Laurier Golden Hawks
The program history of Wilfrid Laurier follows the narrative of the scrappy school that punches above their weight class. Hosting the smallest student body of any football playing school in the OUA, Laurier has still managed to win nine Yates Cups (fourth among active OUA teams) and two Vanier Cups (1991, 2005) in program history.
2024 was an eventful year for the Hawks. An 8-0 campaign, a Yates Cup championship, a Uteck Bowl win, and a starting quarterback who won the Hec Crighton and is now in training camp with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. What remains for the program in 2025? Simply put, a Vanier Cup championship. The program has not won the national championship since 2005 and after a season in which they were separated from their goal by just five points, you can bet this team will be hungry. They will however be fighting more of an uphill battle than most of the teams on this list.
Although they are defending OUA champions, many will peg Laurier as underdogs to their conference rival Western Mustangs going into 2025. The main reason for this is the graduation of key players including RB Tanner Nelmes (774 yards, four touchdowns), WR Raidan Thorne (50 receptions, 556 yards, and three touchdowns), and most importantly 2024 Hec Crighton winner QB Taylor Elgersma (74% completion, 4252 passing yards, 35 touchdowns).
Ethan Jordan will return for a final year in purple and gold, after being drafted and taking training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks. Photo: Tyler McMaster
who was drafted and lasted past training camp with the Ottawa Redblacks
Jordan was stellar last season, in 13 games (including playoffs) he racked up 99 receptions for 1479 yards and 12 touchdowns. With their quarterback position still a question mark, having Jordan back will certainly be a welcome sign for the Hawks' offence.
Fans should also expect players like WR Layomi Ojutalayo, WR Ryan Hughes, and RB Tayshaun Jackson to step into larger roles this season. All have been solid players in previous years and have the talent to help shoulder the load as the Hawks fight to get back to the national championship stage.
Step one will be proving themselves in the gauntlet of the OUA. Laurier will enter 2025 looking to win back to back Yates Cups for the first time since 2004-2005.
Regina Rams
After a 3-5 CW regular season, the Regina Rams embarked on a storybook playoff run that brought them within three points of the program’s second ever Vanier Cup berth. In front of a home crowd, the Rams fell 17-13 in the Mitchell Bowl to the eventual Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or. With the 2025 Vanier Cup set to be held at Mosaic Stadium, you can be sure that the Rams will be looking to exorcise those 2024 demons.
The good news for Rams’ faithful is that this effort will be led once again by fifth year QB Noah Pelletier and 2024 leading rushers Marshall Erichsen and Christian Katende. They will also have many returning veterans to their ball hawking defence in 2025. This was a defensive unit which gave up the fewest points in Canada West last season and was ultimately the driving force behind their deep playoff run.
Falling just a single win short of a Vanier appearence a year ago, Regina has momentum going into 2025 — and home cooking, should they last until late November's Vanier Cup. Photo: Regina Rams/Provided
Since their transfer from the CJFL to the Canada West in 1999, the Regina Rams have had a moderate amount of success. The program has an overall regular season record of 84-113, a Hardy Cup record of 2-4, and only one Vanier Cup appearance (2000). If the Rams hope to take the next step and secure the program’s first Vanier Cup title, this might be the year to do it.
Western Mustangs
It seems strange to have the Western Mustangs on this list. The program played their first full season in 1929, and have won a grand total of 35 Yates Cups and eight Vanier Cups since. In a more modern sense, the Western Mustangs have won the Yates Cup five times (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023) and the Vanier Cup twice (2017, 2021) over the past seven seasons. Sprinkled in amongst those wins are also two Yates Cup losses (2019, 2024) and a Vanier Cup loss (2018).
The reason the powerhouse ponies are on this list is because their stranglehold over the OUA was finally broken in 2024. Losing twice to Laurier (once in the regular season and once in the Yates Cup), Western enters the 2025 campaign without the distinction of champion for the first time since 2019. 2024 was also the first season since 2014 that the Mustangs did not earn the top ranking heading into the OUA playoffs.
Without the dual threat of Keon Edwards (pictured) and Keanu Yazbeck in the backfield, Western's offence will have to adjust in 2025. Photo: Brandon VandeCaveye/Mustangs
With Evan Hillock leading the way, the Mustangs are in good hands as they try to regain control of the Ontario conference. Entering his fifth season as the Mustangs' starter, Hillock is already a three-time Yates Cup champion and a Vanier Cup champion. Will Western become a pass first offence in 2025? Unlikely, but experience at the QB position will be key for a Western team that graduated their two leading rushers from 2024, RB Keon Edwards (119 carries, 604 yards, 7 touchdowns) and RB Keanu Yazbeck (103 carries, 906 yards, 8 touchdowns).
Western will certainly be near the top of the OUA standings come late October. Will this translate into a return to the national stage, or will another program emerge from the OUA?
Saskatchewan Huskies
The Saskatchewan Huskies have won more Hardy Trophies than any other Canada West program (21). They are also tied with the Calgary Dinos for the most Vanier Cup appearances by a Canada West program (11). All of these appearances however have resulted in just three Vanier Cup victories (1990, 1996, 1998) and eight defeats (1989, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2021, 2022). This is the most Vanier Cup losses by a single program in the trophy’s history.
Going into 2025, the Huskies seem poised to make another run into November with a roster full of returning veterans and a fifth-year QB, Anton Amundrud. They are also the recent powerhouse program in the conference, making it to the Hardy Cup five of the last six seasons. Considering many around the country typically pick the Canada West as the most competitive U SPORTS conference, a 3-2 record in these games is nothing to sneeze at.
With starting quarterback Anton Amundrud, running back Ryker Frank, and wide receiver Daniel Wiebe (pictured) set to return, the Huskies offence once again projects as one of the best in the country. Photo: Electric Umbrella/Huskies
Ultimately, it will take a number of things for the Huskies to capture another Hardy Trophy on their way to the Vanier, but the dogs seem as good a pick as any to take that next step and win their first Vanier Cup since 1998. With the championship game set for Regina’s Mosaic Stadium, you couldn’t ask for a better script. What better way to win the Vanier than in your provincial rival’s home stadium?
Manitoba Bisons
The Manitoba Bisons have 11 Hardy Cups and three Vanier Cup championships in program history. Their latest of each came in 2014 and 2007, respectively. Last season seemed like a shoe-in to add to these totals, but after a 7-1 Canada West regular season the Bisons fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Regina Rams 28-25. With much of their offensive cast returning, and a fire that only losing can provide, Manitoba once again looks poised to do some damage in 2025.
Even though the Canada West may be the most competitive conference in U SPORTS football, the Bisons have a slight advantage in the strength of their 2025 schedule. Manitoba has the sixth-ranked Canada West strength of schedule this season based on opponent record in 2024.
Leading the way for Manitoba for a fifth year will be Jackson Tachinski, fresh off off a Canada West Player of the Year nod. Photo: Zachary Peters/Bison
Because there are only six teams in the Canada West, the difference between the sixth ranked strength of schedule (2024 opponent record: 29-35) and the first ranked strength of schedule (2024 opponent record: 34-30) is not huge. It will still be interesting however, to see if it plays any factor into the final rankings of the tightly contested Canada West standings.
All things being equal, the Manitoba Bisons have not played in a Hardy Cup since 2021. That means that the only members of the roster with any Hardy Cup experience are about to play their fifth and final season. I’m sure that they would like to make one last run before they ride off into the sunset and experience some level of national glory.
Montreal Carabins
The Montreal Carabins have been the bridesmaids of the RSEQ for the last decade, which is saying a lot considering the level of program success they’ve seen. The Carabins have won five Dunsmore Cups in their program history (2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) and two Vanier Cups (2014, 2023). Although impressive, this success pales in comparison to the 17 Dunsmore Cups and 12 Vanier Cups won by conference rival Laval. To be fair, the Rouge et Or football program has been around longer than the Carabins, but only by six seasons (1996 vs 2002).
In a conference where only two teams have reached the national stage since 2013, beating Laval is everything for Montreal. Last season, the Carabins split the home and home matchup with Laval in the regular season, and eventually lost the Dunsmore Cup in Quebec City by a score of 22-17.
2023 Hec Crighton winner Jonathan Sénécal will not be back under centre in 2025
With Jonathan Sénécal graduting, Montreal's quarterback spot will be up for grabs in 2025. Photo: Montreal Carabins
While nothing in football is ever guaranteed, an AUS program has not won a national semi-final game since Saint Mary’s defeated Laval 24-2 in the 2007 Uteck Bowl. In that time frame AUS teams are 0-16 in national semi-final games, losing by an average score of 45-12.
Like I said, nothing in football is ever guaranteed and that’s what makes the games interesting. That being said, the recent record of the RSEQ teams not named Laval and Montreal, paired with the AUS conference record at the national stage tells us one thing. The roadmap for Montreal to reclaim a spot in the Vanier goes through Laval.