As fans of the Golden Hawks and Varsity Blues prepare mentally to face each other this Saturday for a homecoming duel in Waterloo, it is worth taking a moment to examine the trajectory of both these programs.
The Golden Hawks, coming off a Vanier Cup appearance, have an unblemished record in 2025. The offence is flying at a high degree, while the defence seems to be getting more confidence each week in the plays they are making.
They are on track to re-live the successes of last season, and should be considered a nationwide top-four contender for a national title.
As for Toronto, offensive explosions and game-breaking skill-position players have been the most significant contributors to their success so far in 2025 — a formula that is both exciting and unstable.
A 1-4 record may not indicate it, but this is a talented football team that could easily be 3-2 had their back-to-back overtime losses against Waterloo and York fallen in their favour after their win against Carleton.
In years past, this game would likely have been a meaningless blip on the calendar for fans. But now, with the explosive performances we have seen from Toronto this year and the way they have played their opponents tough, it seems as if this game, this year, has a whole new life to it.
Historically, since the year 2000, this has been a one-sided series. In all, through 18 games, Laurier has the upper hand with an impressive 14-4 record, with their most significant margin of victory coming in 2004, the year before their Vanier Cup win, as they destroyed the Varsity Blues 67-0.
For Toronto, their last win in the series came in 2019, where they eked out a thrilling 38-34 victory on the road in Waterloo.
From the outset, this game has the potential to fall into one of two directions: a blowout at the hands of Laurier, or a tight one- or two-possession ballgame.
Let's start with the home team, the Golden Hawks.
Just past the midway point of the season, quarterback Callum Wither should be considered a front-runner for the Larry Haylor Award for good reason.
He has proven to be one of the nation's most efficient passers, ranking first in touchdown passes (15), second in completion percentage (73 per cent), fourth in passing yards (1421) and second in pass efficiency (190.4).
He has been amazing at spreading the ball to his plethora of game-altering pass-catchers and is poised to have a considerable performance, especially against a Toronto defence that allows more than 32.0 points and 310.8 passing yards per game.
Speaking of those pass-catchers, the man to start with is undoubtedly Ethan Jordan. After a year where he broke U SPORTS football records as a receiver, Jordan is doing it again by leading the country in yards (724), touchdown catches (eight), and yards per game (144.8). He has recorded 100-plus receiving yards in every game so far.
Ryan Hughes, second on the team in receiving, will likely see a lot of passes thrown his way to complement Jordan. Hughes is an athletic freak and is having a great second year of eligibility by making tough catches and helping to ingratiate himself into a Wither-led offence.
Since Toronto's pass defence struggles, it would not be surprising to see the likes of Jace Atkinson and Jaxon Stebbings play a heavy part in the offensive game plan, to stretch the field.
The Golden Hawks can run the football as well behind the two-headed monster of Tayshaun Jackson and Quentin Scott.
Although not on the level of a McGill or Western, Laurier still ranks top ten in rushing yards per game and yards per attempt. Expect both rushers to be inserted at different times to keep the Varsity Blues defence guessing.
The Laurier defence will be the one unit to have their hands full as the Toronto offence has been explosive for most of the year.
Quarterback Scott Barnett was all the rage to start the season after an OUA record-breaking 614 yard passing game in week one against Carleton.
Since then, he has fallen down to Earth and accumulated 1548 passing yards, nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions on the year so far behind a four-game losing streak.
Barnett is a gamer and can air the football out. He is second in Canada in yards per game (309.6) and is not afraid to take a shot. Barnett has complete and utter trust in his top two wideouts, Chris Joseph and Jake Oseen, who have been some of Canada's most productive receivers in '25.
Joseph has been on a tear, with a school-record 310 receiving yards in week one's win over Carleton. In that game, and one other time since, Joseph has tied the national record for single-game receptions with a whopping 19.
Currently, he ranks tied for third nationally with touchdown catches (four) and second in receiving yards (658), while Oseen is just behind Joseph at third nationally for receiving yards (617) and also has four touchdown catches.
Toronto loves to throw the ball, and for good reason, with such talented receivers. Joseph and Oseen have both seen 50-plus receptions with no other Varsity Blues receiver totalling over five.
Offensively, they are one-sided and run the ball only when they need to, as evidenced by their rushing yards per game falling under 100 as well as their total rushing attempts (94).
In this case, Laurier's secondary will need to be on-point. Joseph and Oseen are bound to receive five-plus targets, at least, per half, therefore players like Maliek Cote, Johari Hastings, Paul Loggale, and Ethan Bayfield, will likely be busy stopping Toronto's passing concepts.
The Varsity Blue's defence, meanwhile, will have their hands full with the biggest collection of offensive talent they have seen thus far in 2025. Playmakers like Ryan Stewart, Brandon Thibodeau, Oskar McPhie, and Devon Crenshaw, will all be tasked with nullifying Laurier's offensive efforts in any way they can.
Stewart and Thibodeau, Toronto's two talented linebackers, will need to perform clean-up duty whenever they have to and will need to have loud voices, in particular, to communicate with their teammates amidst all the chaos. It would be a statement unlike any other if the Varsity Blues finished this game within two scores.
In many respects, these players, and the rest of the defence, are the biggest keys to a Toronto victory. We know their offence is explosive and can hang with some talented teams, it is just about fielding the right defence to complement all the points you put on the board.
For Laurier, the answer to a victory is the same as their past five games: keep executing to the degree that they have been since they know their talent likely outweighs that of the opponent.