CIS Football Week 10 Previews

Photo credit to James Hajjar

WEEK 10 SCHEDULE (all times local)

OCTOBER 25

18:00 UBC (4-3) at No. 3 Calgary (7-0) (video webcast)

Ben Matchett; Assistant Athletic Director (Communications)

CALGARY – "The consensus around the country and in the conference is that because of our heavy graduation, we're not going to be at the same level as we have been … I don't want to concede that."
 
Two months after that late-August quote, not only has Blake Nill's team not conceded its spot atop the conference, it has a chance to do something no other team in school history has managed: put up a perfect 8-0 regular season.
 
Other than preparation for what they hope is another long playoff run, the goose egg in the loss column is what will motivate the University of Calgary Dinos Friday night as they wrap up conference play by hosting the 4-3 UBC Thunderbirds at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff goes at 6 p.m., live on CanadaWest.tv.
 
It's fitting that the chance to go undefeated should come against the Thunderbirds. The last time the Dinos were in this situation at 7-0 with first place locked up was two years ago, in 2011. Then, Calgary headed to Thunderbird Stadium and was handed a 36-23 loss – a result that was later overturned due to the use of an ineligible player. So while the Dinos were officially 8-0 in 2011, it didn't happen that way on the field – and Nill's squad would love to put that record in the history books sans asterisk.
 
Adding to the intrigue of this game, however, is that for the second year in a row, it's a good bet the Dinos will play back-to-back home games against the same team to end the regular season and begin the playoffs, as a likely scenario in the final conference standings has UBC finishing fourth and heading right back to Calgary for the semi-final next Saturday, Nov. 2. The situation is slightly different than the Dinos-Manitoba series a year ago, with UBC still mathematically able to finish as high as second place and the other games coming on Saturday. A year ago, the same situation resulted in the highest-scoring game in Canada West history, with the Dinos coming out on top of a wild 78-54 contest. A week later, the Dinos won again – this time by a relatively tame 56-18 score.
 
It's a rematch of the season-opening tilt Aug. 31 in Vancouver, which the Dinos won 41-31 after scoring 10 points in the final three minutes and change after losing quarterback Eric Dzwilewski. Enter Andrew Buckley, who not only led the Dinos to victory that day but has repeated the feat six more times.
 
Regardless of how this one turns out, the Dinos remain secure in the knowledge that they will be home next week to host the conference semi-final Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., live on Shaw TV.
 
Here's a look at the two teams:
 
No. 3 Calgary Dinos (7-0)
 Before bye: defeated Saskatchewan 24-12
 Next week: host Canada West semi-final
 
Mercer Timmis has run away with the conference touchdowns record, scoring three in the second half last week against Regina to break Don Blair's conference all-purpose majors mark as well as former UBC tailback Chris Ciezki's single-season rushing touchdowns mark. With one game left in the year, the conference MVP candidate will look to pad his stats just a little more and set those records just a little higher. And if he rushes to his average for the season, Timmis should win the national rushing title – he's just 27 yards away from 1,000 on the season.
 
The coaching job done by Nill and his staff this year has been nothing short of remarkable – remember, the team lost 10 of 12 starters on defence, its top six defensive linemen, three starting offensive linemen, and their All-Canadian tailback, all before the season started.
 
Then, Dzwilewski – the 2012 Canada West MVP – went down. Despite all that, the team leads the conference in most offensive and defensive categories, with only a couple of exceptions: Regina has the top passing offence in Canada West, while the team that has given up fewer yards than anyone else in the conference? The UBC Thunderbirds.
 
Calgary's run defence will be tested by Brandon Deschamps, who is averaging two yards per game more than Timmis with 141, and the rest of the Thunderbirds, who rank second only to the Dinos in rushing offence.
 
UBC Thunderbirds (4-3)
 Before bye: defeated Alberta 60-0
 Next week: Canada West semi-final
 
UBC will likely have some confidence from their season-opening game against the Dinos and enters the weekend after a statement 60-0 shutout of the Alberta Golden Bears in their last home game of the year last week. After missing a week, Deschamps returned to the lineup against the Bears and picked up 82 yards on 12 carries for the T-Birds, who had nine different players get at least one rushing attempt in that game.
 
Greg Bowcott took the majority of the snaps for UBC against Alberta, taking over for starter Carson Williams after back-to-back two-and-outs in the first quarter. T-Birds coach Shawn Olson has been unafraid to use both pivots throughout the season, however, and it's certainly likely both will get some playing time against the Dinos Friday night. Bowcott has completed 466 passes for 604 yards on the year, while Williams has 975 passing yards on 77 completions. David Scott is far and away the team's receiving leader with 540 yards with an average of 15 yards per catch.
 
The road has been a friendly place to UBC so far, which has yet to lose away from Thunderbird Stadium this year with wins at Alberta, Regina, and Manitoba under their belts. To continue that trend, however, they'll have to win in a place that hasn't been all that hospitable to them or anyone else of late: the Dinos are 34-2 at home in their last 36 games dating back to 2007, while the Thunderbirds have not tasted victory at McMahon Stadium since September 2000 – a streak of nine consecutive road losses against Calgary.
 
The Thunderbirds can still finish anywhere from second to fourth, depending on the results around the conference this week. A UBC win coupled with a Saskatchewan loss would bump the Thunderbirds up to at least third place and, depending on the point spread in the Manitoba-Alberta game, could result in a home playoff game – so there's plenty to play for on the UBC side. A Dinos win would ensure UBC finishes fourth and comes right back to McMahon next week for the playoffs. The Thunderbirds lose any tie with Saskatchewan, with the Huskies owning the tiebreaker in that head-to-head match-up, while UBC and Manitoba split their two games with both teams taking 4-point wins – meaning any ties between them would be broken by final point differential in all conference games.
 

OCTOBER 26

13:00 OUA quarter-final: Ottawa (5-3) at No. 8 McMaster (5-3) (Sportsnet East, Ontario & Pacific)

13:00 No. 2 Laval (7-0) at No. 6 Montreal (5-2) (Radio-Canada TV & video webcast)

13:00 McGill (3-4) at No. 7 Bishop’s (5-2) (video webcast)

13:00 No. 10 Saskatchewan (4-3) at Regina (2-5) (SHAW TV & video webcast)

Source: Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports Information

SASKATOON - With a slim chance for a home playoff date, the CIS #10 Saskatchewan Huskies will look to do what they can in the three piece puzzle against provincial rival the Regina Rams in the final regular season game of the 2013 Canada West football season at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The game is available live on CK750 or www.ck750.com or via webcast at canadawest.tv. It can also be watched on Shaw Cable.

• Stuck in a three-way tie in the Canada West standings, Saskatchewan can still secure a home postseason date for the first time since 2010. In the event of a three-way tie between the Huskies, Manitoba Bisons and UBC Thunderbirds following the final games of the season, Saskatchewan would secure second place based on their regular season record among the tied teams.
• For a three way tie to occur, the Huskies, Manitoba Bisons and UBC Thunderbirds would need to close out the season with wins in the final games of the season.
• Saskatchewan could finish second, third or fourth depending on the outcomes of the final games of the season.
• Canada West playoff games will be played: Friday, November 1 (3rd @ 2nd) and Saturday, November 2 (4th @ Calgary).
• Huskie receiver Mitch Stevens continues to climb the all-time Saskatchewan touchdown reception list sitting alone in fifth with 13-career touchdown catches. Stevens is chasing Larry Giles record of 17 set in 1975.
• Huskie kicker Denton Kolodzinski leads the Canada West with 17 made field goals and is 5-for-6 in kicks coming from 40-49 yards. He is just three field goals shy of breaking the Huskie Athletics single season record.

#10 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3)
Looking to stop a two-game losing streak, the Huskies will hope to work out kinks against the Rams on the road before the Canada West postseason.

Scoring just three touchdowns with only one of those from the pass in the skid, Saskatchewan hopes to find the end zone with more ease against the Rams. Moving the ball up the field hasn't been the problem for the Drew Burko led offence. The second-year quarterback averages 299 yards per game, completing 61 per cent of his passes. His main targets Garrett Burgess, Kit Hillis and Mitch Stevens have combined for 1,520 yards but just five touchdowns.

Saskatchewan's defence continues to lead the Canada West with 22 sacks.

Regina Rams (2-5)
Sitting on the outside looking in, the Regina Rams will look to spoil the Huskies home playoff dream.

Regina quarterback Cayman Shutter has been consistent completing 158-of-280 passes for 2,184 yards and 12 touchdowns. Addison Richards, Jared Janottta and Kolten Solomon have received the bulk of the passes combining for 1,665 yards and eight touchdowns.

In the first meeting between the Huskies and Rams in Saskatoon, the Huskies squeaked out the 40-33 win on a seven-yard pass to Mitch Stevens at 8:16 in the game.

14:00 Saint Mary’s (4-3) at StFX (3-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)

14:00 Acadia (3-4) at Mount Allison (3-4) (video webcast)

16:00 Concordia (0-7) at Sherbrooke (2-5) (video webcast)

17:00 No. 9 Manitoba (4-3) at Alberta (0-7) (video webcast)

Source: Matt Gutsch, Alberta Sports Info

The University of Alberta Golden Bears football team will end their 2013 season against the same team they started it against, the Manitoba Bisons. The eighth and final game of Alberta’s Canada West regular season will take place on Saturday, October 26 at 5:00 p.m. at Foote Field.
 Alberta, under first-year head coach Chris Morris, is still looking for their first win of the season, while the Bisons, at 4-3, are headed to the conference post-season after this weekend. They are, however, in a dog fight for second place in Canada West, along with Saskatchewan and UBC. So while the Bisons have clinched a playoff spot, they do come to Edmonton with something to prove as they need to win this weekend in order to cement second place in the standings and a home playoff date. On top of that, if all three tied teams remain tied in wins and losses after this weekend, second place will be decided by points for and against, which means Manitoba will go at Alberta full-throttle on Saturday.
 
The Golden Bears, a program flush with rookies and short on depth, has shown that they are capable of putting points on the board as they recorded 112 points in their first three games, or an average of 37 per game. The highlight for the offence, in terms of offence, was undoubtedly the season-opening tilt in Winnipeg when the Bears banked 41 points in a loss to the Bisons. As a group, Alberta ran in excess of 90 plays on offence and churned out over 600 yards.
 
It’s been downhill for the Evergreen and Gold since then, however, as they have continued to struggle stopping teams, and have gone through power outages on offence.
 
Freshman runningback Ed Ilnicki has remained a bright spot for the Alberta program as he is the fourth-leading rusher in Canada West, thanks to a 5.2 yards-per-carry average and 515 total yards despite having the fewest amount of carries among the top four rushers in the conference.
 
First year receiver Tylor Henry continues to impress as well. The former Edmonton Wildcat leads the conference in receptions per game, with almost seven per game, and he is sixth in receiving yards per game with an average of 77. His 539 total receiving is the fourth-highest in Canada West as well, and he is second in all-purpose yards with 1,152 thanks to 301 punt return yards and 277 kick-off return yards.
 
The Bisons come packing the second-most prolific offence in Canada West, as they are averaging 35.7 points per game as well as 510 yards per game.
 
Led by explosive runningback Anthony Coombs as well as quarterback Jordan Yantz, the Bisons are very dangerous up front. Coombs, who is a two-time CIS All-Canadian, however, was hurt in Manitoba’s previous game and his status against the Bears is unknown. Yantz, meanwhile, has been adjusting to CIS play quite nicely following a CJFL career that saw him named the CJFL Player of the Year in 2012. He has thrown for 300 yards per game, on average, and has a league-best 20 touchdown passes.
 
Graduating Players
 Saturday is the also the final CIS game in the careers of Golden Bears Steven Giang, Jess Valleau, Smith Wright, and Cayce Kerr.
 
Giang has recorded 59 tackles in 20 games as a Golden Bears defensive lineman, including 17 in seven games this season. A former Edmonton Wildcat, Steven played in the CIS East-West Bowl this past summer and was the Golden Bears MVP last season.
 
Defensive back Cayce Kerr has been with the Bears since 2007, including one season as a red shirt, and in that time he has recorded 54 tackles, including a career-high 35 in his second season. He has had 10 tackles and one interception in five games this season. He is a graduate of Austin O’Brien High School.
 
Originally from Calgary, Smith Wright has been with the Golden Bears since 2010. Soon to be a graduate of the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, Smith is also a draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos. In his four seasons as a Golden Bear, he has done a number of jobs and done them well. He has rushed for three touchdowns, caught 18 passes for 160 yards, returned kicks, recorded 259 all-purpose yards and made 21 tackles. On top of that, he has been a Canada West champion as a weight thrower with the U of A track & field program.
 
Jess Valleau leaves the Golden Bears program after five prolific years. He is 6th in all-time Golden Bears all-purpose yards with 3,406, he is 7th in career receptions with 106, he is 8th in career receiving yards with 1,575 and he has recorded more kick-off return yards than any other Golden Bear in program history with 1,212. He also has the third-longest kick-off return in team history, which he recorded in 2011 when he took a kick-off 100 yards to the end zone, right here at Foote Field. Originally from Wainwright, Jess will be graduating from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation.

20:00 OUA quarter-final: Windsor (4-4) at No. 5 Guelph (7-1) (video webcast)