Better to be slightly late on the epiphany than the last to know, eh? Western has to be No. 1, what with being the last undefeated team after Calgary went through the motions and lost — wait for it — 53-3 against Alberta in a game that was immaterial to the Dinos' standings.
The rule of thumb when a 7-0 team that is locked into first place loses is that is shouldn't affect the ranking if the score was respectable. It can be a canary in the coal mine (see Western losing 37-0 against Queen's in its finale in 2011, before losing the Yates Cup at home by three touchdowns three weeks later). It can also be a one-off, or even "a well-orchestrated loss" as Queen's coach Pat Sheahan termed it following his team's national championship season in 2009.
But 53 to three, that looks rather abject for Calgary. It's also a huge feat for Alberta, which is making strides toward respectability under coach Chris Morris. All that shook out to send in a Top 10 ballot as follows:
The reigning gridiron-football gurus out in western Canada were right to believe the Western (Ontario) Mustangs are Canada's best.
The bullet points on this Saturday of action:
The rule of thumb when a 7-0 team that is locked into first place loses is that is shouldn't affect the ranking if the score was respectable. It can be a canary in the coal mine (see Western losing 37-0 against Queen's in its finale in 2011, before losing the Yates Cup at home by three touchdowns three weeks later). It can also be a one-off, or even "a well-orchestrated loss" as Queen's coach Pat Sheahan termed it following his team's national championship season in 2009.
But 53 to three, that looks rather abject for Calgary. It's also a huge feat for Alberta, which is making strides toward respectability under coach Chris Morris. All that shook out to send in a Top 10 ballot as follows:
My #usports FB Top 10
— Neate Sager (@n8sager) October 29, 2017
1 Western
2 Laval
3 Calgary
4 Montréal
5 UBC
6 Laurier
7 McMaster
8 Guelph
9 Acadia
10 Alberta #OUA #uagree?
The reigning gridiron-football gurus out in western Canada were right to believe the Western (Ontario) Mustangs are Canada's best.
That is the way it goes. The FieldTurf always looks greener on the other side of the country.U SPORTS Football Top 10: Undefeated @UCDinos move up to No. 1https://t.co/aCkVxd9nyB pic.twitter.com/OJfZrHyN1u— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) October 24, 2017
— Jim Mullin (@Jim_Mullin) October 24, 2017
Oh, the irony. The week I actually move the Dinos off of number one... https://t.co/5oiYVIl3C1— Gord R. (@GARandall) October 24, 2017
The bullet points on this Saturday of action:
- Alberta 53, Calgary 3. That happened. The Golden Bears, who were 0-4 at one point. won by a sufficiently large enough margin to get the last Canada West playoff berth and a semifinal date against none other than Calgary,. Whether Alberta will be competitive now that Calgary will face actually stakes remains to be seen, but the transformation is enlivening. Receiver Tylor Henry scored four touchdowns and Ed Ilnicki increased his rushing tally to a Canada West-record 1,468 yards. That's 184 per game.🏈 The Dinos will have another crack at the Golden Bears: the #CWplayoffs start Saturday. 1 pm, McMahon Stadium.#GoDinos pic.twitter.com/3XRIgbMZNy— UCalgary Dinos (@UCDinos) October 29, 2017There were many people and pundits that counted out the @UABearsFootball after 0-4 start, but they gutted it out and are now playoff bound!— Jason Hills (@hillsyjay) October 29, 2017There were many people and pundits that counted out the @UABearsFootball after 0-4 start, but they gutted it out and are now playoff bound!— Jason Hills (@hillsyjay) October 29, 2017
- UBC will host Regina in the Canada West semifinal. The Thunderbirds scored 35 points in the second quarter and routed the Rams 44-15. They'll play again. Quarterback Michael O'Connor was out of the game after 2½ quarters.
- Laval strengthens its case for No. 1; then again, Westenr's got stronger. The defending national champions blew out Concordia on Friday night; the run for a repeat begins at home next week against Sherbrooke.
- Lyons roars for No. 7 McMaster. McMaster and Laurier will meet in the OUA semifinal again, after the Marauders' 12-9 closer-than-it-should-have-been win against Queen's. Running back Jordan Lyons tied OUA's single-game record for carries (39) and had the second-most yards (319) in a Canadian university playoff game. Still, it wasn't in the bag until Sam linebacker Eric Blake intercepted a pass at Mac's 35-yard line with 1:20 left.
- No. 9 Guelph gets another shot at No. 3 Western. The only team that has been able to hang with the 'Stangs will get another shot at doing so next week in London. Guelph, with QB James Roberts returning from the brain injury he suffered four weeks ago against McMaster, rolled by 22 points against Ottawa.