CWUAA PREVIEW: No.1 Dinos look to extend provincial dominance at WHITEOUT

CALGARY –  It’s a rare mid-week contest in Canada West football Thursday night – so rare, in fact, that it’s the first-ever game in the Dinos’ 51 seasons on a Thursday night at McMahon Stadium

It’s Dinos Whiteout night, with the home side set to debut – again in a program first – their new-look white helmets, which will be used on special occasions. Kickoff against the Alberta Golden Bears goes at 7 p.m., live on Shaw TV and CanadaWest.tv.

But the day of the week and the colour of the helmet aren’t the only unique features of the match-up. Both the Dinos and Golden Bears find themselves in relatively unfamiliar territory. The Bears come in with a 2-0 record as a remarkable turnaround under head coach Chris Morris continues – making this Battle of Alberta a showdown for first place as they face the 2-0 Dinos. The Dinos, meanwhile, find themselves looking down from their perch as the newly-minted No. 1 team in the nation, earning the honour for the first time since October 2011 and just the second time since 1993 in this week’s CIS Top 10.

It’s the first of two meetings between the provincial rivals this season, with the rematch set for Oct. 31 at Foote Field in Edmonton.

HEADLINES

• First-ever home game for the Dinos on a Thursday night, and the first time they will wear white helmets, which will be used on special occasions.
• The Dinos will wear an all-white Nike uniform, head-to-toe. Fans are encouraged to wear white, and there will be white-themed giveaways throughout the evening
• The winner of the game will have sole possession of first place in Canada West for at least the next week, as the teams enter the contest as the only remaining undefeated teams in Canada West and two of just nine unbeaten squads in the nation this year
• The Dinos outscored the Golden Bears 123-40 in their two meetings last season, but don’t expect a similar result: the Bears continue to improve and earned key victories over Regina and Saskatchewan to open conference play
• The teams will meet again on Halloween afternoon at Foote Field in Edmonton to close out the regular season

No. 1 CALGARY DINOS (2-0)

Last week: defeated Manitoba 46-38

Next week: at Regina

• The Dinos come into the weekend with the No. 1 ranking in CIS for the first time since October of 2011, when they held the spot for one week. Prior to that, the Dinos were No. 1 in the first poll of the 2010 season, the first time they had held the pole position since all the way back in 1993
• Led by CIS offensive player of the week Mercer Timmis, the Dinos came from behind to defeat Manitoba 46-38 in a key Top-10 tilt last week in Winnipeg. Timmis picked up 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns to earn the national offensive honours, while Andrew Buckley completed 26 passes for 340 yards and one TD in the victory.
• The Dinos have given up first-play TDs in both of their games so far: a 102-yard pass against UBC, and a 107-yard kickoff return against Manitoba – you can bet they’ll be looking to avoid that fate again against the Bears
• Calgary has won the last 10 straight regular season meetings between the teams, dating back to late in the 2008 season. One of those games, last year’s 71-3 win, was later forfeited due to academic ineligibility
• The Dinos head on the road to face the Regina Rams next Saturday before hosting Saskatchewan Oct. 3

ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (2-0)

Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 38-26

Next week: home to UBC

• The feel-good story of Canada West so far this year, the Bears are 2-0 to open the season after a huge second-half comeback against Saskatchewan last week in front of a huge home crowd at Foote Field
• Down 18-0 at half time, the Bears exploded for 38 points in the final 30 minutes, moving to 2-0 for the first time since the 2010 season
• Veteran running back Ed Ilnicki is the third-leading rusher in the conference with 239 yards on 35 carries through two games. His 61-yard TD in the final minute was the last dagger in a 38-26 win over the Huskies last week
• QB Ben Kopczynski did it with his arm and his legs last week, throwing for 300 yards and 3 TDs while rushing for 90 yards and a major
• Alberta will return home to host the UBC Thunderbirds next week.

DINOS RECORDS WATCH

• K Johnny Mark enters the game with 422 career points, tied for the all-time CIS scoring lead with Western’s Lirim Hajrullahu (2009-13). With just one pointThursday, he will become the all-time leading scorer in CIS history.
• With 72 career field goals, Mark is the new Dinos and Canada West record holder in the category, beating Aaron Ifield’s 71 (2006-10)
• RB Mercer Timmis has 39 all-purpose career TDs, passing Matt Walter’s (2007-11) previous record of 35.
• Timmis also owns the school record for rushing TDs with 37 and enters the game with 2,744 rushing yards, 4th on the Dinos’ all-time list.