The CIS Blog

Interesting week shaping up. With the records close, a lot of the experts have tried to shake up the picks to either build some breathing room or drop to the basement. We'll see if some of the Hail Mary passes have any effect on the standings.

This week's skinny:

Montreal @ Sherbrooke (Oct. 1; 1pm)

Prepare for one hell of a doozy. With Laval expected to march over Concordia, and the season half gone, this game will basically determine second place in the Quebec conference. Who will win? Sherbrooke has the edge here. They’re at home, and have massive offensive talent. Montreal may be disciplined, but they’re not exactly wowing us.

King’s Pick: Sherbrooke 32–27

Ottawa @ Wilfrid Laurier (Oct. 1; 1pm)

The Gee-Gees have performed better but last week Laurier nearly stole one against the Mustangs, managing the conference-leading run offence. If they can repeat that against the third-ranked run attack in Ottawa, they should win this week. This will be a quarterback showdown, which gives Laurier the edge with the OUA's leading passer in Shane Kelly. In a high scoring and close affair, Laurier gets the edge with the emotion of playing in front of their centennial homecoming crowd.

Radoslav's pick: Laurier 38-36

Guelph @ Windsor (Oct. 1; 7pm)

Despite the records, these two teams are more closely-matched then one would think. At 3-1 Windsor has looked like a contender while Guelph has struggled with a reversed 1-3 record. Bottom line: Guelph has a lot to prove this week after having a strong first half against McMaster and unravelling in the second half. A Windsor win all but guarantees them 5+ wins (they play York on Oct. 22) and a trip to the post season. This game is close... but if Guelph can put together a full 60 minutes they are the team to beat.

Grobe’s pick: Guelph 31-22

Concordia @ Laval (Oct 2; 1pm)

Last week Concordia played very well in a loss and Laval played probably their worst game in years in a win. This week, Concordia gets to go to Telus-Laval Stadium and will be hard pressed to repeat their impressive three-quarter performance in the season opener. This week, however, Reid Quest will get his second start after mop up duty against Laval in the first week. This game will be closer, but Laval will keep rolling. However, this game could go the other way should the Rouge et Or play anything close to last week.

Book’s Pick: Laval 24-14

Alberta vs. Calgary (Oct. 2; 1pm)

To say this game could get ugly would be an understatement. The conference's best squad Calgary and their potent rushing attack that averages nearly 275 yards per game goes up against a rush defence from Alberta that has been suspect at best this season giving up 242 yards per game. Don't expect the stats to lie this weekend in what could be an ugly game down at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

Daum’s Pick: Calgary 41-14

This week it's all about playoff races.

It is, of course, just a little early, but it's worth taking a quick look at how the races are shaping up after a month of the short two-month regular season.

We'll start in the OUA, where the playoff race is substantially more interesting than the race for top spot in each conference. Ryerson and Western both lie outside a playoff spot after seven games.

Ryerson's slow start to the season, coupled with games against Toronto and Queen's, is hurting them. They'll need to pick up points against Trent and hapless Nipissing (three points from nine games) to stay in the conversation in the east.

Western, who took Laurier to penalties last year, are finding it hard to get points from anywhere at the moment. The Mustangs haven't scored in three straight.

Laurentian look fairly safe now in the east with a seven point lead over RMC. Things are tighter in the west where Western could catch Brock next weekend when those sides meet. They'll have to score in order to do so.

RSEQ's playoff race is deceptive--it looks close but it probably isn't. Montreal and McGill are running away with things, and Sherbrooke and Laval hold down the remaining two places and neither of those two schools is likely to lose them, although UQTR are hanging around.

The real fireworks remain at the top in Quebec, where Montreal and McGill met this past weekend. McGill's Alexandra Morin-Boucher scored four minutes in, but Isabelle Dumais tied it in the 38th minute.

Then, in proper Montreal fashion, things got chippy. Two yellows came out before Emmanuelle Beliveau-Labrecque was tossed for taking out Morin-Boucher in the box on a break. Martine Julien saved the penalty, and the game ended 1-1. The full game story and some fairly boring coach quotes can be read here.

In Canada West, Saskatchewan and Alberta were set back by Trinity Western, who are back in the top two and pressing Alberta with a game in hand. Melissa Mobilio put the sword to the Huskies with a goal and an assist.

The more remarkable result for TWU was their road win in Edmonton against an Alberta team that looked nearly impossible to beat. Nikki Wright drew a penalty and Colleen Webber scored it for a 1-0 win that, according to this report, Kristen Funk pretty much won on her own. Of course.

The University of Fraser Valley Cascades continue their tumble out of a playoff spot and are now winless in four, having being held to a road draw by Lethbridge. One could be forgiven for expecting a little more of the national bronze medallists. They did open the season with two wins, but that seems like awhile ago now.

The AUS conference defies figuring. UNB, who were down and out last week, outscored opponents 9-1 this weekend, including a 6-1 win over a Moncton team that had held UPEI and Dalhousie to 1-0 wins. That's thrown UNB back into contention for a playoff spot they don't need, as hosts.

More shockingly, Cape Breton suddenly find themselves in fifth after a tough 3-2 loss to Dal and a shocking 1-0 loss to Saint Mary's. Beth O'Reilly won the game for Dal after looping an improbable, perfect and completely intentional chip shot over Tiffany O'Donnell from only 20 yards out.

UPEI and Dal both have tough games next weekend which might make things even tighter. As it stands, we can pretty much say Moncton are out after an 0-5 start to the season, and Acadia will join them soon unless they improve.

Well this week all of the AUS men's hockey teams hit the ice for their first exhibition games, or what the CIS likes to refer to as "non-conference" games. Guess I should get get with the program. Apparently "exhibition" games are those against non-CIS teams, like Calgary's tilt against the Flames Prospects. The NCAA follows similar nomenclature, which is probably where the CIS picked it up. The big difference is that in the NCAA non-conference game results affect official rankings and seedings, and can determine whether you get an invitation, or not, to a regional playoff tournament.

The first game of the week was Monday night in Port Hawkesbury, NS, just across the causeway in Cape Breton. Dalhousie showed up short-staffed and were humbled by UNB 8-0, with hometown boy Nick MacNeil and Jordan Clendenning each notching a pair of goals.

Tuesday night the Calgary Dinos started their tour of the Maritimes with a 3-2 overtime shootout loss to Acadia. Rookie Axeman Nicolas Choinard scored the winner and was the player of the game in the annual Don Wells Challenge Cup.

Wednesday night the Dinos were in Antigonish to play the X-Men for the Charles V. Keating Cup Challenge and scored first and held on for the 2-1 win over StFX. Acadia kept up their winning ways with a 5-1 win over Saint Mary's in Halifax while UPEI travelled to Fredericton and hammered St. Thomas 7-3, a bit of a reality check for the rebuilding Tommies and new coach Troy Ryan. After the game the Panthers got right back on the Trans-Canada Highway and defeated Carleton 5-2 Thursday night in Ottawa.

Friday night was a busy night. Moncton got their season off to a good start in Wolfville with a 1-0 blanking of Acadia. Dalhousie was back in Cape Breton, this time in Louisdale, but got hammered again. This time it was 8-1 at the hands of StFX. Eight different X-Men scored in the game. UPEI travelled on to Montreal where they defeated McGill 5-4 in an overtime shootout. Matt Carter scored the only goal of the shootout, snapping a 22-game win streak at McConnell Arena for the Redmen, who hadn't lost since a 5-2 OUA East semifinal setback to Carleton on Feb. 24, 2010.

Friday night also saw Saint Mary's double Brock 4-2 in the opener of the RBC Steel Blade tourney in St. Catharines. After a travel day, Calgary was back in the Aitken University Centre in Fredericton, for a replay of their match at the Cavendish University Cup against UNB. There were lots of parallels -- V-Reds d-man Josh Kidd, the last second hero of that game in March, opened the scoring with another blast through Dinos netminder Dustin Butler. As was the case in March, Teegan Moore scored Calgary's only goal against Travis Fullerton on a second period power play. The big difference in this game was that after a slow start UNB outshot Calgary 30-14 in the 3-1 win.

Saturday night UNB and Calgary travelled 40 minutes south to the small community of Fredericton Junction for a charity game. This was another rugged, physical match between two now rivals. This was a low scoring match -- V-Reds won 2-0 with an empty netter and onetime NHLer Dan LaCosta got the shutout. It was the fourth game in five nights for the Dinos. St. Thomas was at Acadia, but a similar result in a 6-2 loss to the Axemen. Moncton continued their road winning ways in Halifax, 5-2 over Dalhousie. The Tigers have now given up 21 goals in three games. Ouch. UPEI played McGill again and chalked up another victory, this time 4-3 in regulation time. SMU played their second game in St. Catharines, a 6-4 win over Guelph.

There was only one AUS game Sunday, as the Huskies dropped the Steel Blade tourney championship game 4-1 to host Brock.

This week Dal will be hoping for a win when they host Acadia on Wednesday. Thursday StFX is in Fredericton to play St. Thomas while UNB will be an hour upriver in Woodstock to host UQTR. Friday Dal will be in picturesque Cocagne, NB to play Moncton while SMU will be hosting Les Patriotes in the second leg of their tour of the Maritimes in neutral site Truro, NS.

Saturday night UQTR is at STU, while Dal is at UPEI. The Panthers then travel to Cocagne on Sunday to play Moncton.

Also on the weekend the annual NCAA road trips begin. UNB will be at New Hampshire on Saturday and Maine on Sunday. Acadia will be at the hard-to-spell teams: Rensselaer on Saturday and Quinnipiac on Sunday. StFX sees Boston University on Saturday and Northeastern on Sunday.

AFL Football: Since the CIS Blog is all about football this time of year, here's some weekend club football to pass along from the Atlantic Football League. Holland College of Charlottetown got past Dalhousie University 16-13. Matt Hanson returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown but the UNB Saint John Seawolves dropped a 33-7 decision to the UNB Fredericton Red Bombers.

UBC's rise (+6 to 7th) highlights the latest Power Rankings, with three teams jumping three spots or more and four teams dropping by at least four.

Your quick recap of the games played by the top 10 teams, who went 6-0 this week against non-top-10 teams and 8-2 overall.

Laval (4-0): W 12-4 vs. McGill. My rankings had them as about 45-point favourites going into this game, and I guess they did not cover.
Western (4-0): W 34-28 at Laurier. First time the Mustangs have had a game in doubt this year. The WLU offence and punter apparently had 4:30 reservations at Morty's, because how else do you explain their second-last drive? With less than three minutes to play, they failed to convert a 2nd and 1, then punted (for a grand total of 15 yards!) on 3rd and 2.
Calgary (4-0): W 38-24 vs. Saskatchewan. It was 36-10 as late as halfway through the fourth. Just a consistently good effort from Calgary. Gain eight yards per play and you'll often score enough to win, even if you lose the turnover battle (3 to 2 for the Huskies). Steven Lumbala rushed for 107 on 9, including a 45-yard TD; Eric Dzwilewski (20/28, 255) connected with Chris Dobko 11 times for 11 yards per catch.
Montreal (3-1 for now): W 36-22 at Bishop's. They were down 10-7, but then the last minute of the first half happened: 36-yard punt return, 10-yard Rotrand Sene TD, fumble on a kick return, 26-yard pass, 9-yard TD pass. 20-10. The Gaiters later conceded a safety; Chris Lund (and I) would like a word with them.
Sherbrooke (3-1): W 33-26 at Concordia in what was likely the game of the week. (Jared said 32-25. Slacker.)
McMaster (3-1): W 37-13 at Guelph. Five turnovers in the first half alone! How did they win this? You know, other than holding Guelph to 37 yards rushing. Of note: rookie linebacker Aram Eisho led the team with 8.5 tackles, more than he had in the first three games combined.
Saskatchewan (2-2): L 38-24 at Calgary. Only 10 completed passes. There have been better games. They have a rematch against the Dinos on Oct. 14 though. The Huskies started their too-little, too-late, non-comeback with a six-yard TD run by Garrett Bolen, only his third carry of the year, but around here we call that 2/15ths of a Steven Lumbala.
Saint Mary's (2-1 for now): W 60-6 vs. Mount Allison (in Moncton). I think it's adorable that Neate chose the Mounties to win this one.
UBC (3-1): W 29-23 vs. Manitoba. Perhaps the most efficient offence in CIS — though let's give them another shot at Calgary, and maybe a bowl game, before we coronate them as such.
Manitoba (2-2): L 29-23 at UBC. Four out of six teams ranked in Canada West, and three of six in the Laval conference? Oh well. This No. 10 team will drop out, be replaced by Windsor or Acadia, who will probably lose next week and drop out, then be replaced by...

Manitoba may have proved they were the real deal this weekend, but with a loss to UBC the Bisons couldn't take over second-place in the conference, while Calgary earned a win at home over Saskatchewan, and Regina threw everything but the kitchen sink at Alberta in an impressive win.

#9 UBC - 29
#10 Manitoba - 23

Manitoba's Khaleal Williams had a big day for the Bisons with 391 yards passing and a pair of TDs, but that performance was overshadowed by Canada West MVP frontrunner Billy Greene's day. Greene was phenomenal again for the T-Birds throwing for 306 yards including three TDs. The T-Birds starting pivot didn't throw any interceptions on the day, leaving him as the sole starter in the conference yet to have thrown an INT.

Jordan Grieve's 72-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter from Greene was the defining moment of the game, breaking a 20-20 deadlock.

UBC's 3-1 start is their first since 1999, a year that saw the T-Birds go 7-1 to finish first in the conference before losing to the defending Vanier Cup champion Saskatchewan Huskies in the Hardy Cup final. The T-Birds take on the Huskies next weekend in Saskatoon, while Manitoba heads to Regina to take on the Rams.

Regina 38
Alberta 14

Speaking of Regina, what a day it was for the Queen City football crew Saturday in Edmonton. To say head coach Frank McCrystal threw a curveball at the Bears would be a massive understatement. QB Frankie Gray was expected to get the start for Regina, but instead the Rams fourth string QB heading into the season, second-year slotback Zach Oleynik got the start for Regina. What a day it would be for the former Balfour High School QB.

Oleynik wasted no time getting Regina on the board, coming out and engineering a TD drive on the Rams second possession to make it 7-0 Regina. That only foreshadowed what was to come, as Oleynik went on to toss three more TDs, while making only one mistake - an interception by Jason Hetherington in the second quarter - to lead Regina to a much needed win.

RB Adrian Charles was also big for Regina rushing for 165 yards and his first TD of the season. The Rams did a masterful job of keeping the Bears defence off balance using Oleynik, Gray - who only threw the ball three times, but rushed for 61 yards - Charles, and Kahlen Branning at the quarterback position with Charles and Branning both chalking up big runs after taking their turn under centre.

The loss essentially spells the end of Alberta's minimal playoff hopes, while Regina is now only one game back of both Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the race for fourth. Alberta heads to Calgary this week where they'll take on the undefeated Dinos.

#3 Calgary - 38
#7 Saskatchewan - 24

The Dinos now sit alone atop the conference thanks to their first win at home against the Huskies since 2000 - talk about an odd stat for a team that's won more than their fair share of Hardy Cups since Blake Nill took over as head coach.

If it weren't for some big plays on special teams - Nico Higgs blocked punt that led to a TD, and an on-side kick that was successfully recovered in the fourth - it wouldn't have been much of a contest. The Huskies only had 177 yards of total offence on the night, including only 90 yards passing.

Eric Dzwilewski went 20-for-28, and had a trio of TDs, but also had two interceptions. Those picks didn't matter, as yet again Calgary was sparked by their rushing attack. With Steven Lumbala's 107 yards the most of the Dinos four-headed running monster of Lumbala, Anthony Woodson, Matt Walter and Dzwilewski, Calgary flexed their muscles as the conference's best team.

That monster attack should have a field day next weekend against Alberta when the Bears head to McMahon Stadium sporting the conference's second-worst rush defence that allows an average of 242 yards per game.

Four of the five experts are tied with 18 picks – will this be a swing week? We’ll see! King is two picks back and Daum came late to the party - but it's still early with lots more football to go as we enter the middle part of the season.

Contributors: Jared Book, Perry King, Mike Grobe, Mike Radoslav, Neate Sager.

Sherbrooke @ Concordia (Sept. 23; 7pm EDT)
Sherbrooke has one of the worst running defences in Quebec and Concordia has one of the best running attacks. How that battle goes will go a long way. Sherbrooke's passing attack is incredible with Ismael Bamba and Simon Charbonneau Campeau. It will be a tough task for Concordia cornerbacks Nathan Taylor and Kris Robertson to stop them. These two teams are probably closer than Top 10 voters would like to think and Friday's game will be close.

Book’s Pick: 32-25 Sherbrooke

Saint Mary’s vs. Mount Allison (Sept. 24; 1 p.m. ADT)
The Mounties have a reason to circle this game on their calendar. The Huskies thumped them 54–14 on Sept. 9, and you have to know the Mounties want some revenge. They also need the boost; they have allowed 90 points in two football games this regular season. We’re confident those numbers can improve, but only marginally.

King’s Pick: 36–21 Saint Mary’s

Toronto @ Ottawa (Sept. 24 @ 1pm EDT)
Both teams are 2-1 and no one needs a win bigger than Toronto this week to stay alive in the OUA playoff hunt. Following Saturday’s contest the Blues will face Queen’s McMaster, Western and Waterloo and a “W” at Frank Clair should make a playoff berth achievable. Toronto’s weakness is on the ground and, unfortunately for the Blues, Ottawa brings the third best running game in the nation to the table. Running back Brendan Gillanders will be Ottawa’s main key to winning this game. Toronto’s got it in them to upset the Gee-Gees but it won’t come Saturday.

Grobe’s pick: 22-9 Ottawa

Regina @ Alberta (Sept. 24 @ 1pm MDT)
One of these two winless squads is going to pick up their first victory, and without Marc Mueller or Dylan Hart at QB it won't be Regina. The Bears will be able to plan to stop Adrian Charles at RB, and that will leave the Rams without enough offence.

Daum’s pick: 24-14 Alberta

Manitoba @ UBC (Sept. 24; 2pm PDT)
A showdown of this season's surprise teams. Manitoba’s defence played well against the Huskies last week and they’ll have to stay on for Billy “Mr. Top 10” Greene. As the nations’ fourth-ranked passer and ninth-ranked rusher, Greene can steal games. Both teams have had similar results but the Bisons will have to shut down a potent Thunderbirds offence this week to win on this long road trip.

Radoslav’s pick: 32-28 UBC

Earlier this week, we introduced football power rankings, based on (in part) RPI and SRS, two widely-used measures of team performance. (Okay, RPI is a little more widely-used.)

The problem is all these OUA teams are at the top: Western, McMaster, and Ottawa all in the non-Laval top 3? Windsor at 8?

This isn't right. It's also based on just two or three games per team, and you're bound to get weird results. But we're not about to expand CIS football to 82 games, so we have to deal with it.

How can we do that?

One way is to introduce interconference results. If one conference consistently beats the other, then the teams in that loser conference won't be so high in the rankings anymore.

But we don't have a lot of preseason games to work with, and some of them are of questionable quality (fourth-stringers playing, quarterbacks not "live") so I am loathe to include any of them.

Still, it's worth knowing what happens when a game is played that crosses the previously-uncrossed interconference chasm.

Football

If you count just the regular-season and (intra-)conference playoffs, the best teams last year, by RPI, were Western (.673), Ottawa (.637), Laval (.620), and McMaster (.617). Looks kind of like this year, eh? By SRS, the best were Laval (+25.1), Western (+14.5), Saskatchewan (+10.0), and Ottawa (+9.8).

When you add one interconference result — namely, Laval's 13-11 Uteck Bowl win over Western — here's what happens to the RPI:

Laval goes up 19 points, Western goes down 1. Makes sense. But neither team moves enough to change its overall ranking.
Every other OUA team loses 5-8 points, since they all played Western and the Mustangs now have a worse record.
Note that Western didn't lose as many because their decline in win-loss percentage was offset by the fact that they played a very good team. Losing to McGill would be worse.

This is all very sensible. The marginal effect of one game on the RPI is basically as we expect.

But SRS does not handle things the same way:

Laval loses 4.2 points, falling to +20.9, even though they won. Western goes up 4.4 to +18.9, even though they lost.
In fact, every team that played Laval, or had an opponent who played Laval, dropped 4.2, and every one of Western's opponents saw that same 4.4 increase.

This kind of makes sense when you look at it more closely. Before the Uteck, Laval's rating, +25.1, was about 10 or 11 points "better" than Western's, +14.5. So at that time, our best estimate was that Laval was 10 points better. But after the game, SRS looks at the two-point margin and says, "Aha! Laval was not in fact 10 points better, or else they would have won by 10!" And thus the Laval and Western ratings are adjusted to reflect that result (20.9 minus 18.9 is, after all, two points).

The problem is, that result is all SRS has to judge the relative quality of those conferences. So the adjustment is applied to all teams in those conferences, including the AUS. This wouldn't happen if we had more than one game, or more than three games — even after including the Mitchell Bowl and Vanier Cup, the OUA teams benefit the most.

Thankfully, there are other sports with more extensive interconference play...

Basketball

Again we'll do the same thing: a before and after comparison of the ranking systems. Our "before" is once again all regular-season games and conference playoffs.

Entering the Final 8, Carleton was the No. 1 team in SRS, and No. 2 in RPI behind Cape Breton. Concordia was 3rd in RPI but 15th in SRS.

We'll just include the Carleton-Concordia game at first, 73-66 Ravens win, to confirm the same thing happens:

RPI gives more credit to Carleton and some OUA teams, and takes points away from the Q teams. Concordia, like the football Mustangs, don't get penalized that much for losing to the best.
SRS gives 8.3 points to every Q team and takes 2.0 away from every OUA team. Again, this is the over-correction: before the game, Carleton (+20.5) was considered to be 17 points better than Concordia (+3.2). But they only beat them by six. So 11 points, or so, had to be reallocated: 8 and change to Concordia and 2 from Carleton.

The Final 8 is only, well, a few games (seven that matter), so SRS still can't estimate properly, but RPI can: Carleton, TWU, and Saskatchewan each gain quite a bit. Reasonable. if we include all 144 exhibition games, along with the Final 8, things are much more believable. Winnipeg and Saint Mary's, who had respectable nonconference performances, gained more than two points in SRS; UQAM, Bishop's, and Queen's, who did not, each lost more than four. This is good news: it means that SRS can "settle down" once the list of interconference games is large enough. Here, we have 144 games per 42 teams, or three or four games per team.

Wrapping it up

This is all a very long-winded way of saying that SRS is too volatile to handle interconference games until it has a large number of them. Which is why it might be a bad idea to use it in football, where we don't have nearly any of them ... after all, do you really want to move every OUA team down 25 points and every Q and AUS team up 25? Because that's what would happen based on McGill's 37-14 "win" over Ottawa.

So, until every CIS football team plays three games against teams not in its conference, SRS will consider all conferences of equal quality until the bowl games. At that point, one game can throw everything into disarray.

Another week, another off-the-field incident. News came out yesterday that Mike Dubuisson was ineligible to play against the Saint Mary's Huskies. That was one of the three wins for the Quebec teams over the AUS. The lone loss was Acadia over McGill.

#1 Laval (2-0) @ #5 Sherbrooke (2-0) :: 40-27 Laval

For the second week in a row, Laval was trailing in the 3rd quarter. For the second game in a row, they exploded in the second half.

Bruno Prudhomme threw 3 touchdowns in the second half to lead Laval in a 26-9 second half performance. Laval put up 512 yards in the game, with over 330 yards passing and 190 yards rushing. Balanced and scary attack and they look to be shaping into form.

Jeremi Doyon-Roch did as well as a rookie quarterback has against Laval in a while, going 24-44 for 360 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. They had to abandon the running game, however and Laval's defence is proving so good against the run.

Penalties were a huge issue into why this game was close. Laval had 217(!) yards in penalties.

Key Stats:
Bruno Prudhomme (LAV): 22-32, 317, 3 TD, 1 INT
Sebastien Levesque (LAV): 19 carries, 158 yards
Julian Feoli-Gudino (LAV): 10 catches, 153 yards, 2 TD
Simon Charbonneau Campeau (SHE): 9 catches, 196 yards, TD

#8 Saint Mary's (1-0) @ #6 Montreal (1-1) :: 11-10 Montreal

Montreal's defence played so well, but in the end the offence almost allowed Saint Mary's to steal a win. A big interception in the final seconds sealed the game for the Carabins.

The game featured one touchdown - a pass from Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze to Maxime Rioux and six turnovers. Four by SMU and two by Montreal.

The Carabins have to now be concerned with Rotrand Sene. Only 24 yards on 12 carries.

Key Stats:
Jonathan Etienne (MTL): 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss
Rob Jubenville (SMU): 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks
Yan Cyr/Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze (MTL): [combined] 10-26, 127 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

St. FX (0-1) @ Concordia (1-1) :: 55-9 Concordia

This game was not close. Concordia took a 10-0 lead in the first 3 minutes and ran with it. Concordia used both quarterbacks and four running backs in the game and I have heard that the two quarterback system will continue for the near future with Reid Quest and Terrance Morsink. Quest, a true freshman, put up the better numbers and has shown more this season than Morsink.

Key Stats:
Raul Thompson (CON): 9 carries, 76 yards, 3 TD
Edem Nyamadi (CON): 16 carries, 94 yards
Reid Quest (CON): 11-18, 172 yards, 2 TD
Ashton Dickson (FX): 19 carries, 102 yards

Bishop's (0-2) @ Mount Allison (0-1) :: 36-23 Bishop's

Bishop's went down 3-0 in the 1st quarter but the Gaiters came out roaring and ran away with their first win of the season.

Jordan Heather is now Quebec's leading passer through 3 games and had a great game. 459 yards and three TDs. Bishop's had three receivers with over 100 yards including Alexander Fox and Steven Turner.

Key Stats:
Jordan Heather (BIS): 26-41, 459 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Alexander Fox (BIS): 9 catches, 148 yards, 2 TD
Jake Hotchkiss (MTA): 23-36, 309 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Adam Molnar (MTA): 7 catches, 100 yards, TD

McGill (0-2) @ Acadia (1-0) 38-9 Acadia

McGill struggled again against a team pegged to battle Saint Mary's for the AUS championship. The game was 14-7 Acadia after three quarters before the Axemen scored 24 points in the fourth quarter. Two of the touchdowns were from a blocked punt and an interception return.

Freshman QB Dallon Kuprowski left the game in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury. Ryne Bondy took over and didn't look too bad statistically.

Key Stats:
Ryne Bondy (MCG): 24-42, 256 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Taylor Renaud (ACA): 5 catches, 126 yards, TD
Kyle Graves (ACA): 9-20, 168 yards, 1 TD

Standings:
1. LAVAL 3-0
2. MONTREAL 2-1
3. SHERBROOKE 2-1
4. CONCORDIA 2-1
5. BISHOP'S 1-2
6. McGILL 0-3

The Week Ahead:

Friday, September 23
7pm No. 5 Sherbrooke (2-1) @ Concordia (2-1) Web: SSN Canada

Saturday, September 24
1pm No. 4 Montreal (2-1) @ Bishop's (1-2) TV/Web: Radio-Canada

Sunday, September 25
1pm McGill (0-3) @ No. 1 Laval (3-0)

The biggest game of the week is Concordia and Sherbrooke. Both teams have very similar results so far, and home field is usually very important in this season series. Sherbrooke has the more veteran team, but Concordia's offence has been more balanced than it has been in years the last two weeks.

I will be doing the play-by-play for SSN Canada for this one, so please join me, will you?

Montreal going to Bishop's is a big game especially with potential penalties looming for the Carabins. Last year the two teams split the season series with the home team winning each year.

Laval plays McGill. With or without Kuprowski, McGill will have a tough time against Laval and this one shouldn't be close.

The goals are flying in east of Toronto.

Most of the women's soccer storylines are in AUS this week, with a smattering of Canada West upsets and collapses in a conference becoming known for them.

AUS is usually pretty staid, with lots of one-goal games that were never really contests but were too physical to result in any real dominance.

For the second straight week, 3-0 and 4-0 scorelines appeared around the east. UPEI, Dalhousie, and Cape Breton are hardly new to the top of the table, but this kind of dominance is unusual.

Dalhousie, who might have struggled to score after losing Kate MacDonald, Jeanette Huck and Katie Richard, pasted UNB 4-0 in Fredericton. Doriana Homerski scored her second of the year, as did Joanna Blodgett and Rieka Santilli. A 1-0 win in Moncton is less impressive, but puts Dal in a solid third.

Cape Breton, who have been threatening to become a national powerhouse for several years now, are back to winning easily. Tiffany O'Donnell hasn't allowed a goal yet. Karolyne Blain had two against Memorial and one against Acadia, both teams who were showing some promise this year. It was back to earth this weekend, and Blain has four goals in three games.

UPEI are still there, too. Maria Scichilone put another in against Saint Mary's in a 2-0 win. Rookie Emilie Pelletier had two goals in a 4-0 win against Mount Allison on Sunday.

In Canada West, things are complicated as Victoria try to find themselves and Trinity Western put some soul into a much improved weekend. Alberta are just good.

The Pandas nicked a goal just before half-time from Heather Lund when Kayla Michaels' pass sliced open the Victoria back line leaving Lund free to flick a shot over Stephanie Parker.

The Vikes followed up a disappointing loss by losing 2-1 to Saskatchewan at home, putting Victoria in seventh.

The Spartans, meanwhile, played Nikki Wright and Alicia Tesan and it paid off. Tesan set up two goals on the weekend and deploying roughly five forwards seems to have helped TWU's scoring funk, though playing Manitoba and Regina might also have had something to do with that. The Pandas and the Spartans meet next weekend, which should be a good game to watch.

Fraser Valley's strong start was cancelled by a positive road trip from Saskatchewan and the arrival of Alberta in town. It might still have been a better weekend for the Cascade if they hadn't blown a lead in the last five minutes against Saskatchewan, conceding two goals, including the winner in stoppage time.

The Montreal Carabins continue to smash in goals in Quebec. Eva Thouvenot had a hat trick against Sherbrooke, who aren't exactly shabby, in a 4-0 rout. Then they did the same thing the next day to Trois Rivières. Montreal still haven't allowed a goal after four games.

McGill also sit tied atop the RSEQ table, though their weekend was less convincing. The Martlets scored twice in the final 15 against Concordia to avoid an embarrassing home draw. A 1-0 win away to Laval is more predictable, but it doesn't quite match Montreal's output.

The only question left for the Carabins after several strong conference seasons is whether they can avoid their annual November collapse at nationals.

The OUA is its predictable self, by the way. Queen's beat RMC 3-1 and destroyed Trent 6-0. Laurier are in a similar boat, beating McMaster before edging Brock 2-1 having gone down 1-0 at home.

Queen's play Toronto next weekend, which should pretty much be the OUA season. The Varsity Blues are three points back of Queen's, and a win in Kingston is essential for U of T to have any hope of a first place finish. Queen's might find motivation for the game in their number-four national ranking, which seems a bit low for a team walking past opponents right now.

Laurentian are kicking around with a nice 4-2-1 record from seven games. They're strong play (and possibly some voters missing how many games they've played) has led to a number-ten ranking. They'll slip as others catch up in the games, but a playoff space looks possible for the Voyageurs.

Losses by Alberta and Regina has setup an interesting game this weekend in Edmonton, while Saskatchewan gave Calgary the lead in the conference courtesy a loss in Manitoba this past weekend. Here's a look at the past weekend of CW football, with a look to the next week of action.

Regina 1
Calgary 55

There's not much to say about this game other than Regina and their third string quarterback Frankie Gray got whooped by a Calgary team that is once again emerging as the best in the conference.

The Dinos sophmore quarterback was far from dominant against the Rams throwing for only 90 yards on 10 passes, but he did toss three touchdowns. Calgary didn't have to do much in the Queen City, with Regina managing only eight first downs and a measly 177 yards of offence.

There is good news on the horizon for the Rams though, as quarterback Marc Mueller is expected to play this weekend against Alberta. That's the indication I have gotten from Bears head coach Jeff Stead who fully expects the fifth-year pivot to start this Saturday in Edmonton. There hasn't been word from the Rams, but Mueller's return seems increasingly likely this week.

Manitoba 26
Saskatchewan 16

Thanks to Manitoba's win over Saskatchewan the Huskies share of first place in the conference is no more, and Brian Towriss' status as the winningest coach in CIS history will have to wait one more week.

14-unanswered points by the Herd in the fourth quarter lifted the home side to their second win in as many weeks, and in doing so evened them with both Saskatchewan and UBC for second in the conference.

Grayson Wells sparked the Manitoba comeback in the fourth when he recovered Jerit Lambert's punt return fumble in the Saskatchewan in the endzone to make it 19-16 Bisons. That would be as close as Saskatchewan would come, getting shutout the rest of the way in the loss.

The Bisons head out to Vancouver this weekend for a key game against the 2-1 T-Birds who got their second win of the season with a 40-30 win over Alberta. Saskatchewan looks to get back on track this weekend against the Dinos in Calgary in what is the biggest game of the season thus far.

UBC 40
Alberta 30

I wasn't sure UBC QB Billy Greene was the real deal until this past weekend when he was phenomenal against the Bears when he threw for 250 yards, three touchdowns, had no interceptions, and ran for 104 yards and a touchdown. With that effort he's undoubtedly among the top two, or three contenders for CW MVP and has been the major reason why the T-Birds are at 2-1.

With respect to Alberta, Julian Marchand wasn't horrible at QB going 15-of-19 for 152 yards and no interceptions, but once again the Bears couldn't score with him in the game. Only when backup Curtis Dell came in late in the third quarter did Alberta get the offence on the board. Dell tossed a pair of touchdowns - which gives him two more on the season than Marchand - to go with a KK Sonuga touchdown on the ground, but despite 22 points in the fourth it was too little, too late for the winless Bears.

Marchand will once again get the start again this weekend at home despite Dell's outstanding work in relief, while UBC looks to go to 3-1 with another home game this weekend.

News has been confirmed that the University of Montreal is being investigated for possibly using an ineligible player Saturday against St Mary's.

Mike Dubuisson was involved in that infamous brawl in Hamilton with his St Leonard team and apparently should have been suspended for three games like Sherbrooke running back Benji Djock. Dubuisson had an interception in the game and sat out the team's previous two games.

The university has confirmed they are being investigated, but no ruling has been made.

Related Links:
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Victoire et Or

One new feature we're rolling out this year is weekly football power rankings.

"How is that new?" you ask. "Everyone does power rankings." Well, instead of copying everyone else's approach — namely, ranking all teams from first to last mostly on feel — we will merely copy one particular approach.

Over at Fangraphs, their weekly power rankings (explained here) are initially based on fans' pre-season predictions, then as the season unfolds and more games are played, more weight is given to the actual results from that season.

We'll do the same for CIS football. The fans' predictions, submitted in our contest earlier, are summarized to serve as an aggregate pre-season prediction. Then we'll also track RPI and SRS every week, as we do for many other sports, and give it more weight as more games are played.

To be precise, each of the three measures (the fans, RPI and SRS) will receive equal weight at the beginning of the season, then the pre-season predictions will be worth proportionally less as each team plays more games. So if a team has played half of their schedule, the original pre-season weighting of one-third is reduced to one-sixth. By the end of the regular season, the rankings will be 50% based on RPI and 50% based on SRS: the schedule is 100% done and therefore 100% of the pre-season weight is gone.

To quote Paul Swydan at Fangraphs, "This system essentially acts as a built-in regression for current performance so that we don’t overreact to small samples of data, but it also allows for how teams have done to influence our evaluations of their abilities."

In CIS football terms, that means a Week 1 loss by Laval won't drop them all the way to the bottom, presuming the fans considered them a top-tier team before the season started.

These power rankings will be published every week, and will serve as a companion piece to the rest of our football coverage. Here are this week's rankings:

While it is still early in the season a number of teams made statements in this week’s set of games. Queen’s finally woke up, while Laurier appeared to stay asleep. The Gee-Gees showed they have the potential to hang with the teams at the top, while Windsor proved they are in fact for real this season in another nail-biting finish.

Some of the more interesting games however came from the perennial also-ran teams in the province. The game between York and Waterloo was the lone overtime contest in the CIS this week, and Toronto and Guelph played a tight competition throughout their game that wasn’t put away until the final minute.

It’s hard not to love the return of the football season.

#9 Ottawa 13
#2 Western 41

The marquee matchup in the OUA this weekend started out as a game up for grabs throughout the entire first half before the Mustangs found another level and put the game away down the stretch. Entering halftime with Western maintaining merely a 6-3 advantage, the GeeGees really proved their worth with some stellar defence in the opening quarters of this game.

Playing at home following a couple very decisive victories it was expected this game was Western’s for the taking, but Ottawa limited the Mustangs’ potent offence in the first half, holding them to under 100 yards rushing. The result would be determined by Donnie Marshall’s arm if Ottawa had their way, and while he put up some decent numbers on the day (18-37, 332 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INT ), he also threw for three interceptions after tossing just one over the first two weeks of the season.

While doing a great job containing Tyler Varga in the first half of the game the rookie back took control late, finishing with 145 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. The presence of fourth year all star Nathan Riva, who appears to be lost in the Western backfield so far this season, helped Western open things up in the second half as he caught a 20 yard touchdown to put some distance between the two on the scoreboard.

The Mustangs would rush for 229 yards on the day, the heavy majority of which came in the second half once they wore down the Ottawa defence. This was another decline from the previous week and a testament to the efforts made by the Ottawa defensive unit.

Ottawa found some success through the air in the first half but after adjustments at the half quarterback Aaron Colbon (17-40, 183 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) looked more like a young, inexperienced pivot heading up the offence. The Mustangs ultimately proved their depth is too great, and that they have the ability to wear out their competition. It will be a challenge for the rest of the OUA to keep up with the Mustangs this season.

Laurier 35
Queen’s 58

The head scratcher of the week took place in Kingston. Queen’s broke out and broke out in a big way as they routed the visiting Hawks. The score makes this game seem more competitive than it actually was; the majority of the Hawks points came against the Gaels after the result was firmly in hand. By the time Laurier found the end zone with seven seconds remaining in the first half they were already down by 33 points. At the half the score was 33-7 for Queen’s, and they would add another 16 points before Laurier scored again.

Billy McPhee had a monster game as it appears teams have found a chink in Laurier’s defensive armour: their pass coverage. McPhee completed half of his passes for 362 yards, four touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions as well. Giovanni Aprile was the standout player on this day with four touchdowns (3 receiving, 1 return), tallying up 177 yards in catching for the Gaels.

Shane Kelly (30-55, 354 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INT) for Laurier did throw for three touchdowns, but once again after the result had been decided. The biggest news of the day has to be the fact Queen’s managed to hold the Hawks to -40 yards rushing. For a veteran team that entered the year with Yates Cup potential, the Golden Hawks have been left reeling the past few weeks. Next week will not get any easier as the Hawks host the conference-leading Mustangs at home.

Guelph 12
Toronto 21

It was not the prettiest outing, or the most exciting either, but it is a win that U of T will gladly take as they beat the Gryphons for the first time since 1995. Although Guelph jumped out to an early thanks to Mike Millar recovering a blocked punt in the endzone to open the scoring, the Blues' defence stepped up and helped Toronto take a led 14-7 into the half.

With less than a minute remaining in the game and the score 14-12, Toronto quarterback Andrew Gillis ran it in from 25 yards out to clinch the victory. Gillis threw for 173 yards on the day but really made an impact on the ground with two touchdowns off of 52 yards rushing on the day.

The Blues defence had a good outing in keeping the Gryphons off the scoreboard. Guelph put up rather pedestrian numbers the week after they trounced Waterloo by more than 40 points. Guelph’s ground game worked a little better than Chris Rosetti’s attempts through the air (13-28, 107 yards, 1 INT), however neither amounted to that much.

As both teams face their toughest competition ahead, claiming the win at home in front of a televised audience has to be a confidence boost for Toronto.

York 20
Waterloo 18 (OT)

One team sporting a 25 game losing streak, the other looking for their first win since returning from serving a one-year suspension. In a grudge match where one team would finally earn a W, they took more than 60 minutes to decide this one.

The Warriors jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the half thanks to scores by Dustin Zender (9 catches, 109 yards receiving, 1 TD) and a short run by Marco Visentin for a score. A field goal helped secure the 17 points. Unfortunately the Warriors lost their starting quarterback Evan Martin early in the third quarter. Martin, who had thrown for 229 yards at that point, was replaced by Luke Balch and York’s defence took advantage of the change.

While York intercepted Martin once they picked off Balch three times, to go along with a fumble recovery and six sacks on the day. The Lions owned the second half and completed the comeback with a short touchdown pass from quarterback Dimitar Sevdin to Skyler Hurst with under three minutes remaining in regulation.

In OT the Warriors missed a field goal attempt on their first possession and it went out of the side of the endzone for a rouge. On the Lions' possession Heneri Dervishi was able to connect on an 18 yard field goal for the York win.

The tough season continues for the Warriors but this game was more competitive than previous weeks. York, in the meantime, has finally gotten that monkey off their back and broken their multiple season losing streak.

#7 McMaster 21
#10 Windsor 19

Two unexpected starters took to the field for this Saturday night showdown in Windsor, young backup quarterbacks Marshall Ferguson representing MAC in the absence of Kyle Quinlan and Austin Kennedy suiting up in place of the injured Sam Malian for the Lancers. While Ferguson had big shoes to fill stepping in for a player expected to challenge for the Hec Crighton, Kennedy had already made himself known with an enormous effort against Laurier last week, for which he won the CIS offensive player of the week nomination (443 yards, five touchdowns in an unexpected victory).

Both put on a performance this week as well. Ferguson connected on 75 per cent of his passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Kennedy proved he was no slouch either connecting on more than half his attempts for 335 yards and three touchdowns as well, although he tossed three interceptions as well which halted Lancer drives. Third-year defensive back Michael Daly caught all three interceptions for MAC.

MAC however was unable to really capitalize on the opportunities, with neither team scoring until the second quarter, despite the Marauders forcing a couple Windsor turnovers early on.

MAC was able to build up a 14-6 lead however heading into the half and 21-6 in the third quarter thanks to the passing from Ferguson. Marauders receiver Michael DiCroce led all MAC receivers on the day with eight receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. DiCroce combined for 196 all-purpose yards on the day.

Windsor once again tried to play the spoiler late and made a strong run in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 unanswered points. With less than a minute remaining Kennedy found Jordan Brescacin for his second touchdown of the game to make it a two point contest. The Lancers went for the 2-point conversion to tie things up at 21 but MAC stopped the Lancers run attempt short, however not gone without a bit of controversy. The replay showed that the ball may have crossed the goal line, although the referees did not signal for the score.

The Lancers are turning into cardiac kids, a team that cannot be given up on because they will stage comebacks late in the game. Although Windsor fell they proved this week that they are contending this season in the OUA with yet another impressive showing under their belt.

Your quick recap of the games played by the top 10 teams. "Top 10" for now, anyway.

Laval (3-0): L 18-14 at Sherbrooke. Wow, they lost! I can't believe it!

Oh, wait, sorry, that was the halftime score. They actually won by 13 points (40-27). Never mind, everyone. Sorry for the false alarm.
Western (3-0): W 41-13 vs. Ottawa. Do people still want this televised?
Calgary (3-0): W 51-1 at Regina. They had the ball for 36 minutes and three seconds, which is 36 minutes and four seconds longer than it takes Steven Lumbala to run for a first down.
Saskatchewan (2-1): L 16-26 at Manitoba. "There’s a lot of work to be done with this team."
Sherbrooke (2-0): L 40-27 vs. Laval. Out-touchdown-ed 3 to 1 after a halftime lead.
Montreal (2-1): W 11-10 at SMU. How do you cause four turnovers, but only score 11 points? They also had nearly as many penalty yards (160) as net yards from scrimmage (167).
McMaster (2-1): W 21-19 at Windsor. Game 1 of ... many? ... without Kyle Quinlan naturally came down to the defence, stopping Windsor's one-yard, two-point conversion attempt with (essentially) zeroes on the clock.
Saint Mary's (1-1): L 11-10 vs. Montreal. When you tend not to score for the first 70% of a game, you're lucky to lose by just one point.
Ottawa (2-1): L 41-13 at Western. Their only major came 58:56 into the game. Either Western is that good, or the rest of this conference is that bad.
Windsor (2-1): L 21-19 vs. Windsor. If I know the Top 10 voters (and I really don't), the Lancers will be pushed out for losing to Mac, but will come back in after beating Waterloo next week.

The first week for CIS Pick’Em saw a lot of the group capture nine picks with only Jared Book being one off the pace. This week all but one expert is picking York to win its first game in years while Western, Laval, Saskatchewan and Calgary will remain undefeated (or so the experts think).

Contributors: Mike Radoslav, Jared Book, Perry King, Neate Sager, Evan Daum and Michael Grobe

Calgary @ Regina (Sept. 16; 7:00 pm MDT)
Talk about being thrown into the fire. The Regina Rams' new starting quarterback Frankie Gray will make his first CIS start this weekend at home against the number-three ranked Dinos. Expect plenty of RB Adrian Charles on the Rams side, but that won't be enough against a Calgary rushing attack that will churn up tons of yardage.

Daum’s Pick: Calgary 38-13

Laurier @ Queen’s (Sept 17; 1pm EDT)
A must win for two teams falling short of expectations. Laurier hasn't impressed with a mediocre win over York and last-second upset loss to Windsor. Queen's have shown no offence in losses to McMaster and Ottawa, scoring just 8 points in two games. Both teams are desperate for the win, but Laurier gets the nod since their offence has been visible.

Radoslav's Pick: 24 - 10 Laurier

Saint Mary’s @ Montreal (Sept 17; 1pm EDT)
The most important interlock game of the week has the Nos. 6 and 9 teams facing off. SMU is looking to show they are a national force after the AUS lost all 4 interlock games a year ago. Montreal is looking to show they are still a top-5 team despite losing to Laval. Homefield will be important and Saint Mary's will, reports say, start a rookie QB for this game. I also see Rotrand Sene having his best game of the season.

Book’s Pick: 35-14 Montreal

Guelph @ Toronto (Sept 17; 1pm EDT)
No pressure, Varsity Blues. Your first televised game since the 90’s will feature a ceremony honouring the 1951 team—who went undefeated and sent a dozen players to the CFL. You also haven’t beaten the Gryphons since 1995. Let’s hope they can actually score points this weekend.

King’s Pick: 27-21 Guelph

McMaster @ Windsor (Sept. 17; 7pm EDT)
Trouble in Tiger Town but it’s not with the Ticats. With the absence of McMaster’s Kyle Quinlan this game got a whole lot more interesting. Mac’s attack will now rely on second year quarterback Marshall Ferguson, who is capable, but will the rest of the team be ready to deal with the loss of someone who garnered attention as the front runner for the Hec? Off to a 2-0 start, Windsor has surprised many and they are ready to capitalize on this week’s events. Even though it’s early, a win by Windsor will certainly shake up preseason OUA predictions. Nobody expected a 3-0 start but with the way they are playing and the controversy in Hamilton – anything is possible.

Grobe’s Pick: 34-26 Windsor

Laval @ Sherbrooke (Sept. 17; 7pm EDT)
The Big Red Machine cleans up last week's penalty problems, Bruno Prud'homme turns in another INT-free day and the Laval D plays enough bend-but-don't-break coverage to slow down Sherby's passing combo of Jeremi Doyon-Roch and Simon Charbonneau. It adds up to another clear but close win.

Sager's pick: Laval 23-13

This season appeared for all intents and purposes to be a golden opportunity for McMaster's Kyle Quinlan.

Coming off a sterling 2010 campaign in which he was eclipsed only by Hec Crighton winner and fellow quarterback Brad Sinopoli, Quinlan seemed ready to make a run at the trophy himself.

Suddenly, all of that talk has gone out of the proverbial window.

In a story that broke today, it emerged that Quinlan was arrested Saturday night following his team's heavy 48-21 defeat to the No. 2-ranked Western Mustangs earlier that afternoon.

The arrest stems from an incident which occurred outside McMaster campus bar TwelvEighty. Early reports indicate that Quinlan became involved in an initial fight outside the establishment, at which point police officers were called to the scene.

Plainclothes officers arrived to subdue the incident, following which Quinlan was taken into custody.

He was subsequently charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer, and a single count of assault.

The quarterback was released from custody later that evening with a promise to appear before a preliminary hearing on Oct. 6.

McMaster's Department of Athletics and Recreation responded to the incident by enacting its Code of Conduct and suspending Quinlan indefinitely, two days before the Marauders travel to Windsor for their third game of the season.

Athletic Director Jeff Giles gave a brief statement earlier today in which he stated, “Our Athletics Code of Conduct is clear in the standards we expect our athletes to uphold. We take that code very seriously and our athletes are all informed about the code and potential consequences when they join one of our teams.”

The Hamilton Spectator has released an initial report on the incident.

Team and administration members have been understandably tight-lipped regarding the charges.

We'll have more developments as they unfold.

The biggest news after the second week of the Quebec university football season was not about any of the games this week but the terribly scary situation coming out of Bishop's University.

Bishop's defensive lineman Kevin Kwasny is in his fourth year at Bishop's but using his third year of eligibility after missing a year to injury. At halftime of the Gaiters game against Concordia, Kwasny was not complaining and was steady on his feet but later in the break, he was led into the training room by two teammates and started vomiting. The ambulance took him away as players were getting back on the field for the second half.

Kwasny, a Winnipeg native, is still in hospital. He is currently in stable, but critical condition with bleeding on the brain (subdural hematoma). It is not known what play or occurrence caused the injury.

For more on the story (in French) see here. (Sherbrooke Tribune)

#6 Montreal (1-0) @ #1 Laval (1-0) :: 24-14 Laval

The most anticipated game in the Quebec conference was a pretty good game, if unspectacular. When the score was 3-0 Laval, Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze was knocked out of the game momentarily and the Carabins had to go back to Yan Cyr. He promptly threw an interception that was returned 57 yards by Frederic Plesius to make the score 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Montreal had two quick touchdown drives to take a 14-10 lead before Laval drove the ball 85 yards to close out the first half and retake a 17-14 advantage.

Laval added a touchdown in the third quarter.

The biggest thing is Laval's rushing defence. After holding Concordia to under 20 yards, they held Rotrand Sene, probably the conference's best back to 29 yards and the Carabins to 44 yards total.

Key Stats:
Bruno Prudhomme (LAV): 23-33, 254 yards, TD
Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (LAV): 3 tackles, 2 sacks
Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard (MTL): 14 tackles (10 solo)

#7 Sherbrooke (1-0) @ McGill (0-1) :: 39-13 Sherbrooke

It was a slow start for Sherbrooke, but Jeremi Doyon-Roch ended up taking control of the game, picking up the QUFL offensive player of the week for his performance against McGill. Ismael Bamba, Simon Charbonneau Campeau and Alexandre Corriveau all had huge games receiving and they overcame their lackluster performance against Bishop's to show themselves against the Redmen.

For McGill, Dallon Kuprowski had a tough time, mustering just over 130 yards and throwing two interceptions. McGill's only touchdown came from their defence - a 41 yard fumble recovery by Alex Hutchison.

Key Stats:
Simon Charbonneau-Campeau (SHE): 8 catches, 131 yards, TD
Jeremi Doyon-Roch (SHE): 26-37, 362 yards, 2 TD
Gabriel Aubry (McG): 5 catches, 62 yards

Concordia (0-1) @ Bishop's (0-1) :: 25-18 Concordia

Concordia came back from a loss to Laval with a great running performance that they were trying to talk about all offseason. 183 yards running for the team, and a bounce back performance from Terrance Morsink and another punt return TD from Kris Robertson that proved to be the difference.

Bishop's got on the board first with a TD pass from Jordan Heather to David Haddrall. Concordia replied with the Robertson return. Sanchez Deschamps caught a pass from Morsink to make the score 22-10. Bishop's got a second touchdown from Heather to Alexander Fox but that was as close as the Gaiters would come.

Key Stats:
Raul Thompson (CON): 8 carries, 58 yards
Max Caron (CON): 10.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, forced fumble, fumble recover, blocked kick
Jordan Heather (BIS): 25/45, 327 yards, 2 TD, INT
Alexander Fox (BIS): 6 catches, 128 yards, TD

Standings:
1. LAVAL 2-0
2. SHERBROOKE 2-0
3. MONTREAL 1-1
4. CONCORDIA 1-1
5. BISHOP'S 0-2
6. McGILL 0-2

The Week Ahead:

Saturday, September 17
1pm St F.X (0-1) @ Concordia (1-1) Radio: Team 990, Webcast: SSN
1pm Bishop's (0-2) @ Mount Allison (0-1) TV/Webcast: EastLink
1pm McGill (0-2) @ Acadia (1-0)
1pm Saint Mary's (1-0) @ Montreal (1-1) TV/Webcast: Radio-Canada, Radio: 98.5 FM
7pm Laval (2-0) @ Sherbrooke (2-0) Radio: Quebec800, CHYZ

The AUS has payback on their mind after going 0-4 last season against Quebec teams. Their best chances come from the fact they don't have to play Laval or Sherbrooke. The best interlock game is Montreal-SMU which should feature two ranked teams.

Laval and Sherbrooke is a good battle and it will be interesting to see how Doyon-Roch does against Laval which preys on young quarterbacks.

Well, that weekend certainly didn’t go the way we thought it would. Aside from Waterloo’s performance, that is.

We saw the two OUA favourites play at least one competitive half, two of the worst teams in the country playing in what might have been the worst game of football in history, and the year’s biggest upset (so far, anyway) thanks to some clever usage of the almighty rouge.

#2 Western 48
#3 McMaster 21

Brian Decker has a pretty thorough recap of this one, but I’ll still have a go at the game that was dubbed the Yates Cup preview.

The game looked like it would go back and forth until rookie Tyler Varga took over in the second quarter and absolutely trampled Marauder tacklers. Varga finished the game with 149 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. He probably broke about 50 tackles in the process.

The Mustangs as a whole ran for 321 yards. Not quite the 499 they put up against the Waterloo Warriors, but it might be even more impressive since it was against a legitimate defence.

But the key to Western’s success was “containing” Hec Crighton favourite Kyle Quinlan. Sure, he completed 21 of 35 for 307 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. But he started 8-for-8 with a touchdown, giving Mac a 7-0 lead. So they did manage to adjust to Quinlan as the game went on. Plus, that interception was a pick-six that put the game away.

Quinlan’s opposite number, Donnie Marshall, had a serviceable game completing 14 of 23 for 235 yards and one interception. The passing numbers weren’t great, but his 79 yards on the ground were pretty important.

But a word of warning to any overconfident Mustang fans for that potential Yates Cup meeting. The game could have been very different if not for a couple awful drops of sure touchdowns, and Mac’s inability to break the plane on three attempts right before the half.

Queen’s 6
Ottawa 19

It’s hard to make anyone forget about a Hec Crighton winner, and Gee-Gees quarterback Aaron Colbon certainly isn’t doing it. But he has been pretty successful, earning OUA player of the week honours last week. This week, he threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second quarter to blow a close game wide open. Though, he did complete less than 40% of his passes, so it’s not all good for Colbon.

His counterpart Billy McPhee completed half of his passes for 208 yards. So why has the Queen’s offence been so bad? Well, they totalled 63 rushing yards on 21 carries, while the offensive line allowed McPhee to be sacked four times for a total loss of 31 yards. In comparison, Gee-Gees running back Brendan Gillanders had 161 yards rushing by himself.

Ottawa now gets the displeasure of driving to London to take on the Mustangs' running game, while Queen’s will host a slightly embarrassed Laurier Golden Hawks team.

Toronto 10
York 8

The 42nd annual Red & Blue Bowl was clearly a barnburner. Okay, it was probably the worst game in football history for three quarters, but it ended with its fair share of excitement.

The Blues had a 10 play, 54 yard drive with the game on the line and kicker Andrew Lomasney hit a 37 yarder for his third field goal of the game and the winning score.

Quarterback Andrew Gillis didn’t have his best game, completing 19 of 39 for 268 yards and an interception. But receiver Alex Pierzchalski (9 receptions for 127 yards) and tailback Aaron Milton (114 yards on 19 carries) shouldered the offensive load for Toronto.

York didn’t have much to write home about on offence with their two quarterbacks (Nick Coutu, Dimitar Sevdin) combining to complete 13 of 31 passes for 152 yards. Blair Yachetti was one of the only bright spots, rushing for 83 yards.

The Lions, at the very least, can take a little solace out of their opening two games. Their defence is looking a bit better than last season. With Waterloo on the schedule, they might have a chance to end their massive losing streak. Toronto, on the other hand, will get the pleasure of finally appearing on The Score next week in what will surely be a one-sided game (at least they will get to show off that nice stadium).

Guelph 65
Waterloo 13

On the bright side for Waterloo, this game definitely went better than their first. They ran for eight times as many yards as the first game (85 in total). The defence allowed over 100 yards fewer and held Guelph to only 181 yards rushing. Receiver Dustin Zender continues to impress, catching nine balls for 97 yards after his two TD performance in week one.

That’s all for the positives they had in this game. Evan Martin threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns, but also had 5 picks. The Warriors also had a fumble lost.

Gryphons QB Chris Rossetti rebounded well from the beating against Ottawa, throwing for 241 yards and four touchdowns on 11 of 16 passing. Receiver Dillon Dimitroff had 163 yards receiving and a touchdown while Jedd Gardner had 128 all-purpose yards.

Guelph takes on Toronto next week on national television while Waterloo’s season probably rests on next week’s home game against the York Lions.

Windsor 41
#8 Laurier 40

If you love wackiness and punting like I do, there is nothing like Canadian football.

On the last play of the game with the scores tied at 40, Windsor opted to attempt to punt a rouge, despite being well within field goal range. Dan Cerino’s kick didn’t have the leg and was caught by Golden Hawk receiver Dillon Heap, who punted it back out of the end zone. Cerino caught Heap’s punt and punted the ball again, back through the end zone this time, to earn that rouge and the victory. I’ll never get tired of watching this play.

Despite the finish, Windsor started poorly. QB Sam Malian completed 2 of 5 for 36 yards before injuring his leg and making way for backup Austin Kennedy. The young Kennedy was superb (if I had a player of the week vote, here’s who I’d choose) completing 25 of 37 for 443 yards and 5 touchdowns while running for 112 yards.

Windsor netted 636 yards total on offence. Are you kidding me?

Laurier's faces are sure going to be red because of that rouge, especially since it was their home opener (To the Laurier frosh: hopefully your next four years go better than your first introduction to Golden Hawk football).

But at least Shane Kelly is looking good at the quarterback position. Kelly needed to prove himself after a subpar, injury-filled season last year and perhaps did so after completing 21 of 33 for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns. Anton Bennett ran for 132 yards on 20 carries and contributed one rushing and one receiving touchdown.

Also, former quarterback and current defensive back Luke Thompson had a game-high 7.5 tackles.

Windsor is still undefeated and gets the pleasure of hosting the Yates Cup hopefuls from McMaster next weekend, by which point they may actually find themselves in the top ten rankings. I am kidding, of course, but good for them nonetheless. Laurier finds themselves in a possible must win against another seriously desperate team when they go to Kingston to take on Queen’s.

Both top five teams managed to earn victories, albeit in different fashion this week, to stay the only unbeaten teams in the conference. Here's a look at the week that was in Canada West football.

Saskatchewan 33
Regina 10

The Marc Mueller-less Regina Rams went into Saskatoon to take on the number-five ranked Huskies with Dylan Hart at the helm, but by the time the dust had settled on a 33-10 win for the home side the Rams would be down to their third string quarterback Frankie Gray.

Of course with Mueller and Hart out for Regina, RB Adrian Charles was sure to factor heavily in the game especially after Hart left in the third quarter, but Charles managed only 89 yards on 17 carries for Regina.

While things are looking bleak for the Rams, all they really need is for Mueller to come back with enough games left to finish fourth, and then who knows what can happen for this team that had so much promise heading into the season. With Alberta at 0-2 and both UBC and Manitoba only one game ahead of the Rams at 1-1, this season isn't a write off just yet. Regina hosts Calgary this weekend with or without Mueller.

Saskatchewan on the other hand continues to look good as they head into Winnipeg next weekend to take on the Bisons. The Huskies are poised to be 3-0 by the time this time next week rolls around.

Calgary 30
UBC 25

It went down to the wire again for the number-four ranked Calgary Dinos, but yet again managed to pull out a victory in the dying moments to push their record to 2-0.

Up 24-11 after three quarters, Calgary seemed on their way to a comfortable win, that is before UBC scored 14 straight points to take the lead 25-24. The Dinos managed to overcome that flurry from the T-birds though, with Steven Lumbala capping off an 85-yard drive with a 9-yard plunge into the endzone to give the home side the victory. Lumbala was phenomenal on the night, rushing for a ridiculous 204 yards.

One has to wonder just how good this Calgary team is after two weeks, barely pulling out wins against two of the conference's lesser programs, but as for me as long as you're a Blake Nill coached team and you win, you're doing just fine. UBC hosts Alberta this weekend looking to earn their second win of the season, and first at home.

Alberta 20
Manitoba 22

Words cannot describe how poorly played the first half of this game was with Manitoba owning a 2-1 (no that's not a typo) lead at the break. The Bears and Bisons combined for nine turnovers in the first half, including three via interception by Alberta QB Julian Marchand who had as many INTs in the first 30 minutes as he did completions.

Jess Valleau's 100-yard kickoff return for a TD in third quarter made it 16-11 Manitoba after the Bisons scored 14 points early in the quarter, but that play — the third longest in Alberta history — was overshadowed by the eventual loss.

Neither team played all that well, although the second half was far more entertaining, with 13 combined turnovers in the game.

The win pushes Manitoba to 1-1, while Alberta joined Regina as the only winless Canada West team. It's only Week 1, but with the loss the Bears playoff hopes took a blow considering two of their three wins last year came against the Herd.

It was all a little predictable on the first full weekend of women's soccer across the country.

The good teams won their games. The not-so-good teams were generally not-so-good. Number one ranked Queen's and number three Montreal both put in some poundings. Five-year Fraser Valley aren't surprising anyone this year, but they're still winning.

In RSEQ, the Carabins are 2-0-0, beating UQAM 2-0 and destroying Bishop's 6-0. Véronique Maranda scored twice against Bishop's and set up Émilie Chamard for another. Isabelle Dumais, who will probably get more playing time with the departure of striker Veronique Laverdiere, also had an active weekend.

McGill are keeping Montreal honest with two wins of their own on opening weekend, beating the hapless Gaiters 2-0 thanks to Rebecca Green and Kathleen Wakeling's combination. They also edged UQAM 1-0.

Laval had a rougher start to the season, splitting their opening weekend, including a loss to to Sherbrooke. The Vert et Or also have six points.

In the west, the University of Fraser Valley are showing that their shock run to a national bronze medal might only be a sign of things to come. Rookie Paige Friesen nodded in her first goal. Dariann Kloot also scored her first this weekend.

Trinity Western, whose season preview discusses such subjects as pride at their number five national ranking, their large number of returning stars, and strong motivation after a disastrous end to 2010, followed up their bold claims by losing 1-0 to UBC to start the season. Rachel Sawer smashed a shot into the top corner of Kristen Funk's goal and then the Spartans decided to try and score, taking 12 shots in the final 25 minutes. TWU didn't dress either Nikki Wright or Tessa Meyer for the game. To read quotes of Graham Roxburgh sounding frustrated, check the game re-cap here.

The AUS threw a couple of surprises at into a hum-drum weekend. UPEI, who came out of nowhere last year, look like the real deal. Adding Maria Scichilone to their roster looks like a real good move for them, and she scored the first goal in the Panthers' 2-1 win over Dalhousie on Saturday.

Cape Breton beat Acadia this weekend on goals by Erika Lannon and rookie Karolyne Blaine. It could have been 3-0, but for Robyn McNeill hitting the bar. Acadia goalkeeper Leisha Doyle saw a lot of leather from arguably the best offensive team in AUS.

Dalhousie, depsite Jack Hutchison admitting they're young and rebuilding, did some attacking of their own Sunday afternoon. It took 45 minutes to crack Robin Bessemer's goal, but after Joanna Blodgett curled a shot into the bottom corner, the Tigers went to town. Rieka Santilli blazed a shot past Bessemer shortly after half-time and was then denied one-on-one two minutes later. New full-back Megan Willox drove in a third, and Ontario high-school scoring machine Doriana Homerski tallied the first of what could be a few in AUS.

We saved the OUA teams until last because you probably don't need us to tell you who won. Queen's and Laurier look very comfortable—again—after a couple of weekends.

After opening their season by toying with Carleton, the Gaels beat Ottawa 1-0 and lowly Trent 2-1. Not quite spectacular, but with fifth-year Kelli Chamberlain paired with Jacqueline Tessier up front, it's hard to keep them off the board.

Laurier have one of the most experienced teams in the country, returning almost all of their not-quite-CIS-gold-medal roster from last year. They still don't have a bona fide striker, though Krista Cellucci does have three goals. That was the main problem they ran into last year against top teams. They're scoring fairly freely against their OUA West competition in Western, Windsor and York, but they need to be tested against CIS-level opposition.

Your quick recap of the games played by the top 10 teams.

Laval (2-0): W 24-14 vs. Montreal. Even Quebec is not distinct enough to avoid the every-team-must-wear-black trend, but thankfully for Laval, their main trend (winning football games) continues without interruption. The Carabins never advanced beyond the Laval 41 in the second half, and were obviously kept scoreless after being down by just a field goal at the half.
Western (2-0): W 48-21 at McMaster. Brian Decker has this one covered.
McMaster (1-1): L 21-48 vs. Western. Lost in the love for the Mustangs is this curious stat from Saturday's game: Western gained 6.3 yards per rush, to Mac's 5.6. Not that much of a difference. It's not all due to score effects, either: up until Western's 107-yard drive in the second quarter, McMaster outrushed them 88-38, and by nearly a yard per play.
Calgary (2-0): W 30-25 vs. UBC. That's two last-minute wins for Calgary now. Weirdly, their game-winning drive (85 yards) did not involve a passing play. These teams combined for 1,076 yards, or about 546 Steven Lumbalas standing on each other's shoulders.
Saskatchewan (2-0): W 33-10 vs. Regina. The 50% pass-completion rate is kind of odd for a team that so thoroughly dominated. Speaking of which...the Rams aren't going to the Vanier Cup, then? Not only did they not score an offensive touchdown, it's hard to call their defensive touchdown "a defensive touchdown" instead of a "hey, there's a ball on the ground—fall on it!" touchdown. It looks like the Adrian Charles one-man show now.
Montreal (1-1): L 14-24 at Laval. Okay, Rotrand Sene can be stopped after all. But Montreal nearly stopped the Rouge et Noir too.
Sherbrooke (2-0): W 39-13 at McGill. They outgained McGill nearly 2 to 1. Not surprising that they were up 25-13 even before icing it in the fourth with two more scores. Our Matt Chesser is risking up to $0 betting that McGill will, in fact, win a game.
Laurier (1-1): L 41-40 vs. Windsor. Canadian football at its finest: trading punts to determine the winner (well, to choose between overtime and a Windsor win). Highlights here. The rouge has been around for decades but Laurier will probably still argue that the rule was brought in too late for them to adjust. This was the only loss by a top-10 team to a non-top-10 team this week.
Saint Mary's (1-0): W 54-14 vs. Mount Allison. Jack Creighton's day, all together, looked like this: sit on the bench, come in, incomplete pass, sack, 9-yard pass, 1-yard rush, 18-yard pass, interception, incomplete, pick-six, back on the bench. Welcome back to Halifax, I guess? Following that second interception, the Mounties led 14-2. You can guess how the rest of the game went.
UBC (1-1): L 30-25 at Calgary. Not sure what to make of this team. They could be 2-0. But they probably qualify as one of those teams that gets in the top 10 simply because you need 10, and you can only choose from 26.

If there was any debate about who the team to beat in the OUA is, Tyler Varga and the Western Mustangs sure made it seem pretty obvious on Saturday.

No. 2 Western showed they're the defending Yates Cup Champions for a reason, trouncing no. 3 McMaster 48-21 in front of a hostile crowd. Varga not only lived up to the hype from his phenomenal debut, but likely made it even bigger by rushing for 149 yards and scoring four touchdowns.

For a battle between the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the country, it sure looked like regular OUA matchup, where blowouts are quickly becoming the norm in the parity-starved conference.

A 7-7 first quarter made it seem like the matchup would live up to its billing, with Mac looking like they were going to shred the Mustang secondary apart all day, while Western's only offence came largely thanks to a huge 51-yard reception by Andy Thibaudeau.

Then Varga took over.

After looking solid if unspectacular early on, the rookie running back put his mark on the game, breaking dozens (not exaggerating: he was un-tackle-able, if that's a word) of tackles and chugging Western up the field, where they would score twice in the second quarter to open up a 21-7 lead at halftime.

"I made some moves in the open field I guess, but that's what the running back's supposed to do. I just did my job," said Varga, perhaps understating what was simply a stunning performance.

The emergence of Varga, who now has seven touchdowns in the first two games of his CIS career, is catching nearly everyone in the league off guard, perhaps most of all opposing coaches.

"He's unique. He's solid and tougher and looks more like a fourth- or fifth-year kid in terms of taking hits and and moving the ball after first contact... I knew he was a playmaker, I knew he was gonna score. I didn't know he was gonna be this put together and mature and steady with the football so young in his career," said Stefan Ptaszek, the Mac coach on the wrong end of Varga's 149 yards.

"He's good. He's special. He's got a great drive and great determination. He catches well, blocks well," said Western coach Greg Marshall, once a purple pony back himself, and perhaps sounding a bit jealous about the attention afforded to the young Varga.

Western's halftime lead should have been seven when Mac got down to first-and-goal from the one yard line, but the Western D-line held strong and stopped Marauder rookie Chris Pezzetta on three straight carries to swing the momentum.

Mac made things interesting early in the second half, with Mike DiCroce hauling in a 26-yard touchdown to make it 21-14. But from then on, the Marauders could simply not contain Varga and his backfield mates Donnie Marshall, Nathan Riva and Garrett Sanvido. The Mustangs ran for 321 yards against a pretty solid front-7 from McMaster.

"We ran hard today. [Varga] ran hard, Nathan ran hard, Garrett ran hard, so did Donnie. We've got a lot of guys comin' at you," said Greg Marshall.

"They're tough kids to bring down and that's not gonna change," said Ptaszek.

While it's only week two in the OUA, the win for Western is huge. Apart from sending a (terrifying) message to other OUA teams, beating McMaster means any postseason matchup between the two (which seems, at this early point, like a reasonably likely outcome) will take place in London.

"Getting the tiebreaker is huge. Getting the first-round bye is important, as is home field advantage," said Greg Marshall. "We need to be able to communicate on offence and need our home fans quiet."

Of course, a win over a solid divisional rival in the early season guarantees little if nothing for Western. Promising teams at Ottawa and Laurier lie waiting, and McMaster did little on Saturday to suggest a Mustang win meant a whole lot.

But after scoring 134 points in their first two games while blowing away a much-hyped opponent, Western has clearly sent a message that they're ready to defend their Yates Cup.

With a superstar in-the-making carrying the ball and a boatload of confidence going forward, it's up to the rest of the OUA to prove that anything else is true.

We're starting a brand new feature here at The CIS Blog which will focus on a few key football games from the week. Several contributors will break down a match-up and then highlight expert picks, ESPN-style. Each week we'll compile the records and let the trash talking begin.

Contributors: Neate Sager, Jared Book, Perry King, Mike Grobe, and Mike Radoslav.

Regina @ Saskatchewan (Sept. 9; 7pm)
This one is going to be bitter. These provincial foes are going to throw their weight around in a delightfully juicy affair. Saskatchewan is coming off a big opening week win while Regina lost unexpectedly to UBC. Sitting at No. 5, Saskatchewan should have no trouble dispensing their rival from southern Saskatchewan but Regina will play them tough. Edge goes to the home team.

Mike's Pick: 29-14 - Saskatchewan

Western @ McMaster (Sept. 10; 1pm)
Could this be the Yates Cup preview? Likely too early to tell but the battle between No. 2 and No. 3 is going to be epic. Although the score didn't show it, McMaster looked rusty in their first half against Queen's, but QB Kyle Quinlan led the way with 300-yard+ passing to dump the Gaels. On the other end, Western trounced a team that didn't dress in 2010, so it's really hard to gauge just how good the Mustangs are ... until Saturday.

Mike's Pick: 38-22 - Western

Montreal @ Laval (Sept. 10; 1pm)
The battle of the two top-ranked teams in the conference is also the first meeting of friends Danny Maciocia and Glen Constantin. Laval will need to have a better game from their offence, which took three quarters to warm up against Concordia last week. Their defence will also be challenged more with Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze than they were with Terrance Morsink. On the other side of the ball, Montreal's defence will have to be better than they were when they allowed McGill to put up a lot of yardage. The first battle between these two teams will go to the home team.

Jared's Pick: 35-24 - Laval

Mount Allison @ Saint Mary’s (Sept. 9; 7 p.m.)
As AUS champs, the Huskies have a lot going for them. But, with a new quarterback, Jesse Mills, and a new defensive coordinator, change has been coming for this Halifax institution. Offensively, they were incredible last year. The Mounties? They allowed too many points. This home opener at the Dog Pound should be an easy win for the Huskies.

Perry's Pick: 33–17 - Saint Mary's

Queen's @ Ottawa (Sept. 10; 1pm)
The Gee-Gees eke out the matchup of maturing QBs, finding just enough offence from Aaron Colbon, tailback Brendan Gillanders and the whole gang. Queen's and Big Arm Billy McPhee make strides but show they're not quite ready to win close games in the fourth quarter. Matt Falvo's kicking game ends up being a determining factor.

Neate's Pick: 27-24 - Ottawa
[Ed. note: Neate will also be calling the play-by-play for this game for SSN. -RP]

Toronto @ York (Sept 10; 1pm)
With the departure of Greg DeLaval and a loss to Windsor this seems to be the Toronto of old rather then the Toronto of new. I'm not sure too many people expected the Lancers to top the Blues in the first week, but it is Week 1. York is riding a long losing streak but with the way the OUA stands right now - York is sure to get their first 'W' since 2007 sometime in 2011. The question is will it be this week against their foe in the Red & Blue Bowl?

Mike's Pick: 24-23 OT - York

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