CALGARY – Another massive crowd is expected Saturday night at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver as the No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos (2-0) head west to take on the UBC Thunderbirds (0-2) in Week 3 action in Canada West football.
Action gets underway at 4 p.m. MT (3 p.m. local), with the Dinos making their first appearance on the Canada West Football Showcase in 2019. TELUS Optik channel 998 will have live coverage, with streaming available on CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
GAME NOTES (.pdf)
It has become one of the most bitter rivalries in the conference, and there are usually fireworks when these two teams meet, but so far in 2019 they've been headed in different directions. The Dinos are off to a 2-0 start thanks to wins over Alberta and Manitoba, including a defensive gem at home last week where they kept the Bisons out of the end zone. UBC, meanwhile, fell by 30 points at home to Regina to open the season, then dropped a 33-point decision to the Saskatchewan Huskies on the road last week. An 0-3 start with three tough road games left on the schedule would present a difficult road to the postseason for UBC, so you can bet the Thunderbirds will be motivated to get a win over their rivals.
HEADLINES
- First of two Dinos-Thunderbirds meetings in 2019. The teams will wrap up the regular season Oct. 26 at McMahon Stadium.
- Outside McMahon, Thunderbird Stadium has been the kindest venue in the league to the Dinos of late: the last time UBC defeated Calgary at home was all the way back on Sept. 2, 2006 – Blake Nill's first game as the Dinos' head coach.
- The Dinos were the visitors at UBC's Homecoming in 2018 as well, needing a 14-point fourth quarter to win 32-28.
No. 4 CALGARY DINOS (2-0)
Last week: defeated Manitoba 24-10
Next week: host Regina
- Though the offence hasn't put up crazy numbers as in past years, Calgary picked up a 14-point win over Manitoba at KICKOFF last Friday night. Dallas Boath scored a pair of touchdowns while the Calgary defence picked off Des Catellier three times and limited the Manitoba offence to just a field goal in an old-fashioned, field-position game.
- Despite the 2-0 record, the Dinos are toward the bottom of the leaderboard on both offence and defence – at least in terms of yardage. Where it really matters, on the scoreboard, the Dinos are the highest-scoring team in the league with 31.5 points per game on average, and have allowed just 19.5 – good enough for second on the list.
- As the Dinos have had to shuffle the decks due to injuries, Jalen Philpot is the team's leading receiver with seven catches for 106 yards – 13th-best in CW. RB Jeshrun Antwi sits second on the rushing leaderboard, though, with 27 carries for 155 yards through two contests.
- With 6,815 career passing yards, Adam Sinagra heads to Vancouver 270 behind Vanier Cup champion Bob Torrance for third on the Dinos' all-time passing list. If the reigning Hec Crighton winner is able to average 265 passing yards the rest of the season, he'll have a shot at breaking Greg Vavra's school record of 8,401 yards.
- The Dinos host the Regina Rams next Friday night, Sept. 20, with a 7 p.m. MT start at McMahon Stadium.
UBC THUNDERBIRDS (0-2)
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 40-7
Next week: at Manitoba
- The Thunderbirds have struggled out of the gate in 2019 as they search for full-time replacements at some key positions. QB Michael O'Connor graduated to the Toronto Argonauts, while stud DL Connor Griffiths was a third-round pick and stuck with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
- Tommy Yanchuk has been the starting pivot for UBC in their first two games, completing 39 of 65 passes for 436 yards and two TDs. Those numbers aren't that much different from Sinagra's, but UBC has coupled that with a league-worst run game, averaging just 79 yards per contest along the ground.
- Daniel Appiah is their leading rusher with eight carries for 55 yards
- The conference's coaches picked UBC to finish fourth in the league in their preseason poll
- The Thunderbirds head on the road next weekend to face the Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg.
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