friday night at Foote Field.
 
Three-straight wins has seen UBC jump into second in the conference standings, and quickly made everyone forget their 0-2 start. The Thunderbirds picked up a 32-30 road win over Calgary last week to get above .500. The Golden Bears, meanwhile, will be eager to duplicate their 42-28 Week 1 win over UBC in Vancouver. Alberta is heading in the opposite direction since that win, losing three of their last four games to sit at 2-3 entering Week 6.
 
The Golden Bears will have no lack of familiarity with UBC, with the Thunderbirds being their most common opponent over the last two years. Friday will be the rival's fifth meeting in the last 13 months and seventh meeting seventh meeting since the start of the 2022 season.  UBC has the decided edge in recent meetings, having won five of those seven meetings.
 
Friday night's tilt will also have massive playoff implications, with Alberta and UBC sitting in a four-team logjam separated by one game. UBC is the lone 3-2 program at this point, with Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Regina owning matching 2-3 records. A Golden Bears will greatly improve their playoff odds, while a UBC win will put them in the driver's seat for a home playoff game.

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GAME INFO

Golden Bears Football (2-3 Conference, 2-4 Overall)
Conference
Friday, October 4
Alberta vs UBC Thunderbirds (3-2), Foote Field, 7:00 p.m. MT

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KEY STATS

• The last two Alberta losses have been by a combined four points, with a 33-30 loss to Saskatchewan being the most recent. Despite the loss, the Bears are one of only two teams with a positive point differential (+20).
• The Bears were led by an outstanding second half in their Week 1 win over UBC. Alberta outscored the Thunderbirds 31-15 in the second half, including a 17-0 mark in the third quarter.
• Alberta finished with a season-high 480 offensive yards in the 42-28 win, with 234 of those yards coming on the ground.
• Friday will feature another battle of two of the top running backs in Canada: Matthew Peterson and Isaiah Knight. Peterson once again leads the Bears with 522 rushing yards, with Alberta's 214.0 rush yards per game tops in Canada West. Peterson needs just 30 yards to become the 14^th Golden Bear to reach 3,000 career all-purpose yards. His 2,522 career rush yards are fifth in Alberta team history.
• Knight has jumped atop the MVP race, leading the conference with 668 rushing yards, adding 11 receptions for 88 yards.