CALGARY – For the first time since 1993, the University of Calgary Dinos are the consensus top university football team in the nation.

The Vanier Cup finalist Dinos received 21 of 32 possible first place votes and 261 total points in the poll, conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada, to edge out the Laval Rouge et Or by just three points for the top spot. Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced the results Tuesday morning.

The No. 1 Dinos open the defence of their 2009 Canada West championship with the marquee match-up in the country in Week 1: a visit from the No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday night. Kickoff goes at 7 p.m. at McMahon Stadium, live on Shaw TV and AM 770 CHQR.

Saint Mary's (66 pts.) sits at No. 4 in the inaugural poll of the season, followed by Ottawa (58), Wilfrid Laurier (50), Montreal (45), defending Vanier Cup champion Queen's (37), Western Ontario (33), and McMaster (32).

It's the first time the Dinos have been ranked No. 1 since a two-week stint in September 1993, a season that saw the Dinos advance all the way to the Vanier Cup before dropping a heartbreaker to the Toronto Varsity Blues.

Calgary and Saskatchewan were the only Canada West teams to crack the Top 10, although Regina (26), Alberta (4), and Manitoba (2) each received votes. The Canada West season kicks off this weekend with Manitoba visiting Regina Friday night followed by a Saturday matinee at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver when UBC hosts Alberta.

Then in the nightcap Saturday, the Dinos and Huskies will renew what has quickly become one of the most heated rivalries in Canada. The teams played twice last year and both were classics played at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, each being decided by a single point. Saskatchewan got the best of a 33-32 overtime game to open the 2009 season, but it was the Dinos that got the last laugh with a 39-38 win in the Hardy Cup conference championship game.

Season tickets for Dinos football are still available for a limited time at all Calgary Co-op customer service locations.

FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#1)
School   Pts (1st place)

1. CALGARY   261 (21)
2. Laval   258 (10)
3. Saskatchewan   111 (1)
4. Saint Mary's   66
5. Ottawa   58
6. Wilfrid Laurier   50
7. Montreal   45
8. Queen's  37
9. Western   33
10. McMaster   32

Other teams receiving votes: Sherbrooke (28), Regina (26), Concordia (10), McGill (5), Bishop's (4), Alberta (4), StFX (2), Manitoba (2).

-UC-