CALGARY – A 25-18 victory over the Manitoba Bisons last weekend in Winnipeg – the Calgary Dinos' first win at University Stadium in more than a decade – sets up a season-ending Battle of Alberta Saturday afternoon at Foote Field in Edmonton. While the Golden Bears (1-6) are out of the playoffs and riding a six-game losing streak after a season-opening win over Simon Fraser, the fourth-ranked Dinos (5-2) have their work cut out for them against their provincial rivals.

As the 2008 Canada West regular season draws to a close, the Calgary Dinos can finish anywhere from first to third in the final standings, with a chance to host a playoff game at McMahon Stadium for the first time since 2002. The playoff picture is extremely convoluted, with tiebreakers and the very real potential of a four-way tie for first place at 5-3, but there are a few certainties heading into this weekend's final trio of games: Saskatchewan finishes first with a win over UBC or a Calgary loss; Calgary finishes at least second with a win over Alberta or a Regina win over Manitoba; and the winner of the Regina-Manitoba game gets the final playoff spot. The Dinos can, in fact, finish first overall if they beat the Golden Bears and Saskatchewan falls to UBC Friday night in Vancouver.

Playoff scenarios notwithstanding, the Dinos will be facing a Bears team that is better than its record would indicate and ready to play the role of spoiler. Calgary has enjoyed limited success against Alberta in recent years, snapping a five-game losing streak to their archrivals with a sloppy 17-11 win at McMahon Stadium in early September. With a 1-0 lead at halftime, the Dinos needed a 16-point fourth quarter – aided by six interceptions thrown by Bears quarterbacks – to stave off the Bears in what was the slimmest margin of victory of the season for Calgary.

Quarterbacking has been the Achilles' heel for Alberta in 2008, with Quade Armstrong splitting duties with a pair of freshmen in Joe Orlicz and Ben Gorniak. Bears pivots have thrown a total of 20 interceptions in seven games, including that six-pick outing at McMahon which handed the game to the Dinos, along with five last week to Regina in a 38-31 loss. Despite the affinity for interceptions, however, the Bears actually have a better passing attack than do the Dinos, at least statistically – Alberta averages 213.3 yards per game through the air, 10 yards better than Calgary.

Much of that, of course, is due to Calgary's running game, which started the season dormant but has come alive in the Dinos' current three-game win streak. Matt Walter has racked up 347 yards in his last two outings to give him four games on the season with 140 yards or more and vaulting him into the conference rushing lead with a nearly 100-yard advantage over the injured Luke Derkson (Regina). Walter needs just 24 yards to move past Guelph's Nick Fitzgibbon for third place in the national rushing race and, with 829 yards heading into this contest, has an outside shot at the ninth 1,000 yard rushing season in school history.

Alberta boasts one of the top offensive lines in Canada West, with a very good running back in Tendayi Jozzi running through the holes it creates. Damon Fraietta is the Bears' top receiver with 397 yards on the season, 13 ahead of the Dinos' Anthony Parker. On special teams, conference all-star Hugh O'Neill has had an off year in the field goal department, hitting just nine of 16 attempts, but he does lead the conference in punting average at 42.4 yards. He will go head-to-head with Aaron Ifield, who was named the CIS special teams player of the week after the Manitoba game.

Calgary's September win over Alberta gave the Dinos a little breathing room in the all-time series, which now sits 40-38 in the Dinos' favour. However, Foote Field has been unkind to the Dinos of late, with the last Calgary win in Edmonton coming Oct. 2, 2004 in a tight 25-23 game. The Dinos can sweep a two-game season series with Alberta for the first time since 2002 with a win Saturday afternoon.

The year 2002 figures prominently in this week's potential milestones for the Dinos. At 5-2, Calgary already has its best record since 2002 with the chance to go 6-2 for the first time since 2000 and, as mentioned, 2002 was the last time the Dinos hosted a playoff game.

If the Dinos are successful in acquiring a home playoff game, it will be played at McMahon Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. due to the Stampeders-B.C. Lions game on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Shaw TV (Cable 10 in Calgary), The FAN 960, and www.fan960.com, with kickoff at 1 p.m. MT.

-UC-