Football: A viewing guide to the 2010 OUA sked

The OUA released its football schedule Friday. Here's a quick week-by-week rundown, with best bets.

Is anyone else peeved not to have a Laurier-Western game, the Battle of the 401? It might have to wait for the playoffs. McMaster and Queen's also skip each other in the scheduling rotation. Would you believe the Golden Gaels have yet to visit Mac since the new stadium opened?

• Byes: Western and Laurier; Ottawa and Windsor; McMaster and Queen's; Guelph and Toronto; Waterloo and York. It really jumps out that there's no Mustangs-Golden Hawks clash.
  
  
• Week 1: The best matchup is probably Laurier-McMaster (1 p.m.). Marauders coach Stefan Ptaszek is 0-5 all-time (average score: 35-17) vs. his alma mater, so this is a good one to play right out of the box. Meantime, Western is at Ottawa (1 p.m.), the fourth time in five seasons they meet in the first week.
  
  Also: Queen's-Waterloo, York-Guelph (both 1 p.m.); Windsor-Toronto, 7 p.m.
  
  
• Week 2: The Score might want a piece of that McMaster-Western action (1 p.m.). Sticking with the theme of a coach who has yet to beat the school he used to work for, the Mustangs' Greg Marshall is 0-2 vs. Mac since taking over in London.
  
  Also: Ottawa-York, Guelph-Waterloo, Windsor-Queen's (each 1 p.m.); Toronto-Laurier (7 p.m.)
  
  
• Week 3: There's a playoff rematch — McMaster-Ottawa, return to the scene of last season's quarter-final — and a rivalry game with Waterloo at Laurier.
  
  Also: York-Toronto (Friday, 7 p.m.); Queen's-Guelph, 1 p.m.; Western-Windsor, 7 p.m. The main intrigue with the latter might be how long it takes the Mustangs' Nathan Riva to get to 200 all-purpose yards, the first quarter or first half.
  
  
• Week 4: Ottawa-Queen's (1 p.m.) stacks up as a good bet. The Gee-Gees won there in their last visit during 2008 playoffs, but Brad Sinopoli and company's early-season loss to the Golden Gaels kept them from finishing in first place. Based on last season's results, this will be the first stiff test for a retooled Queen's offence, with Justin Chapdelaine having to follow Danny Brannagan.
  
  Also: Laurier-York, Windsor-McMaster, Toronto-Waterloo, Western-Guelph (each 1 p.m.)
  
  
• Week 5: Queen's-Western, which you might recall had a memorable two-round duel last fall, have their first meeting at TD Waterhouse Stadium since Week 1 of '07 (their four games since have all been in Kingston, with Western winning a 2007 playoff game and losing those two barnburners in '09)
  
  Also: Ottawa-Toronto, McMaster-York, Guelph-Laurier (all 1 p.m.), Waterloo-Windsor (7 p.m.)
  
  
• Week 6: Laurier and Ottawa (1 p.m.) have traded nail-biter road wins; the Gee-Gees won 27-25 in '09 after stoning the Golden Hawks on a last-second two-point convert attempt and Laurier won a one-pointer, 21-20, in the capital in 2008. An Evan Pawliuk-Sinopoli quarterback duel sounds all right.
  
  Also: Guelph-McMaster (Thursday, 7 p.m.); Toronto-Queen's, York-Windsor, Waterloo-Western (all 1 p.m.)
  
  
• Week 7: Queen's-Laurier is on the docket. The Golden Hawks dealt Queen's its lone loss of 2009, although there was nothing at stake for the Gaels, who didn't even dress their top two tailbacks.
  
  Also: Windsor-Guelph, McMaster-Toronto, Western-York, Ottawa-Waterloo (all 1 p.m.)
  
  
  
• Week 8: Call it a toss-up between Waterloo-McMaster or Guelph-Ottawa.
  
  Also: Laurier-Windsor, York-Queen's, Toronto-Western (all 1 p.m.)