LONDON, Ont. - Following a 63-14 blowout victory over the Guelph Gryphons to retain their title as the Yates Cup Champions, the Western football team will be back in action this Saturday, November 17, where they will host the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl.

Both teams will be heading into Saturday's game following dominant wins in the Yates and Hardy Cup this past weekend. While Western played to near-perfection in all facets of the game, Saskatchewan dominated Calgary defensively in what was the upset of the season out West.

The Dinos, who entered Saturday's game with a perfect 8-0 regular season record and a convincing playoff victory over Manitoba under their belts, seemed caught off-guard against a Huskies defence that forced them into a slew of errors. Calgary proved to be one of the country's most disciplined teams throughout the season, but looked lost last weekend, giving up 15 penalties for 105 yards, three fumbles, and an incredible four interceptions to halt their offence at every turn.

The Dinos led the Canada West division with 433.1 passing yards per game with just six interceptions throughout the season, but the Huskies' ability to limit the attack paid tribute to their defensive fortitude.

Saskatchewan led the way in the Canada West with 10 defensive interceptions and 17 sacks throughout the regular season, but Western's 12 defensive interceptions, 23 sacks, and just 11.1 points allowed per game will introduce the Huskies to an even more dominant brand of defence. 

The Huskies will also be forced to go head-to-head against the most well-rounded offence they've seen all season in the purple and white. The rushing attack of Alex Taylor and Cedric Joseph in combination with the passing ability of quarterback Chris Merchant is going to be something Saskatchewan may not be accustomed to coming from a Canada West conference that tends to emphasize the passing game alone. 

However, despite the West's tendency to rely on throwing the ball, the Huskies have emphasized their rushing game all season long behind the play of senior running back Tyler Chow, who led the Canada West in total rushing yards throughout the regular season and tore apart Calgary's defence last week with 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns. But despite Chow's performance, he'll be facing the toughest test of his five-year career against one of the hardest hitting linebacker pairings in Fraser Sopik and Philippe Dion. 

"The thing about playing teams out of conference at this point in the playoffs is that, in a way, you have no idea what to expect," said Sopik following the team's win over Guelph. "They tend to pass it more out West, but we never really know how they're going to game plan for us, but, no matter what, we feel comfortable heading into next week. The trophy case is going to have to get a little bigger though, because we're putting two more in it."

Saturday's matchup will mark the first playoff meeting between the two teams since Saskatchewan defeated Western 33-17 in the Churchill Bowl in 1998 as Western looks to redeem the loss and earn their way back to the Vanier Cup for the second-straight year.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 4:00 P.M. EST in TD Stadium and fans can catch all the action live on Sportsnet or purchase tickets at westernmustangstickets.ca.