As the OUA season kicks off on Saturday, the Ottawa Gee-Gees (4-4, T-6th in the conference in 2024) find themselves in an unfamiliar position: limbo.
The Gee-Gees have been one of the more successful programs in the conference since the turn of the century, with only three seasons under .500 since their Vanier Cup win in 2000.
Despite that long track record of success, the team has now finished three of their last four regular seasons with the same number of wins as losses (3-3 in 2021, 4-4 in 2023 & 2024).
The expectations remain high as ever in the nation's capital, particularly after securing their sixth-consecutive victory over rivals Carleton in the 55th annual Panda Game in 2024.
However, key personnel losses for the Gee-Gees on the defensive side of the ball coupled with a blowout 37-10 preseason loss to the powerhouse Montreal Carabins on Aug. 16 could spell trouble for the season to come.
Ottawa has allowed 23.4 points per game in each of the past two regular seasons, a mark good enough for fourth-best in the OUA in 2024.
This season, they'll have to contend with the loss of defensive back duo Eric Cumberbatch and Kevin Victome – both former All-Canadians.
Departures in secondary raise questions for Gee-Gees defence
Victome, who started at safety, put up a career-high in tackles in 2024, accumulating 31.5 across eight regular season games.
Cumberbatch only played in four games last season, but managed 32.5 tackles and two interceptions in 2023, his most recent full season.
Additionally, the departures of Tolu Ahmed (19+ tackles in each of his last two seasons) and Eli Cruickshank have left the Gee-Gees secondary on the younger side heading into the 2025 campaign.
Eric’s twin brother Patrick — himself a Second-Team OUA All-Star at halfback a season ago — and Denny Ferdinand, who moonlights as the Gee-Gees’ punt returner, will be key to continuity in the backfield.
In the trenches, the Gee-Gees will have to move on from defensive end Kevin Anderson, as well as linebackers Kurtis Flynn and Braeden Cruji, who combined for 36 tackles and a sack last year.
They retain linebacker Marc Djonay Rondeau and defensive end Riley Hildebrandt, who led the team in sacks with two apiece in 2024.
Djonay Rondeau added a third in the team’s playoff loss at Guelph. Also returning are linebackers Daniel Briere (31 tackles) and Jaxxon Brashear (25.5 tackles).
Luckily for Ottawa, they begin their 2025 campaign against a team they've had consistent success against in the past – the Waterloo Warriors.
The Gee-Gees have defeated the Warriors in each of the last two seasons, with both victories coming by double-digits: a season-opening 29-10 home win in 2023, then a dominating defensive road win; 26-5 in the third week of the 2024 season.
Offence relies on Janssen’s arm and Asselin’s legs
Josh Janssen is projected to get the start for Ottawa at quarterback, in what is poised to be the first time in his career where he'll fully have the reins of the offense.
While splitting snaps with Ben Maracle last season, Janssen struggled to find rhythm at times – completing 68 per cent of his passes, but throwing for just three touchdowns over six starts and seven games total, including playoffs.
Interceptions have been an issue in Janssen's career; the Chilliwack, B.C. native has had more interceptions than touchdown passes in each of his two seasons with the Gee-Gees.
However, Janssen showed promise in his first year with the team in 2023, averaging just shy of 240 passing yards per game.
After Maracle went down to injury in a September loss to Queen’s, he picked back up where he started from, throwing for 1,314 yards over the final five games of the 2024 season, good for an average of 262.8 per game.
Maracle – who does have one more year of eligibility remaining thanks to a medical redshirt but was not expected to return – was added back to the Gee-Gees online roster after training camp, despite not being a participant.
Ottawa has relied heavily on Maracle during his career. The Tyendinaga, Ont. native threw for over 1000 yards in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Injuries have been a concern, but he projects to be an insurance policy for a team not registering any other upper-year backups rather than a true competitor for the starting role.
Behind Josh Janssen, first-years Chase Gillespie and Joseph Chmielewski will serve as depth in Marcel Bellefeuille's quarterback room alongside Ben Maracle. Photo: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Regardless of how Maracle is used, expect head coach Marcel Bellefeuille to be reliant on Janssen to take care of the ball under pressure, as Gee-Gees running back Charles Asselin will be the focal point of opposing defensive coordinators.
With teams looking to stop Asselin – who had a breakout campaign with 809 rush yards and eight touchdowns in 2024 – the Gee-Gees can expect more interior pressure and blitz looks.
Asselin has the opportunity to assert himself as one of the best RBs in the country a year after finishing second in the OUA in rushing yards per game (101.1).
The heavy dose of pressure looks and stacked boxes the Gee-Gees are sure to face in response to Asselin will make Janssen's arm crucial, as he'll have the opportunity to attempt more big plays.
Janssen was in fact a bright spot in the Gee-Gees aforementioned preseason loss to the Carabins; going 9-of-11 for 131 yards and a touchdown in a first half that saw the Gee-Gees trail the 2023 Vanier Cup champions just 13-10 after a last-second Montreal field goal.
Janssen then sat in a second half where the Gee-Gees were shut out and outscored 25-0. With that strong showing against a perennially strong defense, the Chilliwack native could be working his way towards a monster year.
Another – perhaps more important – consideration is who exactly Janssen will be throwing the ball to. Asselin has lined up as a receiver on occasion, allowing Souleymane Camara to run the ball, but the Gee-Gees have no true #1 wide receiver heading into the year.
Noah Avery appears the main candidate for the role, leading the team in receptions (27) and receiving yards (346) last season, but those numbers pale in comparison to some of the elite receivers in the conference.
Fourth-year Charles Asselin averaged 101.1 rushing yards per game last season, good for second in the conference, and added eight touchdowns — good for first among all running backs. The Cantley, Que. native added 190 yards on 20 receptions. Photo: Greg Mason/Gee-Gees
The wide receiver room will likely consist of returnees Avery, Robin Collioud, Romeo Lussier, and Tristan Gilbert Thibault, plus transfer Emyl Gregoire (CEGEP D3). A solid group, certainly, but missing some "wow" factor.
On the offensive line, Kevin Beauchamp graduates after a four-year career, while Tristan Fortin returns for a fifth season after spending time with the Ottawa Redblacks.
The rest of the sched ahead
Looking ahead to week two, Ottawa will host their home opener on Aug. 30 at Gee-Gees Field against what is expected to be a much-improved York Lions team.
Following years as bottom-dwellers in the OUA standings, the Lions started to build momentum last year with the hiring of then-31-year-old head coach Dexter Janke, who led the team to wins over Toronto and Waterloo.
This year, with several massive additions by transfer, most notably former McMaster Marauder QB Keagan Hall, the Lions are poised to perform. One might compare their (projected) resurgence to that of another Lions team not far from York University.
Having spent years as a laughingstock, the Detroit Lions gained a new identity under a young head coach who was a former player, and turned their fortunes around thanks to a slew of additions at key positions... sound familiar?
The Gee-Gees will look to prove that their 27-4 victory over York last year is still the state of affairs in front of a home crowd.
September will be the true test for Ottawa, as their schedule between York at the end of August and Panda Game against Carleton on Oct. 5 sees them face off against two OUA powerhouses and a perennial playoff contender.
In three consecutive weeks prior to their bye, the Gee-Gees will be at Western, at Guelph, then home to Laurier. Those opponents combined for a record of 21-3 last year, and include both contestants of the Yates Cup (Western and Laurier) and the national runners-up (Laurier).
It's hard to love the Gee-Gees chances in any of those matchups, but stealing one game from that stretch could prove critical for the team on a quest to improve on their 4-4 record from the past two years, and may be the deciding factor in whether they are to host a playoff game for the first time in the post-COVID era.
On the other side of that three-headed snake (and a bye) is the infamous Panda Game. The Gee-Gees have dominated the head-to-head with Carleton both in recent years as winners of six consecutive matchups, and all time, with a 38-17 record.
The 56th Panda Game runs Oct. 5 at noon. Beloved by Gee-Gees fans — looking for win seven in a row — the game has had massive playoff implications in recent seasons. Photo: Greg Kolz/Gee-Gees
Ottawa won the 2024 edition in a comeback effort, 35-32, after trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half. For the second year in a row, the game was decided by three or fewer points and ended with a field goal – albeit with very different outcomes.
In 2023, Gee-Gees kicker Campbell Fair (currently with the Saskatchewan Roughriders) nailed an OUA-record-tying 55-yard field goal to lift Ottawa to an 18-16 win, while in 2024, a last-minute onside kick recovery gave Carleton a 54-yard opportunity to tie the game in the dying seconds.
However, Ravens kicker Brandon Forcier came up just short, and the Gee-Gees held on for the three-point win.
Fair's replacement Zachary Copeland hit two of four field goals, all four extra points, and added a rouge in last year's Panda Game; the Gee-Gees will be relying on his leg once again this year, though undoubtedly hoping for a more comfortable win against their cross-town rivals.
Expect Ravens quarterback Elijah Barnes to have a say about that, though – he dished out 329 passing yards and four touchdowns against Ottawa in 2024, and will have his sights set on revenge.
With the stage set at TD Place and another sellout all but assured, Panda 2025 will be can't-miss action.
Following Panda, the Gee-Gees close their regular season with home matchups against Windsor and Toronto.
The Lancers got off to a blazing start to the 2024 season, opening with five straight wins (including over Ottawa, 21-18), but cooled off at the end, losing their last three in the regular season as well as their OUA quarterfinal.
Still, the Lancers were competitive in all but one of those matches, and their defensive prowess will be a tough test for a team that'll be coming off the rollercoaster of emotions that is Panda. This match should be one of the Gee-Gees’ closest of the season.
Finally, Ottawa will close the season against a Toronto team that has struggled mightily in recent years (1-7 last season, 2-6 the year prior).
The Gee-Gees defeated the Varsity Blues 49-7 in their regular season finale a year ago, and there are no signs indicating that this year's matchup will be any different — even with new threads for the Blues.
A big win against U of T would be key for confidence heading into playoffs, and there's a good chance that Ottawa will be jockeying several other teams in the middle of the pack for playoff seeding by that point.
Looking towards the playoffs this early may be futile, but the importance of securing home field advantage – at least in the quarterfinals – can't be overstated.
The Gee-Gees have dropped both of their most recent quarterfinal appearances on the road, 15-10 at Queen's in 2023 and 26-15 at Guelph last year.
However, those losses did manage to exceed expectations. Underdogs in both games, the Gee-Gees kept it close and even had chances to win or tie both matches late, a testament to the coaching staff's ability to put together a strong game plan.
Typically, a record of 5-3 is enough to secure home field for the first round, while a minimum of 6-2 (usually 7-1) is required to play a semi-final at home.
The Gee-Gees have at least two easily winnable games (Waterloo, Toronto), three games which should be tightly contested (York, Carleton, Windsor) and three games where they are a clear underdog (Western, Guelph, Laurier).
Should they find ways to win all their close games, their record could look as good as 5-3, maybe even 6-2, if they can pull off an upset.
However, the most realistic – and perhaps most depressing – scenario is one where the Gee-Gees finish, for a third straight year, with an exactly 4-4 record.