CALGARY – At the midway mark of the 2012 Canada West football season, the No. 2-ranked University of Calgary Dinos have been an offensive juggernaut en route to their perfect 4-0 record. Saturday, on Sports Day in Canada, the Dinos hook up with their old rivals, the No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies, looking to head into the bye week at 5-0 and inch closer to guaranteeing home field advantage in the playoffs.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

Kickoff goes at 5 p.m., live on Shaw TV (Channel 10 Calgary) and QR77 radio. The game will be preceded by a massive yoga session on the field at McMahon Stadium with University of Calgary students raising awareness and encouraging participation in physical activity as part of Sports Day in Canada. For more information, visit www.goDINOS.com/sportsday.

Notwithstanding the overturned result from last year at UBC, officially the Huskies are the only team in Canada West to have beaten the Dinos since the last game of the 2008 season at Alberta – and despite their 2-2 record, Saskatchewan is a well-coached squad that will undoubtedly be prepared for Saturday's game and looking to knock off the Dinos yet again.

Calgary won both meetings between the teams last year, the first time the Dinos swept a two-game series with the Huskies since 2000. It reversed a trend that had emerged over the past several years, where Saskatchewan always had the Dinos' number – and in fact, the Huskies are still 7-3 in their last 10 games against the Dinos.

The only postseason meeting during that span was the Dinos' epic 39-38 win in the 2009 Hardy Cup in Saskatoon – and Saturday's game, the only one on the schedule this season, is quite possibly a first-round playoff preview. Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 2 Calgary Dinos (4-0)
Last week: def. UBC 62-7
Next week: bye

Save UBC's opening drive, not much went wrong for the Dinos in last week's 62-7 victory over the Thunderbirds in Vancouver. The offence exploded for 710 yards, the defence held Billy Greene under 100 passing yards on the day, and the special teams unit was almost entirely occupied with kickoffs – the Dinos didn't punt until there were six minutes remaining in the game.

Calgary QB Eric Dzwilewski is having a sensational year, with gaudy numbers that have him at or near the top of all passing categories not just in Canada West but nationally as well. He's the second most accurate passer in the country, has more yards than all but one pivot in CIS, and is quickly moving up the Dinos recordbook. His 3,931 career passing yards put him at No. 8 in school history at exactly the halfway point in his career, and he's within shouting distance of Darryl Leason's (1996-98) fifth-best total of 4,887 with four games to play in 2012. He's also sixth on the Dinos' all-time list in completions (273) and touchdown passes (30).

The offence he leads has continued to improve each week and will get another added boost this week with the return of rookie receiver Brett Blaszko, who missed the UBC game for personal reasons. Chris Dobko, Jake Harty, Richard Snyder, and Taylor Nill have all made big contributions, while the running team of Steven Lumbala, Cuong Thai Lieu, and Mercer Timmis has kept opposing defences on their toes. In the Huskies, the Dinos will face a solid defensive front with some veteran DBs that will provide Dzwilewski and Co. their stiffest challenge of the season.

Defensively, linebacker Mike Edem (pictured) is the nation's leading tackler with 38 through four games, while the three-man front has been a key cog in making the Dinos the best run defence in Canada West.

Not only do they boast the best run defence in Canada West, allowing just 106 yards per game, but the Dinos have given up less than 300 yards in total on average – more than 100 yards per game better than Saskatchewan, which is the second-best defensive unit statistically. And the results have shown up on the scoreboard – teams have managed just 11.5 points per game when playing Calgary.

With a win, the Dinos would officially clinch a playoff spot in Canada West for the sixth consecutive year, as Calgary already owns the tiebreaker with UBC thanks to last week's victory. In fact, the only way the Dinos can miss the playoffs now is if they lose all four of their remaining games, Alberta wins all four of its remaining games, and the Bears with the head-to-head matchup Oct. 12 by 60 points or more.

That Oct. 12 match-up at Foote Field in Edmonton is the next time the Dinos will see action as they head into the Thanksgiving Day bye week. The season will wrap up with a trip to Regina one week later, followed by Seniors' Day at McMahon Stadium on Oct. 27 against the Manitoba Bisons.

No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2)
Last week: lost to Regina 35-26
Next week: bye

The Regina Rams spoiled the Huskies' homecoming last week with a 35-26 victory in front of a massive crowd of more than 9,000 at Griffths Stadium in Saskatoon, dropping the Huskies to 2-2 on the season. Currently holding down the last playoff spot in the conference, Saskatchewan's two wins have come over the teams below them (Alberta and UBC), while their losses have come to the teams above them in the standings, Manitoba and Regina.

Saskatchewan features a veteran defence and a young offence, both of which have seen peaks and valleys during the year. The defence is second only to the Dinos in total yards and points allowed and rushing yards against, with Zach Hart leading the defensive line in front of a youthful – but improving – group of linebackers.

Fifth-year safety Bryce McCall anchors the secondary and is still on his chase to become the all-time CIS interceptions leader, entering this week's game with 20. The record is 21, jointly held by Huskie alum Bob Coffin along with Western's Matt Carapella and Peter McNabb, who played for both Toronto and Queen's in the early 1970s.

Receiver Kit Hillis might just be the breakout star in Canada West and is leading the conference in both total receptions and receiving yards per game. Halfway through the season, he and QB Drew Burko have become a dominant tandem, and Hillis has 21 catches for 339 yards and six touchdowns in the last two games alone. Two of those TDs against Regina came off passes from Huskies backup pivot Chase Bradshaw, who replaced an injured Burko at halftime. Both QBs are among the middle of the pack statistically in Canada West.

After the bye, the Huskies end the season by hosting Manitoba, visiting Alberta, and closing at home against UBC.

-UC-