CALGARY – As they reach the halfway point of the 2017 season, the University of Calgary Dinos will look to remain undefeated as they welcome the Saskatchewan Huskies to McMahon Stadium for Homecoming Saturday, part of UCalgary's Alumni Weekend festivities.

The family-friendly tailgate gets underway at 2:30 p.m. in the east parking lot, with a free BBQ for the first 1,000 fans along with inflatable games and fun for the whole family. The game itself will kick off at 4 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

At 3-0 and the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, the Dinos have been rolling, capped off by an impressive 76-17 win over Manitoba last week in a game where the defence dominated. Despite the 76-point outburst, it was actually the offence's least-productive game of the year in terms of yardage – thanks largely to starting with a short field over and over. Now, they turn their attention to the Huskies and the lone regular-season meeting between the two old rivals.

Their last time out, the Dinos ended the Huskies' season with a 47-17 win in the Canada West semifinal. Just three weeks earlier, however, Saskatchewan handed the Dinos a rare home loss and will look to get back in the win column by repeating that feat. The game will match up two of the top three passers in the conference as the Dinos' Adam Sinagra (347.7 yards/game) faces Saskatchewan's Kyle Siemens (314.7).

Both teams will look ahead to big match-ups next week, as well: Saskatchewan hosts Regina in a battle for provincial supremacy, while the Dinos head to Vancouver for a Hardy Cup rematch with the UBC Thunderbirds.

HEADLINES

• Only meeting of the season between the Dinos and Huskies, so this game could be significant in terms of tiebreakers at the end of the year
• Saskatchewan won at McMahon last year, giving the Dinos their first regular season on-field loss at home since Week 1 of the 2010 season
• It's a battle of the top two pass defences in Canada West, with Calgary's 256.7 yards allowed sitting slightly ahead of Saskatchewan's 272. The Huskies, however, have struggled against the run and are averaging more than 500 total yards against per game.
• Saturday marks the first time since Oct. 7, 1983 that the Dinos will face a Saskatchewan team not led by Brian Towriss. Val Schneider led the Huskies that day (a 61-30 Dinos win), and six weeks later Calgary raised the Vanier Cup for the first time in school history. Scott Flory is the new Huskies bench boss, and Saturday will mark his first game against the Dinos.
• Calgary leads the all-time series 55-34-1 in the regular season and has won five of their six playoff meetings.

No. 3 CALGARY DINOS (3-0)
Last week: defeated Manitoba 76-17
Next week: at UBC

• The Dinos bring the formidable one-two punch of Michael Klukas and Hunter Karl as the go-to receivers for Sinagra. Both are in the top seven in the nation in receiving yards, with Karl tied for the national lead with four receiving touchdowns.
• Calgary's 76-point outburst last week helped them remain the pace-setters for scoring in the nation, averaging 59 points per contest
• The Dinos' eight sacks last week against Manitoba was the best team effort in that department since 1995 and just one off the school record of nine in a game, set in 1992.
• The defence's 12 sacks on the season leads the conference. Calgary also leads CW in passing yards allowed (256.7)

No. 10 SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (2-1)
Last week: lost 31-17 at UBC
Next week: host Regina

• Mitch Hillis and Chad Braun have been the Huskies' lead receivers in 2017, combining for 32 catches through the first three games. Evan Kopchunzki has added another 11 to that total
• Saskatchewan enters the game with a conference-worst run defence, giving up nearly 235 yards per game along the ground. Only York has given up more, surrendering 257 yards/game.
• Kicker Sean Stenger is one of just four kickers in U SPORTS with a perfect season on the go. Stenger is 6-for-6 in field goals and 11-for-11 on converts so far. Also the Huskies' punter, Stenger has the best punting average in the conference by a mile, averaging nearly 44 yards per kick.

-UC-