CIS Countdown #12: Manitoba Bisons

Fast facts:
- You ain't seen nothing yet: It will be pretty difficult for the Bisons to improve on their 2007 campaign, where they went 8-0 in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs, claiming the Vanier Cup with a 28-14 win over St. Mary's. A season that great breeds lofty expectations for future years, and the Bisons may not be able to catch lightning in a bottle again. If they can live up to the pressure and repeat despite the turnover from last year, that would be pretty amazing.
- They've come a long, long way together:That Vanier win was a bit of an unusual experience for Manitoba, though, as they hadn't claimed a national football championship since their back-to-back Vanier victories in 1969 and 1970.
- The West is the best: Last season's Vanier victory also was an unusual one for Canada West. No Western Canadian team had won the Vanier since Saskatchewan's 24-17 triumph over Concordia in the 1998 title game.
- You've got another thing coming: In most sports, back-to-back championships tend to be rather rare. That's not the case with the Vanier Cup, though, as four of the last seven Vaniers were won back-to-back (St. Mary's took the 2001 and 2002 titles, while Laval won in both 2003 and 2004). Manitoba will have a tough time trying to repeat, as they've lost 13 of last year's starters, but there's plenty of precedent to show that back-to-back championships are possible at this level.

Coach: Brian Dobie, who's entering his thirteenth season at the helm of the Bisons. Dobie won the Frank Tindall Trophy as the CIS Coach of the Year for the Bisons' campaign in 2001, where they won the Hardy Trophy as Canada West champions and the Mitchell Bowl (between the OUA champion and Canada West champion), but came up short against St. Mary's in the Vanier Cup. He's been named Canada West's coach of the year five times, and has spent 34 years coaching football at the high school and university levels. His regular-season record with Manitoba is 55-40-1-1, and his playoff record is 9-6. Dobie also played with the Bisons in the early 1970s.

Co-ordinators: Stan Pierre is the Bisons' assistant head coach and defensive co-ordinator. This will be his eighth year of coaching with the Bisons. He also played five seasons with them, beginning in 1989. According to the Bisons' coaching roster (which doesn't seem to have been updated recently, as it still says that Dobie will be entering his twelth year with the team while the more recent previews say he's going into his thirteenth), the Bisons don't have anyone listed as an offensive or special-teams co-ordinator. There's a good chance Vaughan Mitchell will hold the offensive co-ordinator slot, though. Mitchell is a long-time Bisons' coach who held the offensive co-ordinator role from 1999-2002. According to the coaching roster on the Bisons' site, Mitchell now has the title of Protections and Run Game Co-ordinator, as well as running backs coach. According to the Bisons' training camp roster, he's been promoted to full offensive co-ordinator. The training camp roster also says that Dobie will co-ordinate the special teams himself, with help from Lloyd Orris (running backs and special teams coach) and Dimitris Scouras (kickers coach).

Enrolment: 23,640 undergrads, 3,160 grad students [according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada].

Alumni in the CFL: According to Duane's July list, Manitoba has seven alumni in the CFL. That's tied with Laval for the fifth-best number among CIS schools. They've also got quite the geographic distribution: every team except Hamilton has a Manitoba alumnus. The alumni are B.C. offensive lineman Lorne Plante, Edmonton defensive lineman Justin Cooper, Calgary safety Wes Lysack, Saskatchewan kicker Jamie Boreham, Winnipeg offensive lineman Matt Sheridan, Toronto safety Chris Hardy and Montreal linebacker Cory Huclack. Another notable Manitoba football alumnus is Israel Idonije, a defensive tackle with the Chicago Bears.

Famous non-football alumni: Media mogul Izzy Asper; former Chief Justice of Canada Brian Dickson; Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz; former Minister of Transport and notable independent MP David Kilgour; communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase "The medium is the message"; former Manitoba premier and Governor-General Edward Schreyer; Let's Make a Deal host Monty Hall; and President of the Treasury Board Vic Toews.

Three-year record: 20-3, for an astounding .870 winning percentage. During that span, they outscored opponents by an average of 16 points per game.

2007 units ranking: The Bisons' offence ranked 12th in CIS competition last year with an average of 25.8 points scored per game, 9.8 per cent above league average. Their defence was the real key to their success, though: they conceded a measly 13.8 points per game, fourth-best in CIS competition and 41.4 per cent better than the league average.

Key losses: The Bisons lost a total of 13 players from last year's squad, four on offence and nine on defence. Defensive end Justin Cooper, defensive lineman Simon Patrick and cornerback Mike Howard were all Canada West all-stars last season: their presence will be missed on the 2008 Bisons. Cooper's departure in particular is a big loss for the team, as he was named Canada West's outstanding lineman last season. The Bisons also lost two of their starting offensive linemen, so the new trench warriors will need to step up on both sides of the ball.

Returning starters: The Bisons have many of their top offensive players returning, including quarterback John Mackie, receivers Terry Firr, Simon Blaszczak and Randy Simmons, and running back Matt Henry. Henry finished fifth in Canada West with 616 rushing yards (on 104 carries, giving him a 5.9 yards per carry average) and tied for second in Canada West with eight touchdowns. He suffered a severe leg injury in the Vanier Cup game, but should be back in form when the season starts. Makie had a solid year as well, finishing seventh in Rob's QB rankings with 6.9 adjusted yards per pass attempt, 19 per cent above conference average. He completed 150 of 238 passes last year for 2022 yards, but threw eight interceptions along with his nine touchdown passes. He was also named the Vanier Cup offensive MVP.

Players to watch: Keep an eye on linebacker Jim Jeavons, defensive lineman Kenton Onofrychuk and cornerback Ryan Payette: they're the only defensive starters returning from last year. For the Bisons to have success, they'll have to use their experience to weld a group of rookies and former backups into a cohesive defensive unit.

For future reference: Offensive lineman Doug Amouzouvi has impressed in camp. He's 6’5” and 330 pounds, huge by CIS standards, but has just made the transfer from the defensive line to the offensive line. Nevertheless, as Pierre McGuire often says, "You can't teach size!"

Schedule(swing games in bold):

Aug. 30 vs. Regina

Sep. 6 at Calgary

Sep. 13 vs. UBC

Sep. 19 at Alberta

Oct. 3 at SFU

Oct. 11 vs. Saskatchewan

Oct. 18 vs. Calgary

Oct. 24 at Regina

Final analysis:
Defending the Vanier Cup won't be easy for the Bisons: they've lost a lot of their stars, while other Western teams like Saskatchewan, Calgary and Regina have reloaded and will be out to knock off the defending champions. Their schedule doesn't help either, with two tough tilts against both Regina and Calgary. Fortunately, they have home-field advantage against Saskatchewan, which may be a factor. I don't see them going undefeated again, but they'll be a team to contend with and they may make a run in the playoffs.

Prediction: A 7-1 campaign.

(Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Duane Rollins.)

CIS Countdown #14: UBC Thunderbirds

Fast facts:
Kicked out by the Karma Police: The Thunderbirds had to relocate a large portion of their training camp to Abbotsford's Columbia Bible College thanks to a Radiohead concert in their stadium.
Interchangable parts: UBC will have to hope that their offence can thrive with different pieces. As Howard Tsumura of the Vancouver Province writes, they lost their featured running back, four of their five top receivers and most of their offensive line from last year. However, that offence only averaged 21 points a game (16th-best in CIS competition and 11 per cent below the league average) last season, so perhaps change is for the best.
Hoping for a rebound: Last year, the Thunderbirds went 3-5 and missed the playoffs. It was the first year since 2004 that they failed to make the post-season.

Coach: Ted Goveia. Goveia is entering his third season as the coach of the Thunderbirds. He also carries the title of general manager, and is the first UBC head coach to do so: it's unclear if that distinction actually means much, as most university football head coaches are performing a general manager's role as well. Goveia played for the Mount Allison Mounties, and then worked there as a coach from 1994-1997 after his playing career. He was the offensive co-ordinator from 1996 to 1997, and was the youngest co-ordinator in the CIS at that time. He then worked as the head coach and offensive co-ordinator of the junior football Burlington Braves for three seasons, and led them to three straight Ontario Football Conference championship games from 1998-2000. After that, he spent three years as assistant head coach and special teams co-ordinator at McMaster under Greg Marshall (the former Ticats and current Western coach, not the Blue Bombers' defensive co-ordinator), and then switched to UBC. He was the offensive co-ordinator at UBC for two years before taking the head coaching role.

Co-ordinators: Dino Geremia is entering his third year as UBC's defensive co-ordinator. Before that, he was involved with the cross-town SFU Clan for 18 years, first as a defensive tackle, then as a defensive line coach and finally as the special teams co-ordinator (while still retaining his duties with the line).Kevin MacNeill, formerly of the Laurier Golden Hawks, will handle the Thunderbirds' special teams duties this year as well as coaching the linebackers and overseeing the team's recruiting.

No offensive co-ordinator is listed on the UBC coaching roster, so it looks like Goveia will perform that role as well. He'll have assistance on the offensive side of the ball from former SFU head coach Chris Beaton, who's now the UBC running backs coach, former UBC star Bob Beveridge, who's now coaching the offensive line, and former BC Lion Peter Ohler, the quarterbacks coach.

Enrolment: 36,370 undergraduates, 7,820 graduates [2007 numbers from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada; they don't include UBC Okanagan in those, which has another 4,000 or so students).

Alumni in the CFL: UBC has five alumni who were on CFL rosters as of July, tied with SFU, Ottawa and Regina for fifth-best. They are BC Lions linebacker Javy Glatt, Edmonton running back Chris Ciezki, Winnipeg punter Duncan O'Mahony, Hamilton safety Sandy Beveridge and Montreal linebacker Shea Emry.

Famous non-football alumni: Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis, environmentalist David Suzuki, investigative journalist Stevie Cameron, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Kim Campbell and John Turner, famed paraplegic athlete Rick Hansen, author and historian Pierre Berton.

Three-year record: 11-13, with a +2 average point differential per game: that shows that they tend to win by a fair bit or lose close games.

2007 unit rankings: The UBC offence and defence both ranked 16th last year. The offence averaged 20.9 points per game, 11 per cent below the league average, while the defence conceded 24.8 points per game, 5.6 per cent above the league average.

Key losses: The Thunderbirds' main turnover is on the offensive side of the ball this year, as they only return three starters from last season. Running back Ciezki, who's now with the Eskimos, may be the biggest loss, but the team also loses four of their top five receivers, including Derek Townsend, who led the team in all-purpose yards last season.

Returning starters: Fifth-year slotback Braden Smith is the primary receiver with previous CIS experience: look for him to lead the crop of rookies. On the defensive side, the team returns nine starters from last year, including defensive end Scott McCuaig, who tied the Canada West record and led all players in CIS competition with 11 sacks last year. Also on defence is former quarterback Doug Goldsby, who returns to safety, the position he played with UBC in his rookie year. Goldsby separated his shoulder last year, which is probably why he's no longer playing quarterback.

Players to watch: The defensive line will be a strength for the Thunderbirds: in addition to McCuaig, they have other talented veterans returning in defensive end Graham Best and tackles Sean Ortiz and Mike Hayes. It will be interesting to see how second-year quarterback Marc McVeigh does as well: he had to come in under the gun midway through last year's campaign after Goldsby's injury, and he should get better with experience.

For future reference: Keep an eye on new receivers Chris Schaalo and Blaine Krueger: both put up nearly 1,000 yards in junior football last year, catching 15 and 16 TD passes respectively. Tsumura calls them "the two most prolific pass catchers in Canadian junior football last season," and that seems like an apt description.

Schedule (swing games in bold):

Today, Aug.23, @ SFU
Sept. 6 Alberta
Sept. 13 @ Manitoba
Sept. 19 Regina
Sept. 27 @ Calgary
Oct. 4 @ Saskatchewan
Oct. 9 Simon Fraser
Oct. 24 Saskatchewan

Final analysis: UBC's defense will probably improve from last year with all the returning starters, but things might be more difficult for the offense. A lot will come down to McVeigh's performance at the helm. In the end, this team might not be as strong as last year's edition.

Prediction: 2-6

(Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Duane Rollins.)

CIS Countdown #16: U of A Golden Bears

Fast facts:
- Historical strength: The Golden Bears have one of the longest-running football traditions in Canada West. They started as a rugby team back in 1910 and evolved into a CIAU and CIS powerhouse, winning Vanier Cup titles in 1967, 1972 and 1980 and claiming 18 Hardy Cups since 1922.
- Slipping and sliding: The Bears' program has fallen a bit in recent years, though. They've missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, and went 2-6 last year, their first losing season since 2002.
- Individual efforts: Despite the team's struggles last season, they still placed six players on the Canada West all-star teams and four players on the All-Canadian squads. They also sent four players to the East-West Bowl.
Coach: Jerry Friesen. Friesen enters his eighth year as the Bears' head coach. He played for the University of Saskatchewan for three years, and then began a long career as a CFL linebacker. After he retired in 1986, he served as a defensive co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan Huskies from 1988 to 1995, winning a Vanier Cup in 1990. He then worked as a linebackers/special teams coach with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a season, then spent four seasons as a defensive co-ordinator with the Calgary Dinos before taking the head job at U of A. His career CIS head coaching record is 27-29 in the regular-season, and he's 3-3 in the playoffs. He won the 2004 Frank Tindall Trophy as the CIS Coach of the Year.

Co-ordinators: Jeff Stead from the Vanier Cup champion Manitoba Bisons has been brought in as a full-time assistant coach to Friesen. He'll co-ordinate the offence and coach the quarterbacks. Darryl Draudson will handle the defence and is also the linebackers coach. Friesen handles the special teams duties in addition to his role as the head coach.

Enrolment: 29, 430 undergraduates, 6,060 graduates [according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada].

Alumni in the CFL: The Bears have three alumni in the CFL as of Duane's July list. Two of them, linebacker Neil Ternovatsky and defensive lineman Pat MacDonald, play for the Calgary Stampeders. The third Bears alum in the CFL is Winnipeg wide receiver Jamie Stoddard.

Famous non-football alumni: Richard E. Taylor, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics; authors W.O. Mitchell (who also went to Manitoba) and Timothy Taylor (who also went to Queen's); former prime minister Joe Clark; Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin; current Minister of Foreign Affairs David Emerson; current Industry Minister Jim Prentice; actor Nathan Fillion of Firefly fame; actor/director Paul Gross; Edmonton Oilers owner and pharmaceutical mogul Daryl Katz; former NHL president Clarence Campbell, perhaps best remembered for his role in the Richard Riot; Reform Party founder Preston Manning; former Governor-General Roland Michener and possibly (depending on your definition of alumni) current Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, who attended the school, but according to Wikipedia, dropped out to become a farmer.

Three-year record: 13-11, much better than the 2-6 showing last year. However, like Regina, they have an average zero points differential over that time, so pure probability would have them at 12-12 instead.

2007 units ranking: 17th in both defence and offence. They scored an average of 20.8 points per game (11.5 per cent below the league average), while conceding 25.5 (8.8 per cent above the league average).

Key losses: The Bears lost five players to graduation: offensive linemen Bryan Marshall and Scott Schriver, linebacker Ryan Michalenko and defensive linemen Dwayne Kumpula and Derek Krinke. Losing a couple of players from both the offensive line and defensive line may leave them in a better position than some other Canada West teams, though, as both units will still have a majority of veterans.

Returning starters: Linebacker Dan Bass Jr. should stand out for the Bears this year. He was the program's only first-team All-Canadian last season, and he attended the Edmonton Eskimos' training camp this off-season. The second-team All-Canadians returning from last year are kicker Hugh O'Neill, wide receiver Aaron Holba, offensive lineman Simeon Rottier and running back Tendayi Jozzy: they'll be expected to have a good season again. Quade Armstrong returns at quarterback: he completed 148 of 261 passes for 1873 yards last year, the eleventh-highest passing yardage in CIS competition. However, he threw 14 interceptions and only seven touchdowns, giving him a passer rating of 92 in Rob's rankings, slightly below average and 16th-best in CIS competition.

Players to watch: Keep an eye on the quarterback spot. Armstrong certainly has the inside track on it, but his numbers weren't spectacular last year, especially considering that Alberta's offence is reasonably pass-happy. He's also the third starting quarterback the Bears have tried in three years (2005 saw the fifth-ranked Darryl Salmon, while 2006 featured the 26th-ranked Cameron Linke. The Bears have two junior football QBs coming in, Ben Gorniak and Brendon Maher, and they just might put some pressure on Armstrong.

For future reference: Rookie running back Olukayode Sonuga might be one to watch: he's pretty highly-touted, and is coming straight out of high school instead of via the traditional junior route. He may make an impact down the road.

Schedule (swing games in bold):

Aug. 30 vs. SFU

Sept. 6 @ UBC

Sept. 13 @ Calgary

Sept. 19 vs. Manitoba

Sept. 26 @ Saskatchewan

Oct. 4 @ Regina

Oct. 18 vs. Regina

Oct. 25 vs. Calgary

Final analysis:
Don't expect a dramatic turnaround from the Bears. They have a reasonably tough schedule, especially the middle portion where they'll face Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Regina (twice). Moreover, two of their three potential swing games (against UBC and Calgary) are on the road.

Prediction: Another 2-6 finish.

(Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Duane Rollins.)

CIS Countdown: #18 Regina Rams

Fast facts:
- A Cougar by any other name: Interestingly enough, the football team is the only team at the University of Regina named the Rams. The school's other teams (men's and women's basketball, volleyball and hockey, women's soccer, and mixed-gender track and field, swimming, wrestling and cross-country teams) are known as the University of Regina Cougars. History is the reason for the distinction. The Rams started life as a Regina junior football team that was founded in 1954 after the amalgamation of two other junior teams. They joined forces with the University of Regina in 1999 to compete in the CIAU (which is now CIS).
- A proud history: The Rams won 15 titles at the Canadian Junior Football Championships between 1966 and 1998, and won the Canada West conference championship (the Hardy Cup), the Atlantic Bowl and a berth in the Vanier Cup in 2000, which was only their second season of interuniversity competition. The Rams also made Hardy Cup appearances in 2001 and 2002.
- Seeing double: There will be two T. Orbans on the Rams this year, returning quarterback Teale and his younger brother, rookie linebacker Taylor. Taylor joins the team this season after two seasons with the Regina Thunder. Check out Tim Switzer's story in yesterday's Regina Leader-Post for more details.

Coach: The Rams are coached by Frank McCrystal, who's entering his 30th year of coaching with the Rams. He played with the junior team as a linebacker, then coached high school for a couple of years before becoming a Rams' assistant coach. He took over the top job with the junior team in 1984, and stayed on when they became a CIS team. Last year, he was awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy as the CIS coach of the year.

Co-ordinators: The Rams don't only have amazing continuity in their head coach, they also have it in their co-ordinators. Bernie Schmidt, the Rams' offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach, has been coaching for the past 31 years at the high school, junior and university levels, and has spent 27 of those years with the Rams. Defensive co-ordinator and linebackers coach Paul Dawson has been coaching for 24 years in high school, junior and university football. He's been with the Rams for the past 13 years. Both co-ordinators are also former players with the junior team. Special teams is handled by Blaine Pearce (who also coaches the defensive backs) and Chris Warnecke (who also coaches the receivers).

Enrolment: 10, 690 undergraduates, 1480 graduates [according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada]. Regina does very well for their size, but their strong connections to junior football undoubtably help.

Alumni in the CFL: The Rams have five alumni who were on CFL rosters back in July. They are B.C. slotback Jason Clermont, Saskatchewan fullback Neal Hughes and wide receiver Chris Getzlaf, Winnipeg offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte and Hamilton wide receiver Chris Bauman. They also have punter Jon Ryan in the NFL with Green Bay.

Famous non-football alumni: Liberal MP Ralph Goodale, noted journalist Pamela Wallin and jazz singer Dionne Taylor.

Three-year record: 13-11, with a zero point differential per game over that span: thus, they had a little luck on their side to grab that extra win. They turned in an impressive 6-2 season last year, though.

2007 units ranking: Regina had a strong offence last year, finishing fifth in CIS competition with a 32.1 points-per-game average (37 per cent above the league average). Their defence was weaker, as they allowed 24.5 points per game, 15th best in CIS competition and 4.5 per cent above the league average. They put up an impressive margin of victory, though, outscoring opponents by an average of 7.6 points per game.

Key losses: The Rams have been hit hard with departures this year. The worst losses perhaps came at running back, where they'll be without their top three players from last year's depth chart. Graham Mosiondz, who carried the ball 87 times last year for 483 yards (a 5.55 yards-per-carry average) in five games, is expected to miss the entire season due to injury. They'll also lose Derek Belvedere, who put up 438 yards on 70 carries (a 6.26 yards-per-carry average) in six games last season, and the less-frequently used Taylor Kidby, who only recorded 12 carries for 64 yards (a 5.33 yards-per-carry average). Belvedere graduated earlier this year, while Kidby has joined the junior football Vancouver Island Raiders. Other big losses for the Rams include linebackers Mat Nesbitt and Steve Wilson. Nesbitt put up a Canada West-leading 64 tackles last season, and was named the CIS Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a first-team All-Canadian, while Wilson was named to the Canada West all-star team. On the offensive line, the Rams lost both their starting guards: second team All-Canadian LaBatte, who went to the Bombers, and Max Ivanov, who completed his eligibility last year.

Returning starters: Quarterback Teale Orban is a key one: he finished fourth in passing yards last season with 2273. He recorded 177 completions on 293 attempts for a 60.41 completion percentage, and threw 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He was the Canada West nominee for the Hec Creighton Trophy as the most outstanding player in CIS competition, and is the conference's all-time leader in touchdown passes with 66. According to Rob's adjusted net yards system, he was only the sixth-best QB in the league last season, though (but the top quarterback in Canada West).

Orban has two of his key receivers coming back as well: slotback Chad Goldie, who is the Rams' career leader with 139 pass receptions and was a Canada West all-star last year, is back for a fifth year, while third-year wide receiver Jordan Sisco, who led the team with 678 receiving yards last season, will also be back.

The defensive line will be strong, as they return four out of five starters. Two linemen who should stand out for the Rams this year are defensive tackle Paul McDill, who put up 11 tackles, three sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery last season, and defensive end Stan Van Sichem, who led the team with five sacks and also broke up seven pass attempts.

Players to watch: Keep an eye on returning linebackers Brandon Ganne, Todd Kristoff and Scott Magee, who will have to step up to fill the void left by Nesbitt and WIlson. The Rams' defense might be vulnerable this year: they weren't outstanding on the defensive side of the ball last season, and they've lost a couple of their top players.

For future reference: Rookie running backs Luke Derkson and Dane Kerluke may play a big role in the Rams' success, given the loss of all their veteran running backs. Both have substantial junior football experience: Kerluke comes in from the Victoria Rebels, while Derkson played for the Vancouver Island Raiders (curiously enough, that's the same team that Kidby left the Rams for).

Schedule (swing games in bold):

Aug. 30 @ Manitoba

Sept. 6 vs. Saskatchewan

Sept. 19 @ UBC

Sept. 27 vs. SFU

Oct. 4 vs. Alberta

Oct. 11 @ Calgary

Oct. 18 @ Alberta

Oct 24 vs. Manitoba


Final analysis:

It may be a bit of a tougher year for the Rams, given their losses at running back and on defence. Several other teams in the conference seem to have improved notably in the off-season, which will make things more difficult. They also have to play defending Vanier Cup champion Manitoba twice, which isn't an easy task. However, their passing offence and Orban should still be up to the challenge, and if one of the new running backs turns out to be a star, they could go a long way. I'm thinking they'll probably finish 5-3 this year.


(Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Duane Rollins.)

CIS Countdown #20: University of Calgary Dinos

Fast facts:
- Return from extinction: Last year was the first season in three years where the Dinos made the playoffs, but they lost in the conference semi-final, 27-5 to the eventual Vanier Cup champion Manitoba Bisons.
- Prehistoric strength: Calgary has struggled somewhat in recent years, but they still sit atop the all-time Canada West conference standings with 178 wins and 134 losses since 1968, a .570 winning percentage. Their closest rival in both wins and winning percentage is Saskatchewan, with 162 wins and 151 losses for a .517 mark.
- Two-headed dinosaur: Much of Calgary's success last season came from their double-pronged rushing attack. Canada West all-star and second-team all-Canadian Anthony Woodson was the featured back, and he recorded the second-most rushing yards in CIS competition (1183 yards on 177 carries, a 6.68 yards per carry average), behind only Bishop's star and Hec Creighton nominee Jamall Lee. He also ran for six touchdowns. However, Matt Walter, who was named the Canada West rookie of the year, provided a great second option: he finished 10th in CIS competition in rushing yards (702 yards on 79 carries, for an astounding 8.89 average per carry that was the best of any CIS player) and also scored seven touchdowns. Walter is entering his second year of eligibility, while Woodson is entering his third, so both should be cornerstones of the Dino offence for a while.
- Bucking the trend: The Dinos were 4-4 in the regular season last year, but their point differential per game was a pretty impressive 6.8, meaning they averaged almost 7 more points per game than their opponents. They put up two huge wins over SFU (54-3 and 52-14), a reasonably convincing victory over UBC (41-23) and a narrow 20-19 win over Saskatchewan. Most of their losses were fairly close, except for a 42-17 thumping by Regina. That differential strongly goes against their trend, as they've been outscored by an average of six points over the last three seasons, even including last year's positive differential. The return to the playoffs and improved point differential last season may mean that things are looking up for Calgary.

Coach: Blake Nill. Nill is entering his third year with the Dinos. He previously spent eight years at the helm with the Saint Mary's Huskies, and led them to two Vanier Cups and two more Vanier appearances, as well as six conference championships. During his time with Saint Mary's, Nill was named the CIS Coach of the Year. He also was awarded the AUS Coach of the Year title four consecutive times. Before taking the reins at Saint Mary's, Nill played in the CFL with Montreal, Hamilton and Winnnipeg.

Co-ordinators: Defensive co-ordinator John Stevens and offensive co-ordinator Greg Vavra are both back from last year. The Dinos did lose assistant offensive co-ordinator and special teams co-ordinator Greg DeLaval, though: he's now the interim head coach at U of T. Pierre Lefebvre is the new special teams guru for the Dinos.

Enrolment: 22,556 undergrads, 5640 graduate students (according to Wikipedia).

Alumni in the CFL: Calgary has three alumni currently playing in the CFL, which is tied with Alberta for the lowest number in Canada West. Those alumni are Edmonton linebacker Agustin Barrenechea, Calgary offensive lineman Tim O'Neill and Toronto offensive lineman Mark DeWit. O'Neill and DeWit played with the Dinos last season. And, of course, Dan Federkeil is an offensive guard with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.

Famous non-football alumni: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister; James Gosling, inventor of Java (the programming language, not the coffee); Robert Thirsk, astronaut.

Three-year record: 8-16, a .333 winning percentage. They were 2-6 in both 2005 and 2006, and 4-4 last season.

2007 unit rankings: Seventh in offence, where they scored an average 29.3 points per game, 24.8 per cent higher than the league average. They were 14th in defence, though, where they conceded an average of 22.5 points per game. That was still four per cent lower than the league average.

Key losses: Calgary loses three out of their five offensive line starters, which may hurt their dominant running game. In addition to the departures of O'Neill and Dewit for the CFL, the Dinos lose left tackle David Maltman to graduation. The receiving corps will also take a bit of a hit with the departure of slotback Drew Hogan and wide receiver Adam Bunz. Bunz is a particularly big loss, as he was second on the Dinos in receiving yards last year (233 yards on just 14 receptions over five games, a very impressive 15.93 yards per catch average). The team also loses some key defensive players, including defensive lineman Tim Burris and defensive back Curtis Woodley.

Returning starters: Woodson and Walter will be key components of the Dinos' offense this year, but so will right guard Reed Alexander and right tackle Dylan Steenbergen, the only two starting offensive linemen returning from last year's team. Veterans Lindsay Stevens, Chris Vail, and Alex Krausnick-Groh are expected to step in on the line, but they weren't starters last year, so Alexander and Steenbergen will have to lead by example. Also on offense, star receiver Nathan Coehoorn is back. Coehoorn had 30 catches for 417 yards last season, and was tops in both categories for the Dinos.

On defence, most of the Dinos' starters are returning, including fifth-year veterans Josh MacDonald (a defensive lineman) and Jon Waldie (a defensive back who was named a conference all-star last season). Last season's tackles leader, linebacker Chase Moore, is also back, along with halfback Matt Grohn , the team interceptions leader, and safety James Green, who put up three sacks and 41 tackles last year.

Players to watch: The battle for the quarterbacking spot will be interesting to observe. Casey Brown was supposed to start last year, but tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in a pre-season game against Alberta, missing the rest of the year. He's done his rehab and is ready to go, but he comes into camp behind Jordan Flagel, who took over for him last year and turned in an impressive performance. New recruit Brett Serhyenko, junior football transfer Deke Junior and sophomore Clayton Masikewich are also in the mix, but at the moment, it looks like Flagel and Brown will be number-one and number-two respectively. Rita Mingo has an excellent piece on the quarterbacking situation in the Calgary Herald.

For future reference: Watch out for Matt Little and K.C. Prince, two promising receivers who missed all of last season due to injuries. Some rookies may make an impact as well, including Carson Rockhill. Rockhill, the younger brother of Dinos' defensive lineman Brandon Rockhill, is a 6-6, 275-pound highly-touted lineman who can play on offence or defence. Another key offensive line recruit is Kirby Fabien, a blue-chip prospect who may challenge for a starting spot.

Schedule (swing games in bold):
Aug. 23 vs Regina (neutral site exhibition, in Medicine Hat)
Aug. 29 at Saskatchewan
Sept. 6 vs. Manitoba
Sept. 13 vs. Alberta
Sept. 20 at SFU
Sept. 27 vs. UBC
Oct. 11 vs. Regina
Oct. 18 at Manitoba
Oct. 25 at Alberta

The Dinos have a tough start, with an away game against always-dangerous Saskatchewan and then a home opener against the defending Vanier Cup champions. They only get to play SFU once this year instead of twice, so their playoff fortunes will likely be determined by the outcome of their games against Alberta and UBC. They beat UBC last year, but lost to U of A.

Final analysis: The Dinos made a huge improvement last year: the question now is if they can sustain that improvement with a tougher schedule. The key to their success will likely be their running game, but we'll have to see how much of a role their former stars on the offensive line played. If Woodson and Walter can repeat their success with less experienced linemen blocking for them, the Dinos could have another solid year.

Prediction: 4-4, with wins over Alberta (twice), UBC and SFU.

Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Duane Rollins, University of Calgary Sports Information Director Ben Matchett (his preview is here).

CIS Countdown #25: Simon Fraser

Fast facts:
- According to the CIS database, SFU's last win came on October 23, 2004, when they beat Calgary 14-12. Since then, they had a 41-36 loss to Manitoba finish out that year, and then put up three straight winless seasons. They've lost 23 in a row, and will be hoping to snap that streak this year.

- SFU's had a long history of football, but most of it's been under American rules. Their university was established in 1965, and they beat their chief rivals, the UBC Thunderbirds, in the first Shrum Bowl in 1967. Two years later, in 1969, they joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and started competing against American schools in American-style college football, which they played until 2002.

- SFU plays games all over the place. Their main home stadium is Burnaby's Swangard Stadium, the home of the Vancouver Whitecaps USL soccer franchise. However, they also have home games scheduled for B.C. Place (as part of a doubleheader with the CFL's B.C. Lions) and Abbotsford's Rotary Stadium this year.

-SFU has played 30 Shrum Bowls (annual competitions against UBC, named after Dr. Gordon Shrum, a physics professor at UBC from 1925 to 1961 who became SFU's first chancellor in 1964 and established their athletics program) against UBC.

- However, the Bowl has changed drastically over the years. SFU won four of the first five matches and tied the other one. Their dominance put the match on hiatus until 1978. By this time, SFU was well-ensconced in the American rules of NAIA competition, while UBC played by the Canadian rules of the CIAU (the predecessor to the CIS). The new bowl was played under Canadian rules from 1978-1982, favouring UBC, and the Thunderbirds won four out of those five matches. However, the game was then suspended again until 1987. When it returned, the game again went by American rules until 1996, when they switched back to Canadian rules. The 30th Shrum Bowl was held last year, and was the first one ever played on SFU's campus.

- Unfortunately, that 30th Shrum Bowl didn't live up to the billing, as UBC crushed SFU 31-2 in a one-sided tilt. Afterwards, head coach Dave Johnson told The Peak (the SFU student newspaper), "We stunk. We were an embarrassment. We didn’t play with any passion. We didn’t play with any poise. ... We are awesome in practice . . . [but] we are not ready to play college football. We'll see if SFU's ready to play this year.

Coach: The aforementioned Dave Johnson returns for his second year at the helm of the Clan. Johnson, a former UBC head coach*, only joined the program in February of last year, though, so this will be the first full recruiting year he's had. It will be interesting to see how the team does under him when he’s had a bit more preparation. He’s a former Clan linebacker as well. In addition to his experience with UBC as both a head coach and a defensive/special teams co-ordinator, he’s also coached with the University of Calgary. He’s also spent time coaching in junior and high school football and even in Scotland: he was the head coach of the Glasgow Lions in 1991, when they put up an undefeated season.

*Digression: Johnson has now joined the ranks of those who have coached or played on both sides of a big rivalry, and the even-slimmer ranks of those who went directly from one rival to the other. There's some pretty cool names in that list, including Mo Johnston (the current Toronto FC general manager who played for both Celtic and Rangers), Babe Ruth and Johnny Damon (among others who have played for both the Yankees and Red Sox: Roger Clemens also makes the first list, but he had several stopovers in between), Frank Mahovlich and Red Kelly (Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings: the best I could find for Leafs-Canadiens was recent Hall of Fame inductee Dick Duff, who played for both clubs but had a short stint with the Rangers in between), Adam Vinatieri (Patriots to Colts) and Bob Toledo (who served as a secondary coach with USC and an offensive co-ordinator and head coach with UCLA, but made other stops in between). Add any other great turncoats you can think of to the comments!

Co-ordinators: Lou DesLauriers, defense, and Shaun Olson, special teams. Both are ex-UBC guys: DesLauriers was the head coach at UBC from 2002-2005, while Olson was UBC’s star quarterback in the late 1990’s and was part of the 1997 Vanier Cup-winning team. DesLauriers also has CFL experience, playing three years with the Edmonton Eskimos and one with the Toronto Argonauts back in the 1980s. Olson has played in Europe with the Vienna Vikings and was with them for all of their four straight Eurobowl wins from 2004-2007. In addition to playing on the 2004 and 2005 teams, he also acted as offensive co-ordinator and recruiting director. In 2006 and 2007, he was the co-head coach and offensive co-ordinator.

Enrolment: 28,207 (25,009 undergrads) as of 2006.

Alumni in the CFL: For a school that has struggled lately, SFU has a lot of prominent football alumni. They have five current CFL players, which puts them in a four-way tie for seventh-best with UBC, Regina and Ottawa, ahead of stronger current teams like St. Mary’s, Guelph and Queen’s. Those players are B.C. centre Dean Valli, Saskatchewan kicker Luca Congi (seriously, what is it with SFU guys named Luca?), and Winnipeg wide receiver Aaron Hargreaves, offensive lineman Ibrahim Khan and linebacker Neil McKinlay.

Famous non-football alumni: Some good ones here too: SFU sent eight athletes to this year's Canadian Olympic team, among them Carol Huynh of gold-medal wrestling fame. Their other athletes included soccer's Randee Hermus (a Langley product!), softball's Melanie Matthews (from Surrey, so also very cool), Erin McLean and Erin Cumpstone, long-jumper Ruky Abdulai, and wrestlers Kyla Bremner and Ari Taub. Their other notable alumni include Daniel Igali (wrestling gold-medalist at the 2000 Olympics), a certain Terry Fox who needs no introduction, and historian and current Queen's VP (Advancement) David Mitchell.

Three-year record: 0-22. Not very good.

2007 units ranking: They were 27th and dead last in offence last year (a lousy 8.8 points per game, 63 per cent below conference average). They weren't much better on defence, either, placing 26th with an average of 36.8 points conceded per game (57 per cent below conference average).

Key losses: Star WR Aaron Hargreaves (now with Winnipeg), QB Jason Marshall, who's second in SFU's CIS history in both rushing yards and passing yards and WR/K Chris Passaglia.

Returning starters: The offence is mostly new faces, but the defence includes returning secondary members CB Anthony DesLauriers and free safety Ray Wladichuk . On offence, returning players Bernd Dittrich (Vienna, Austria) and Jordan Scheltgen (another Surrey product) will battle it out for the starting QB job. Dittrich is a prized recruit Olson brought in with his Austrian connections. Brings a whole new meaning to importing Europeans to help the football team out! The main running back will be Josh Havey, a fifth-year veteran.

Players to watch: The offensive line. Johnson said in a release that shoring up that unit was his key recruiting priority in the off-season. A strong offensive line can turn mediocre quarterbacks into good ones, and good ones into great ones, so his new crop of linemen may be able to make up for Marshall's departure. Key new line recruits include right guard Brent Robbins, left guard Valentin Gruber (another Austrian recruit) and left tackle Dale Furber, all of whom are expected to start alongside veteran centre Bryan Thiessen and right tackle Taylor Buis.

For future reference: The Clan have a new quarterback prospect in Adam Berger, from Surrey's Lord Tweedsmuir High School. According to All Canada Gridiron, they also have some star defensive recruits, notably DT Casey Laprise and DE Brad Erdos.

Schedule (swing games in bold):

Aug. 23 vs. UBC

Aug. 30 at U of A

Sept 13 vs. Saskatchewan: (They aren't too likely to win it, but it's at B.C. Place as part of a doubleheader with the B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. According to Scott McLean, the SFU athletics media relations spokesman, this is the first-ever CIS/CFL doubleheader. The CIS game is at noon, followed by a street party at 5 p.m. and the Lions' game at 7.).

Sept. 20 vs. Calgary

Sept. 27 at Regina

Oct. 3 vs. Manitoba

Oct. 9 at UBC: This one's the official 31st Shrum Bowl (the earlier contest doesn't count, as it's only once a year).

Oct. 18 at Saskatchewan

Final analysis:
Don't expect a drastic turnaround from SFU. Still, Johnson's recruits may yet pay off and the Clan may be able to take a game or two. My prediction's that they'll go 1-7, edging out a win either over Calgary or UBC. We'll see what happens.

(Contributors to this preview: Rob Pettapiece, Scott McLean of SFU Athletics (his preview is here).)