The Manitoba Bisons clinched a football playoff spot on the last weekend of the 2014 Canada West regular season with a 50-31 home win over then #2 Calgary Dinos on Sat., Nov. 1. The Bisons finished third in conference standings with a 4-4 record and now meet #8 and second place Saskatchewan Huskies (6-2) on the road in the Canada West Semi-Final playoff game on Friday, November 7 with kickoff at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be shown on live webcast at canadwest.tv website plus on SHAW TV across Western Canada. 

This is the second consecutive season both teams meet in the conference semi-final. In 2013, Manitoba won a thrilling 37-36 win at home (Nov. 1) when they blocked a kick on the last play during the first ever playoff game at Investors Group Field.

This will be the third meeting of this season between the teams as Manitoba won 41-8 at home on October 17 and the Herd lost 44-24 at Saskatchewan on Sept. 5 in the first week of the season.

During Bison football head coach Brian Dobie 19 years at the helm at Manitoba, the Bisons have won one playoff game over the Huskies as they are 1-3 and have never played a playoff game at Saskatoon. In the previous 18 years, all four playoff meetings between the two teams were at Manitoba (Canada West Semi-Final: 1999, 2002, 2013; Canada West Final: 2006). Overall, the Bisons met Sask. in two other post-season meetings in 1991 and 1973 and the only other win by the Bisons in the playoffs against Saskatchewan was a 21-8 win at Manitoba in 1973. 

At stake in the playoff game is advancing to the Canada West Final (78th Hardy Cup) next weekend. The winner of the game will face either the #4 Calgary Dinos (6-2) or the Regina Rams (3-5), the participants in the other Canada West Semi-Final on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Calgary.

Manitoba seeks their first road win of the 2014 campaign as they won all four games at home this season and lost four straight on the road.

Bison Notes: Manitoba has now made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, the first time since 2005-07.