CALGARY – An up-and-down regular season comes to a close Saturday afternoon when the No. 5 Calgary Dinos look to improve their record to 6-2 as they take on the 3-4 Alberta Golden Bears at McMahon Stadium.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

Pending the result of Friday night's tilt between the Regina Rams and the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon, Saturday's Dinos-Bears game may or may not have any playoff implications. Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Dinos, Huskies, and Rams are tied atop the Canada West standings with identical 5-2 records. Because the Huskies and Rams play Friday, they cannot finish tied with each other, but there will be a tie between the Dinos and either Saskatchewan or Regina. Calgary holds the tiebreaker over the Rams by virtue of their two head-to-head wins, while the Huskies hold that card over the Dinos for the same reason.

Each team can finish anywhere from first to third depending on results this weekend. A Saskatchewan win sets up the simplest equation – they would finish first and Calgary second, regardless of the Dinos-Bears score. Calgary would play host to Regina in one semi-final next week, while Alberta would visit Saskatoon.

A Regina win, meanwhile, is the Dinos' only shot at first place – a rung on the ladder they haven't occupied since their last Vanier Cup championship year, 1995. Should the Rams beat the Huskies, a Dinos win over Alberta would give Calgary home field advantage all the way to the Mitchell Bowl, the national semi-final. A Regina win coupled with a Calgary loss, however, would send the Dinos all the way down to third place and a bus trip to Saskatchewan for the third time in four weeks.

Should Calgary finish first, the Alberta Golden Bears would head right back down the QEII for a playoff semi-final next Saturday afternoon.

Whatever the outcome Friday night, the Dinos will be looking to maintain their momentum after a significant road win last week in Regina. In his first start since Week 1, Erik Glavic directed the Calgary offence to its biggest point output of the season while the defence was able to hang on against a Regina aerial assault late in the game.

Saturday's game will be busy off the field, also. The Dinos will recognize their 11 fifth-year seniors prior to kickoff, while the University of Calgary will also pay tribute to the McMahon family in honour of the 50th Anniversary of McMahon Stadium with special pre-game and half-time festivities.

Against that backdrop, the Dinos will look to go 2-0 against the Golden Bears for the second straight season after a 23-14 win Sept. 18 at Foote Field in Edmonton.

Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 5 Calgary Dinos (5-2)
Last week: defeated Regina 35-27
Next week: Canada West semi-final (TBD)

On the strength of Matt Walter's 158-yard rushing performance and 275 passing yards from Glavic, the Dinos righted the ship last week, hanging on for a 35-27 win at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Calgary was able to fend off the Regina run game, allowing the Rams just 54 rushing yards while racking up 250 of their own.

Walter sits just 17 yards behind Alberta's Matt Jarvis for second spot on the Canada West rushing leaderboard, though it seems pretty certain that for the first time since 2006 a player not wearing the Dinos' red, black, and gold will win the rushing title. Walter, the two-time defending rushing leader, trails Regina's Adrian Charles by 251 yards heading into Week 8.

In stark contrast to the record-breaking offensive juggernaut the Dinos fielded in 2009, it has been offence by committee for Calgary this season – largely due to injuries. Glavic is 1-1 in his two starts, while freshman Eric Dzwilewski is 4-1 and sits seventh in the conference in rushing – making him a solid candidate for conference rookie-of-the-year honours.

Anthony Parker and Nathan Coehoorn are still the Dinos' go-to receivers, though neither has put up spectacular numbers in 2010. Coehoorn's biggest impact has been on special teams, with two punt return touchdowns on the season – including a 98-yarder at Saskatchewan a couple weeks ago.

Defensively, halfback-turned-linebacker-turned-halfback Sam Hurl has been Mr. Everything for Calgary, sitting just behind teammate Tye Noble for the conference lead in tackles. Noble leads the way with 45.5, followed closely by Hurl with 42.

RECORDS WATCH: Kicker Aaron Ifield went 4-for-4 in field goal tries last week at Regina, giving him 69 on his career and a new Canada West all-time mark. Heading into the final regular season game of his CIS career, Ifield needs just one more to tie the CIS all-time record of 70 (Frank Jagas, Western Ontario) and two to own the record outright.

Alberta Golden Bears (3-4)
Last week: defeated Manitoba 46-21
Next week: at Canada West semi-final (TBD)

After a promising 2-0 start to the season, the Week 3 loss to Calgary sent the Golden Bears into a tailspin and a four-game losing streak. Alberta was able to emerge from that funk with a big home victory over lowly Manitoba last week, clinching a second straight playoff spot.

With their position assured – Alberta will finish fourth and be on the road to start the postseason – the Bears will look to play the role of spoiler Saturday against their archrivals.

Alberta quarterbacks have had their struggles against Calgary of late, and former Dino Julian Marchand is no exception. In the last six games played between the two teams, the Calgary defence has picked off 17 passes – including three from Marchand in Week 3 and two in last season's conference semi-final. Marchand has averaged just under 210 passing yards per game this season.

His top target has been Jess Valleau, who averages 62.9 receiving yards per game, while Jarvis leads the rushing attack with 701 yards in seven starts.

-UC-