Photo credit to James Hajjar
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE (all times local)
OCTOBER 25
18:00 UBC (4-3) at No. 3 Calgary (7-0) (video webcast)
Ben Matchett; Assistant Athletic Director (Communications)
CALGARY – "The consensus around the country and in the
conference is that because of our heavy graduation, we're not going
to be at the same level as we have been … I don't want to
concede that."
Two months after that late-August quote, not only has Blake Nill's
team not conceded its spot atop the conference, it has a chance to
do something no other team in school history has managed: put up a
perfect 8-0 regular season.
Other than preparation for what they hope is another long playoff
run, the goose egg in the loss column is what will motivate the
University of Calgary Dinos Friday night as they wrap up conference
play by hosting the 4-3 UBC Thunderbirds at McMahon Stadium.
Kickoff goes at 6 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv.
It's fitting that the chance to go undefeated should come against
the Thunderbirds. The last time the Dinos were in this situation at
7-0 with first place locked up was two years ago, in 2011. Then,
Calgary headed to Thunderbird Stadium and was handed a 36-23 loss
– a result that was later overturned due to the use of an
ineligible player. So while the Dinos were officially 8-0 in 2011,
it didn't happen that way on the field – and Nill's squad
would love to put that record in the history books sans
asterisk.
Adding to the intrigue of this game, however, is that for the
second year in a row, it's a good bet the Dinos will play
back-to-back home games against the same team to end the regular
season and begin the playoffs, as a likely scenario in the final
conference standings has UBC finishing fourth and heading right
back to Calgary for the semi-final next Saturday, Nov. 2. The
situation is slightly different than the Dinos-Manitoba series a
year ago, with UBC still mathematically able to finish as high as
second place and the other games coming on Saturday. A year ago,
the same situation resulted in the highest-scoring game in Canada
West history, with the Dinos coming out on top of a wild 78-54
contest. A week later, the Dinos won again – this time by a
relatively tame 56-18 score.
It's a rematch of the season-opening tilt Aug. 31 in Vancouver,
which the Dinos won 41-31 after scoring 10 points in the final
three minutes and change after losing quarterback Eric Dzwilewski.
Enter Andrew Buckley, who not only led the Dinos to victory that
day but has repeated the feat six more times.
Regardless of how this one turns out, the Dinos remain secure in
the knowledge that they will be home next week to host the
conference semi-final Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., live on Shaw
TV.
Here's a look at the two teams:
No. 3 Calgary Dinos (7-0)
Before bye: defeated Saskatchewan 24-12
Next week: host Canada West semi-final
Mercer Timmis has run away with the conference touchdowns record,
scoring three in the second half last week against Regina to break
Don Blair's conference all-purpose majors mark as well as former
UBC tailback Chris Ciezki's single-season rushing touchdowns mark.
With one game left in the year, the conference MVP candidate will
look to pad his stats just a little more and set those records just
a little higher. And if he rushes to his average for the season,
Timmis should win the national rushing title – he's just 27
yards away from 1,000 on the season.
The coaching job done by Nill and his staff this year has been
nothing short of remarkable – remember, the team lost 10 of
12 starters on defence, its top six defensive linemen, three
starting offensive linemen, and their All-Canadian tailback, all
before the season started.
Then, Dzwilewski – the 2012 Canada West MVP – went
down. Despite all that, the team leads the conference in most
offensive and defensive categories, with only a couple of
exceptions: Regina has the top passing offence in Canada West,
while the team that has given up fewer yards than anyone else in
the conference? The UBC Thunderbirds.
Calgary's run defence will be tested by Brandon Deschamps, who is
averaging two yards per game more than Timmis with 141, and the
rest of the Thunderbirds, who rank second only to the Dinos in
rushing offence.
UBC Thunderbirds (4-3)
Before bye: defeated Alberta 60-0
Next week: Canada West semi-final
UBC will likely have some confidence from their season-opening game
against the Dinos and enters the weekend after a statement 60-0
shutout of the Alberta Golden Bears in their last home game of the
year last week. After missing a week, Deschamps returned to the
lineup against the Bears and picked up 82 yards on 12 carries for
the T-Birds, who had nine different players get at least one
rushing attempt in that game.
Greg Bowcott took the majority of the snaps for UBC against
Alberta, taking over for starter Carson Williams after back-to-back
two-and-outs in the first quarter. T-Birds coach Shawn Olson has
been unafraid to use both pivots throughout the season, however,
and it's certainly likely both will get some playing time against
the Dinos Friday night. Bowcott has completed 466 passes for 604
yards on the year, while Williams has 975 passing yards on 77
completions. David Scott is far and away the team's receiving
leader with 540 yards with an average of 15 yards per catch.
The road has been a friendly place to UBC so far, which has yet to
lose away from Thunderbird Stadium this year with wins at Alberta,
Regina, and Manitoba under their belts. To continue that trend,
however, they'll have to win in a place that hasn't been all that
hospitable to them or anyone else of late: the Dinos are 34-2 at
home in their last 36 games dating back to 2007, while the
Thunderbirds have not tasted victory at McMahon Stadium since
September 2000 – a streak of nine consecutive road losses
against Calgary.
The Thunderbirds can still finish anywhere from second to fourth,
depending on the results around the conference this week. A UBC win
coupled with a Saskatchewan loss would bump the Thunderbirds up to
at least third place and, depending on the point spread in the
Manitoba-Alberta game, could result in a home playoff game –
so there's plenty to play for on the UBC side. A Dinos win would
ensure UBC finishes fourth and comes right back to McMahon next
week for the playoffs. The Thunderbirds lose any tie with
Saskatchewan, with the Huskies owning the tiebreaker in that
head-to-head match-up, while UBC and Manitoba split their two games
with both teams taking 4-point wins – meaning any ties
between them would be broken by final point differential in all
conference games.
OCTOBER 26
13:00 OUA quarter-final: Ottawa (5-3) at No. 8 McMaster (5-3) (Sportsnet East, Ontario & Pacific)
13:00 No. 2 Laval (7-0) at No. 6 Montreal (5-2) (Radio-Canada TV & video webcast)
13:00 McGill (3-4) at No. 7 Bishop’s (5-2) (video webcast)
13:00 No. 10 Saskatchewan (4-3) at Regina (2-5) (SHAW TV & video webcast)
Source: Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports
Information
SASKATOON - With a slim chance for a home playoff date, the CIS #10
Saskatchewan Huskies will look to do what they can in the three
piece puzzle against provincial rival the Regina Rams in the final
regular season game of the 2013 Canada West football season at
Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
The game is available live on CK750 or www.ck750.com or via webcast
at canadawest.tv. It can also be watched on Shaw Cable.
• Stuck in a three-way tie in the Canada West standings,
Saskatchewan can still secure a home postseason date for the first
time since 2010. In the event of a three-way tie between the
Huskies, Manitoba Bisons and UBC Thunderbirds following the final
games of the season, Saskatchewan would secure second place based
on their regular season record among the tied teams.
• For a three way tie to occur, the Huskies, Manitoba Bisons
and UBC Thunderbirds would need to close out the season with wins
in the final games of the season.
• Saskatchewan could finish second, third or fourth depending
on the outcomes of the final games of the season.
• Canada West playoff games will be played: Friday, November 1
(3rd @ 2nd) and Saturday, November 2 (4th @ Calgary).
• Huskie receiver Mitch Stevens continues to climb the
all-time Saskatchewan touchdown reception list sitting alone in
fifth with 13-career touchdown catches. Stevens is chasing Larry
Giles record of 17 set in 1975.
• Huskie kicker Denton Kolodzinski leads the Canada West with
17 made field goals and is 5-for-6 in kicks coming from 40-49
yards. He is just three field goals shy of breaking the Huskie
Athletics single season record.
#10 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3)
Looking to stop a two-game losing streak, the Huskies will hope to
work out kinks against the Rams on the road before the Canada West
postseason.
Scoring just three touchdowns with only one of those from the pass
in the skid, Saskatchewan hopes to find the end zone with more ease
against the Rams. Moving the ball up the field hasn't been the
problem for the Drew Burko led offence. The second-year quarterback
averages 299 yards per game, completing 61 per cent of his passes.
His main targets Garrett Burgess, Kit Hillis and Mitch Stevens have
combined for 1,520 yards but just five touchdowns.
Saskatchewan's defence continues to lead the Canada West with 22
sacks.
Regina Rams (2-5)
Sitting on the outside looking in, the Regina Rams will look to
spoil the Huskies home playoff dream.
Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter has been consistent completing
158-of-280 passes for 2,184 yards and 12 touchdowns. Addison
Richards, Jared Janottta and Kolten Solomon have received the bulk
of the passes combining for 1,665 yards and eight touchdowns.
In the first meeting between the Huskies and Rams in Saskatoon, the
Huskies squeaked out the 40-33 win on a seven-yard pass to Mitch
Stevens at 8:16 in the game.
14:00 Saint Mary’s (4-3) at StFX (3-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)
14:00 Acadia (3-4) at Mount Allison (3-4) (video webcast)
16:00 Concordia (0-7) at Sherbrooke (2-5) (video webcast)
17:00 No. 9 Manitoba (4-3) at Alberta (0-7) (video webcast)
Source: Matt Gutsch, Alberta Sports Info
The University of Alberta Golden Bears football team will end
their 2013 season against the same team they started it against,
the Manitoba Bisons. The eighth and final game of Alberta’s
Canada West regular season will take place on Saturday, October 26
at 5:00 p.m. at Foote Field.
Alberta, under first-year head coach Chris Morris, is still
looking for their first win of the season, while the Bisons, at
4-3, are headed to the conference post-season after this weekend.
They are, however, in a dog fight for second place in Canada West,
along with Saskatchewan and UBC. So while the Bisons have clinched
a playoff spot, they do come to Edmonton with something to prove as
they need to win this weekend in order to cement second place in
the standings and a home playoff date. On top of that, if all three
tied teams remain tied in wins and losses after this weekend,
second place will be decided by points for and against, which means
Manitoba will go at Alberta full-throttle on Saturday.
The Golden Bears, a program flush with rookies and short on depth,
has shown that they are capable of putting points on the board as
they recorded 112 points in their first three games, or an average
of 37 per game. The highlight for the offence, in terms of offence,
was undoubtedly the season-opening tilt in Winnipeg when the Bears
banked 41 points in a loss to the Bisons. As a group, Alberta ran
in excess of 90 plays on offence and churned out over 600
yards.
It’s been downhill for the Evergreen and Gold since then,
however, as they have continued to struggle stopping teams, and
have gone through power outages on offence.
Freshman runningback Ed Ilnicki has remained a bright spot for the
Alberta program as he is the fourth-leading rusher in Canada West,
thanks to a 5.2 yards-per-carry average and 515 total yards despite
having the fewest amount of carries among the top four rushers in
the conference.
First year receiver Tylor Henry continues to impress as well. The
former Edmonton Wildcat leads the conference in receptions per
game, with almost seven per game, and he is sixth in receiving
yards per game with an average of 77. His 539 total receiving is
the fourth-highest in Canada West as well, and he is second in
all-purpose yards with 1,152 thanks to 301 punt return yards and
277 kick-off return yards.
The Bisons come packing the second-most prolific offence in Canada
West, as they are averaging 35.7 points per game as well as 510
yards per game.
Led by explosive runningback Anthony Coombs as well as quarterback
Jordan Yantz, the Bisons are very dangerous up front. Coombs, who
is a two-time CIS All-Canadian, however, was hurt in
Manitoba’s previous game and his status against the Bears is
unknown. Yantz, meanwhile, has been adjusting to CIS play quite
nicely following a CJFL career that saw him named the CJFL Player
of the Year in 2012. He has thrown for 300 yards per game, on
average, and has a league-best 20 touchdown passes.
Graduating Players
Saturday is the also the final CIS game in the careers of
Golden Bears Steven Giang, Jess Valleau, Smith Wright, and Cayce
Kerr.
Giang has recorded 59 tackles in 20 games as a Golden Bears
defensive lineman, including 17 in seven games this season. A
former Edmonton Wildcat, Steven played in the CIS East-West Bowl
this past summer and was the Golden Bears MVP last season.
Defensive back Cayce Kerr has been with the Bears since 2007,
including one season as a red shirt, and in that time he has
recorded 54 tackles, including a career-high 35 in his second
season. He has had 10 tackles and one interception in five games
this season. He is a graduate of Austin O’Brien High
School.
Originally from Calgary, Smith Wright has been with the Golden
Bears since 2010. Soon to be a graduate of the Faculty of Physical
Education and Recreation, Smith is also a draft pick of the
Edmonton Eskimos. In his four seasons as a Golden Bear, he has done
a number of jobs and done them well. He has rushed for three
touchdowns, caught 18 passes for 160 yards, returned kicks,
recorded 259 all-purpose yards and made 21 tackles. On top of that,
he has been a Canada West champion as a weight thrower with the U
of A track & field program.
Jess Valleau leaves the Golden Bears program after five prolific
years. He is 6th in all-time Golden Bears all-purpose yards with
3,406, he is 7th in career receptions with 106, he is 8th in career
receiving yards with 1,575 and he has recorded more kick-off return
yards than any other Golden Bear in program history with 1,212. He
also has the third-longest kick-off return in team history, which
he recorded in 2011 when he took a kick-off 100 yards to the end
zone, right here at Foote Field. Originally from Wainwright, Jess
will be graduating from the Faculty of Physical Education and
Recreation.
20:00 OUA quarter-final: Windsor (4-4) at No. 5 Guelph (7-1) (video webcast)