The Manitoba Bisons (1-3) continues their 2017 Canada West football regular season with the third home game of the season against the Alberta Golden Bears (0-4) with a unique weekday afternoon kickoff at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday, September 29 at Investors Group Field. The game will also be on live webcast (canadawest.org – fee required) along with radio broadcast can be heard live on 101.5 UMFM (online at: umfm.com).
The Bisons started the season ranked number ten in the country in the first U SPORTS Top 10 poll of the season while Alberta has not been ranked this season.
Last season, Manitoba played the Bears twice and won 42-12 at Manitoba (Sept. 16/16) and then won 67-59 (7 OT) at Alberta in week six (Oct. 22/16). Over
Brian Dobie's tenure with Manitoba (22 years), the Bisons have a 17-13-1 overall record against the Golden Bears and 10-6 at home during the conference regular season.
In the 2016 season, Manitoba went 3-5 in the regular season (fifth in Canada West) and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Alberta was 1-7 for sixth and last place and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Earlier this 2017 regular season, Manitoba lost 44-23 over the Saskatchewan Huskies at home (Sept. 1), were defeated 32-18 at #10 UBC (Sept. 9), 76-17 loss to #3 Calgary at home (Sept. 16) and won 18-16 at #6 Regina in week four (Sept. 23).
Manitoba avoided the program's first 0-4 start to a season in two decades (1998) with the road win at Regina.
In 2017 conference regular season team stats after week four, Manitoba is sixth in offence with 19.0 points per game average while Alberta is fifth at 20.5. In offence yards per game, the Bisons are sixth with 332.0 while the Bears are fourth at 419.5. On defence, Manitoba is sixth with 42.0 points allowed per game while Alberta is fifth with 41.8 pts./game. In yards allowed, Manitoba is fourth place (471.0) and the Bears are fifth spot (488.5).
This is the only meeting between the two teams in the 2017 football season.
Bison Notes: The last late afternoon weekday start of a Bison football game occurred in the 1980s. Dobie earned his 100th overall coaching win at Regina.
