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University of Calgary Athletics

Jalen Philpot
David Moll

First-place Battle of Alberta Saturday at McMahon

| By: Ben Matchett; Assistant Athletic Director (Communications)
CALGARY – It's been a long time coming.

Over the last three decades, both the University of Calgary Dinos and the University of Alberta Golden Bears have had stints at or near the top of the Canada West football leaderboard, but it's been rare to have both provincial rivals battling it out at the same time. That all changes Saturday as the 2019 season hits the three-quarter pole with the Dinos hosting the Golden Bears for a 1 p.m. kickoff at McMahon Stadium. CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op will have exclusive live coverage.

Both teams are 4-1 through the first five games of the season, and Saturday's winner will enjoy sole possession of first place heading into the Thanksgiving bye week. The last time these two programs met this late in the season with first place up for grabs was all the way back in 1993 – Calgary won that game 35-6 at home and took first place in the league with a 5-2-1 record. The teams went on to meet for the Hardy Cup that season en route to a Vanier Cup appearance by the Dinos.

Fast forward 26 years, and the teams head into Saturday's contest deadlocked at 4-1, with the Dinos' only loss coming last week in Saskatoon after opening the season 4-0. Alberta, on the other hand, dropped their season-opener to the Dinos 41-31 in Edmonton and has reeled off four straight wins, capped off by a dominant 40-20 score at UBC last week.

GAME NOTES (.pdf)

HEADLINES
  • Prior to their 1993 meeting, the Dinos and Bears also finished 1-2 in the conference back in 1984
  • The Dinos are riding a three-game win streak against Alberta and are 18-2 in their last 20 regular season and playoff meetings
  • The Calgary-Alberta tilt is the last of the three scheduled for the weekend, with UBC visiting Regina and Manitoba facing Saskatchewan in Saskatoon Friday night. And while the Dinos-Bears winner will end up alone in first, the loser will be in a second-place tie with either Saskatchewan or Manitoba heading into the bye
  • The Dinos are the lone team to have clinched a playoff spot by virtue of their win over Regina in the teams' only meeting of the season. Alberta can clinch with a win in Calgary Saturday, but has not yet done so as they have the Rams on their schedule once more.
  • Calgary plummeted four spots to No. 8 in this week's national Top 10, while the Bears moved up a spot to No. 9. Both trail No. 7 Saskatchewan in the weekly U SPORTS poll.

4854
No. 8 CALGARY DINOS (4-1)
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 29-15
After bye: at Manitoba
 
  • The Dinos' injury woes continued to mount last week as they went without kicker Niko DiFonte last week in Saskatoon, while QB Adam Sinagra came out of the game in the second half.
  • Calgary's stretch of more than 200 minutes without allowing an offensive touchdown was snapped in the first quarter against the Huskies last week, but the Dinos remain the stingiest defence in CW, allowing just 18 points and 362 yards per game. They also lead the league with 10 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries
  • Jalen Philpot sits 20 yards behind Alberta's Ben Kopczinski averaging 87 receiving yards per game. On the other side of the ball, Deane Leonard is tied for the CW lead with four interceptions
  • Sinagra enters the final three games of the season exactly 700 yards behind Greg Vavra for the Dinos' all-time passing lead with 7,701 yards.
  • Following the traditional conference-wide Thanksgiving bye, the Dinos close out the regular season with a trip to Winnipeg to face the Bisons Oct. 19 followed by a home date with UBC Oct. 26.

Alberta Golden Bears
No. 9 ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (4-1)
Last week: defeated UBC 40-20
After bye: host Regina
 
  • The Bears are 4-1 for the first time since 2005 after winning in Vancouver last week – their first road win over UBC since 2010
  • Alberta has allowed just 370 yards per game, the second-lowest total in CW behind only the Dinos at 360. The Bears lead the conference with 8.7 passing yards per attempt and 132 rushing attempts and are second with eight interceptions through five games
  • QB Brad Launhardt leads CW with 1,502 passing yards and is second with seven TD tosses, while QB-turned-fifth-year-receiver Ben Kopczynski is tops in the conference with 537 receiving yards
  • Alberta closes out the season after the bye with a home date against Regina, followed by a visit to Saskatoon to take on the Huskies.

-UC-
 
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