CALGARY – For the second time in three weeks, the Calgary Dinos and the Regina Rams will face off on the gridiron – but this time, there's much more at stake.

The two teams meet for the third time this season Saturday afternoon at McMahon Stadium in a Canada West Semi-final, with the winner advancing to next weekend's Hardy Cup game. Kickoff is 1 p.m., live on Shaw TV (Channel 10 Calgary) and www.qr77.com.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

The other semi-final has the Alberta Golden Bears visiting the Saskatchewan Huskies, also at 1 p.m. Saturday. The two winners will advance to the 74th Hardy Cup game next Saturday, Nov. 13 at the home of the highest remaining seed.

The Dinos won both regular season contests over the Rams – a 24-21 nail-biter on Sept. 10 in Calgary and a 35-27 victory Oct. 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Both games featured early Calgary leads followed by furious Regina comebacks, and the Dinos needed big plays from their defence to fight off the charging Rams late. In the first game, a Michael Lau interception in the end zone ended what looked like a promising drive for Regina late in the fourth quarter. In the second game, the Dinos nearly squandered a 21-point halftime lead and survived when a third-down play to the end zone fell incomplete.

The game will feature the two leading rushers in Canada West – Regina's Adrian Charles and Calgary's Matt Walter. Charles unseated Walter after a two-year stint atop the rushing leaderboard to become the Canada West rushing champion, racking up 972 yards against 763 for Walter.

As a team, however, Calgary once again led the conference in rushing – by more than 600 yards. The Dinos averaged just under 250 rushing yards over the eight games of the regular season. The Rams, meanwhile, have been a pass-first offence, racking up nearly 315 yards through the air on average while still managing 169 rushing yards.

The Dinos and Rams enter the playoffs on different notes. After Calgary's four-game win streak was snapped Oct. 15 in Saskatoon, the Dinos reeled off a big win over the Rams followed by a 37-5 thrashing of the Alberta Golden Bears last week to close out the regular season. That loss for Regina, meanwhile, sent them plummeting from first place and a 52-29 setback last week against the Huskies has them backing into the postseason on a two-game losing skid.

Since joining Canada West in 1999, the Rams have been Calgary's most common playoff opponent. This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, all having taken place at McMahon Stadium. The Rams hold the series edge 2-1 with wins in 2000 and 2002, while Calgary was victorious in the last meeting – a 24-17 win in 2008.

All-time the Dinos are 11-2 at home in playoff action – with both losses coming to the Rams in Canada West semi-finals. Calgary is riding a six-game overall winning streak against the Rams, dating back to Regina's last win in October 2007. The Rams have not won at McMahon Stadium since Oct. 4, 2003.

Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 5 Calgary Dinos (6-2)
Last week: defeated Alberta 37-5

Somehow, despite injury after injury, despite giving up more passing yards than any other team in the conference, and despite playing with a rookie quarterback for more than half the season, the Calgary Dinos managed to finish in a first-place tie with the Saskatchewan Huskies at 6-2.

It's a testament to the Dinos' depth and to the players who stepped up to fill the void – players like freshman pivot Eric Dzwilewski and Sam Hurl, who played just about every defensive position at one point or another on the season. With reigning Hec Crighton winner Erik Glavic back and having started the last two games at quarterback, the Calgary offence has finally begun to gel and put together some solid, 60-minute outings – a trend which will need to continue if the Dinos are to take another run at the national title in 2010.

The Dinos should get some relief from the sick bay this week with defensive back Anthony DesLauriers expected to return from a leg injury, while linebacker Adam Driedger is still day-to-day.

Calgary's defence will need a solid day against quarterback Marc Mueller and the Regina passing attack, while the run threat of Charles will provide another concern for the front seven. And Calgary will need to stay out of penalty trouble – the Dinos were the most penalized team in the conference this season, giving up an average more than 122 yards per outing.

Regina finished right behind them in penalty yardage, so it's a definite possibility that the less-penalized team will emerge victorious.

The Dinos are two-time defending Canada West champions, and a win against the Rams will give them the opportunity to play for a third straight title.

No. 8 Regina Rams (5-3)
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 52-29

The powerful Rams machine, which started the season 5-1, began to sputter late as Regina dropped its last two games of the season. Make no mistake, however – the Rams are dangerous and capable of putting up big numbers offensively, led by conference MVP candidate Marc Mueller.

Mueller led the conference in passing with 2,437 yards in eight games. He has a solid stable of receivers to connect with, led by Brenden Owens and Mark McConkey. And he has the conference's leading rusher, Charles, behind him in the backfield.

All told Regina averaged more than 35 points per game while giving up less than 23.

Regina is looking for the second conference title in the program's 12-year CIS history and the first since 2000.

-UC-