The University of Alberta Golden Bears football team dropped its third consecutive game, this one a 39-21 decision to the No.10 ranked UBC Thunderbirds, and fell to 2-3 on the season on Saturday afternoon at Foote Field in Edmonton.
With the loss, Alberta drops from a four-way tie for second place into a two-way tie for second last along with the 2-3 Saskatchewan Huskies who lost also lost on Saturday to the Calgary Dinos. The Manitoba Bisons defeated Regina on Friday to improve to 3-2, leaving the Bisons and T-Birds tied for second place with just three games remaining in the 2015 conference season.
The Canada West teams all head into the annual Thanksgiving weekend 'bye', but the Bears will return to action on October 17 when they travel to Vancouver for a rematch with UBC.
Ed Ilnicki, Jimmy Ralph and quarterback Brad Baker scored for the Golden Bears, as Baker made his CIS debut following an injury to Alberta's other rookie starting QB Ben Kopczynski.
Kopczynski was hurt after being horse collar tackled in the second quarter, and Baker was able to make the most out of his inaugural game by completing 20 of 33 passes for 207 yards and two TDs with one interception. Before going out of the game, Kopczynski completed 10 of 15 passes for 109 yards giving the Bears 316 yards through the air.
Ralph caught eight of those passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Ilnicki was the benefactor of the other TD toss. The third-year runningback also rushed 19 times for 94 yards, and the Golden Bears collected 455 offensive yards in total.
UBC, however, started the game with a 21-0 lead on the strength of two touchdowns, two field goals and a safety and never looked back. The Birds amassed 480 offensive yards, including 203 through the air as CIS rookie Michael O'Connor connected on 21 of his 32 passes and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball six times for 48 yards, while veteran runningback Brandon Deschamps rumbled for 86 yards and a major on 16 carries.
Thunderbirds kicker Quinn van Gylswyk nailed field goals from 38 and 19 yards in the first half, while receiver Alex Morrison and Deschamps found the endzone to spark the Birds to big 21-0 lead.Ilnicki darted into the endzone at the 12:31 mark of the second to make it a 21-7 game at half-time.
UBC scored 13 more points in the third quarter, while Baker snuck into the endzone for his first career CIS major, leaving the T-Birds with a 34-14 advantage by the end of penultimate quarter.
After van Gylswyk's fifth field goal and 17 point of the day, Ralph took a dump pass from Baker and juked 15-yards into pay dirt for the final score of the game, making the final 39-21 for UBC.
The two teams will meet again on October 17 in Vancouver in a game that could decide the playoff fates of both teams. If Alberta can win the rematch they'll remain in the playoff picture with a 3-3 record, but if UBC completes the home-and-home sweep of the Golden Bears they will improve to 4-2 and essentially lock-up a postseason berth.
Alberta also has games left against Manitoba, in Winnipeg on October 23, and the Calgary Dinos on October 31 at Foote Field, while UBC will take on the Huskies in Saskatchewan (October 24) and Manitoba in Vancouver on Halloween.