CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos have had their way with the Alberta Golden Bears of late, but it is a vastly improved squad in green and gold that the Dinos will face Saturday night in Edmonton.

Kickoff goes at 5 p.m. from Foote Field on the University of Alberta's South Campus, live on CanadaWest.tv.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

The Bears are still winless on the season, but came oh-so-close to knocking off UBC before falling in overtime back in week two. They managed 41 points against Manitoba, and the offence has been consistently scoring – all significant improvements for a young squad filled with freshmen and sophomores under first-year head coach Chris Morris. So, while the Dinos have outscored the Bears 223-17 in their last four meetings, it's unlikely we'll see that again in the only Battle of Alberta on the schedule in 2013.

For their part, the Dinos will be looking to continue the progress they have made to this point on the season, with eighth-year head coach Nill taking a young team with 10 new starters on defence and missing the reigning conference MVP in injured quarterback Eric Dzwilewski to a 4-0 record, alone in first place. There's plenty of youth on both sides of this battle, with the likes of Ed Ilnicki and Tylor Henry carrying much of the load for Alberta – and a resurgent Golden Bears team will look to inject some life back into a Battle of Alberta that has been one-sided for five years.

Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 5 Calgary Dinos (4-0)
Last week: defeated Manitoba 48-24
Next week: at Saskatchewan

Andrew Buckley had a career performance, Chris Dobko set a school record, and Mercer Timmis found the end zone four times as the Dinos kept their undefeated record intact with a 48-24 dismantling of the Manitoba Bisons last weekend at McMahon Stadium. Buckley, who threw for 512 yards – virtually all of which came in the first three quarters – was named the conference and national offensive player of the week for his efforts, improving to 3-0 as a starter in CIS. Dobko is the new University of Calgary all-time receptions leader, knocking the legendary Don Blair out of the top spot, while Timmis now has 10 all-purpose touchdowns in four games so far this season.

The offence will look for more of the same as it faces the Golden Bears this weekend. Buckley and Co. used the big play to their advantage last week with a 91-yard touchdown to Brett Blaszko and a 56-yard major to rookie Rashaun Simonise among the highlights. And Timmis just keeps churning out the yards along the ground, averaging 123.8 yards per game on 92 carries, while Dobko already has 24 catches on the year, adding 368 yards to his total.

Defensively, the youthful Dinos managed to contain – if not completely shut down – the fearsome tandem of Nic Demski and Anthony Coombs of the Bisons last week. Doctor Cassama was a big part of that, recording 11 tackles in the game to move him into fifth in the conference in that category – and tops amongst players on teams with a .500 record or better.

Calgary's defence has been the stingiest in the conference so far, allowing just 26.5 points per game – a recipe for success with the offence scoring nearly 40 per outing. But the Dinos are only middle of the back when it comes to yards allowed, an area the coaches will undoubtedly look to improve in the second half of the season.

A win coupled with a Regina loss against Manitoba would clinch the Dinos a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive year. Calgary remains on the road next weekend to face the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon, three weeks after knocking them off 36-24 at home.

Following the Thanksgiving bye, the Dinos wrap up the regular season with home games against Regina (Oct. 18) and UBC (Oct. 25).

Alberta Golden Bears (0-4)
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 39-17
Next week: at Regina

After a promising start in a shootout loss to Manitoba and the overtime setback against UBC, Alberta has averaged 20-point losses in its last two games, including a 39-17 defeat at the hands of the Huskies last week in Saskatoon. But as mentioned, there are promising signs.

The Bears are moving the ball, at a rate of 483 yards per game – that's third in the conference. Alberta is actually out-gaining the Dinos on the ground to this point in the season, and their defence leads the conference in interceptions with six – one better than the Dinos' five.

Schwartz is the catalyst on offence, averaging nearly 310 passing yards per game and tossing eight TD passes. He also uses his feet and is the sixth-leading rusher in the conference with 252 yards on 37 carries to this point. Joining him in the backfield is Ilnicki, whose 396 rushing yards puts him fourth in the conference and just off the 100-yard average. Fellow rookie, receiver Tylor Henry, is the go-to receiver with 8.2 catches per game – second in the conference – and more than 400 receiving yards. Henry is also the Bears' leading kick returner and was named the conference's special teams MVP in Week 3.

Defensively, the trio of Connor Ralph, Mitchell Koch, and Tyler Greenslade sit 1-2-3 in the conference in total tackles for a young group that has given up nearly 50 points and 600 yards per game. The veteran Greenslade leads the Bears with a pair of interceptions on the year, while Brandon Foster has a team-best two sacks in the campaign.

Alberta plays its next two games on the road at Regina and UBC before wrapping up the regular season at home against Manitoba.

-UC-