CALGARY – On a slate of big games across the country this weekend, with the likes of No. 2 Laval and No. 3 Montreal facing off, the marquee match-up in Canada West is undoubtedly at McMahon Stadium when the sixth-ranked UBC Thunderbirds visit the No. 5 Calgary Dinos in a battle of two teams who could very well see each other in a fourth straight Hardy Cup final later this fall.
It's KICKOFF XIII, celebrating the start of the academic year at UCalgary and, new in 2018, opening Alumni Weekend. Tailgate festivities, presented by UCalgary Alumni and the Students' Union, get underway at 3:30 p.m. in the east parking lot of McMahon Stadium, with the game set to kick off just after 5:30 p.m.
KICKOFF INFO
GAME NOTES (.pdf)
The Dinos and Thunderbirds have quickly become bitter rivals, and this contest will be a litmus test for both squads early in the season – and just two weeks away from their next engagement Sept. 22 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. Both teams are 1-0 after season-opening wins last week, and both are on the road in Saskatchewan a week hence: the Dinos visit the Huskies in Saskatoon, with the T-Birds in Regina to face the Rams.
Two of the top quarterbacks in U SPORTS football will face off, with the reigning national player of the week
Adam Sinagra leading the Dinos against Michael O'Connor and UBC.
HEADLINES
- First of two meetings over three weeks between the Dinos and Thunderbirds, with both legs as major events: KICKOFF for this Friday, and UBC's Homecoming game Sept. 22 in Vancouver
- The Dinos and Thunderbirds have met in the last three Hardy Cups, with UBC taking the 2015 game and the Dinos winning back-to-back in 2016 and 2017, with Niko DiFonte the hero last year with his 59-yard game-winning field goal with no time left.
- It's the 13th edition of KICKOFF, celebrating the start of the school year at UCalgary. The Dinos have won 10 KICKOFF games in a row, notwithstanding a subsequent forfeit in 2014, and the event has averaged just under 5,000 fans in its dozen-year history. UBC returns as the opponent after back-to-back tilts in 2015 and 2016 and a first appearance in 2011.
No. 5 CALGARY DINOS (1-0)
Last week: defeated Regina 49-35
Next week: at Saskatchewan
- Adam Sinagra earned national player-of-the-week honours after his 444-yard passing performance last week in Regina, a 49-35 win. It was the 10th-best single game passing total in school history and was just 13 back of his career best 457 set in the semifinal round of the playoffs last year against Alberta.
- Calgary put up nearly 600 yards offence in a wild one at Regina last week, with touchdown passes of 74 and 75 yards and a 62-yard TD run by Jeshrun Antwi
- The Dinos will be without the services of linebacker Grant McDonald, who was suspended by Canada West for one game after Week 1 action.
- Start of a strange schedule for the Dinos, who face only UBC and Saskatchewan over the next four weeks. Following this game the Dinos head east to Saskatoon, then west to Vancouver, before returning home to face Saskatchewan Sept. 29 in their only Saturday home game of the season.
No. 6 UBC THUNDERBIRDS
Last week: defeated Manitoba 30-20
Next week: at Regina
- UBC's 30-20 win over Manitoba last week was thanks in large part to the efforts of Kory Nagata, the backup tailback, who put up 229 all-purpose yards and scored a pair of TDs. His last score came with just 80 seconds left on the clock and gave the T-Birds some breathing room after the Bisons had pulled within three in the fourth quarter
- The Thunderbirds were the unanimous pick at No. 1 among the conference's coaches in their preseason poll
- UBC owns a veteran lineup and was the top defence in Canada West last year. One of two CW teams to enter Week 1 without a non-conference game (Saskatchewan), the Thunderbirds gave up 499 offensive yards last week against Manitoba but still managed to come out on top
- Friday begins a span of three road games in four weeks for UBC. Regina is the next stop for the Thunderbirds in another big road tilt before they return home to face the Dinos – then, they're back east to face the Alberta Golden Bears.
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