EDMONTON - For the first time since 2010, the Golden Bears will play for a Canada West banner, as they visit the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday in the 86^th Hardy Cup.

Alberta booked their ticket to the Hardy Cup with a dominant 40-17 home win over Saskatchewan last weekend in the second Hardy Cup Semifinal — their first home playoff win since 2005, and the first for head coach Chris Morris.

Bears QB Eli Hetlinger tossed for 279 yards and for touchdowns in the win, with Carter Kettyle (WR) and Jonathan Giustini (DB/K) earning Canada West Player of the Week honours.

"UBC is a really good team, and they have given us more than we could handle in the first two meetings," said Morris. "We think we can play better than we did in those first two games, so that will be our objective on Saturday is to worry about ourselves, and see if we can put our best product out there.

UBC secured a second-straight Hardy Cup appearance with a 29-21 home win over Manitoba in the first semifinal. The Thunderbirds erased an early 17-3 deficit, outscoring Manitoba 19-4 in the second half. 

UBC handed Alberta their only two losses of the season in 2023, earning a 54-37 home win on September 22nd, and a 23-10 win at Foote Field on October 28th to clinch the No. 1 seed and home field advantage through the CW playoffs.

"The first time we played them, our offence played well, but our defence didn't play well. And the second time our defence played really well, and our didn't," said Morris of their two meetings against UBC this season. "But we haven't played our best game of the season yet this year, and we know we have that in us. We think we can matchup well with UBC, now we just need to play well." 

Alberta is looking for their first Canada West title since 1981, while UBC seeks their first since 2015.

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GAME INFORMATION

Golden Bears Football (6-2 Conference, 1-0 Playoffs, 7-2 Overall)
Playoffs - 86th Hardy Cup
Saturday, November 4
#2 Alberta Golden Bears @ #1 UBC Thunderbirds, Thunderbird Stadium, 2:00 p.m. MT

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KEY STATS

• Saturday will mark the 6th time — and first since 1987 — the Bears and Thunderbirds have met in the Canada West post-season, with all six of their previous meetings coming in the Hardy Cup. The Bears hold a 3-2 all-time record against UBC in the playoffs, but did fall to UBC 26-8 in the 51^st Hardy Cup in Vancouver, their most recent playoff meeting.
• UBC has won three-straight home games against Alberta, including their Week 4 win this season. The Thunderbirds have also won 10 of the last 11 home games against the Bears, with Alberta's lone victory since 2011 coming in 2019 (40-20). 
• The Bears and Thunderbirds ranked first and second in CW in points, yards, and first downs per game this season. 
• The two programs also combined for 20 Canada West All-Star selections, with UBC leading the conference with 14 all-stars. 
• Saturday will mark the first Hardy Cup hosted by UBC since 1997, a 39-21 Thunderbirds win over Calgary. 
• Saturday's winner will host the 2023 Mitchell Bowl against the AUS Champions, one of two U SPORTS Semifinals. St. FX and Bishop's are slated to meet in the Loney Bowl on Saturday in Halifax. St. FX has won two-straight AUS titles, and three of the last four. 

ALL-TIME BEARS VS THUNDERBIRDS PLAYOFF MEETINGS

VISITOR	SCORE	HOME	SCORE	GAME	DATE
Alberta	8	UBC	26	51st Hardy Cup	November 7, 1987
Alberta	11	UBC	8	45th Hardy Cup	November 13, 1981
UBC	17	Alberta	28	43rd Hardy Cup	November 3, 1979
Alberta	29	UBC	0	31st Hardy Cup	November 11, 1967
Alberta	4	UBC	36	19th Hardy Cup	1945 **

** 1945 Hardy Cup was a two-game combined score championship. UBC won 19-3 and 17-1.