No. 7 ranked Bisons football will look to advance to their first Hardy Cup since winning it in 2014, as two-seed Manitoba hosts the three-seed Alberta Golden Bears in a Canada West semi-final on Saturday afternoon.

The game at IG Field can be watched on Canada West TV presented by Co-op and kicks off at 4 p.m. CDT on Saturday, November 13.

The winner between the Bisons (4-2) and Golden Bears (3-3) advances to the Hardy Cup on Saturday, November 20. Top seed Saskatchewan (5-1) and four-seed UBC (3-3) precede Saturday's game as the other semi-final.

It's been 16 years since Manitoba and Alberta have met in the Canada West post-season. In 2005, the two met in a Hardy Cup semi-final with the Golden Bears winning 33-24. Flash forward to 2021 and a season where there's one regular season matchup to work off of, as the Bisons came back to beat Alberta in Week 2 — 31-17 at Foote Field.

That game was the first U SPORTS start for Bisons quarterback Jackson Tachinski, who will look to lead the Herd this post-season in the absence of fifth-year Des Catellier, who left with a season-ending injury in Week 1. Tachinski enjoyed his best game of the season in that start against Alberta, going 16-for-24 for 180 yards passing with three touchdowns — two to Gavin Cobb — and just one interception. The Vincent Massey product, who is also redshirting on the men's basketball team, also ran for 75 yards on ten attempts to lead the team.

Manitoba will be hoping for a similar performance to that on offence, but it's been their defence that has really come to life in wins this season. In the October 1 matchup, they held Alberta to 358 yards of total offence and just 19 first downs (to Manitoba's 23). They also tallied two sacks, one each for linebacker Brody Williams and defensive back Arjay Shelley.

After a 22-3 victory over Regina in Week 6, the defensive difference in numbers is even more stark when you compare wins and losses. In Bisons victories this season, they've held teams to just 14.3 points and 329.5 yards per game. Their two losses to UBC and Saskatchewan have seen them give up 33.5 points per game and 451 yards.

Alberta, meanwhile, comes into this game as the three-seed thanks to their tiebreaker over the Thunderbirds.

They've been led at quarterback this season by third-year Brad Launhardt, who has thrown for 1145 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. In the Week 2 matchup with Manitoba, though, three quarterbacks saw time in the backfield — with pivot Zach Montgomery putting together the best drive of the group. The second-year finished 4-for-7 for 103 yards, while Launhardt was 10-for-19 for 85 yards against the Bisons defence.

MATCHUP NOTE

• Manitoba has won three of their last four games against Alberta and has been especially good at home; the Golden Bears haven't won a game at IG Field since 2017, when they beat the Bisons 36-25 during the regular season. The home team is 5-5 in the last ten matchups between these two.

HOOFPRINTS: MANITOBA BISONS (4-2)

LAST WEEK: W 22-3, Nov. 6 @ Regina

• Rush by Committee: Manitoba's committee of successful running backs has only grown with the recent injury to Week 1 starter Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette. First-years Breydon Stubbs and Noah Anderson have been ripping up chunks of turf the last two weeks, as the two are now 5.2 and 9.2 yards per rush, respectively.

HOOFPRINTS: ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (3-3)

LAST WEEK: L 27-30, Nov. 6 @ UBC

• Downfield Attack: One area to watch with the Golden Bears is their ability to pick up yards quickly in the passing game. Averaging 13.4 passing yards per completion, Alberta ranks fifth in U SPORTS. They're also sixth in passing touchdowns with ten on the season.