Fall is upon us and with it the end of the U SPORTS football regular season. There are three more weeks of regular season play before Conference playoffs begin (only two if you’re an OUA fan), but there are definitely still some must watch games on the docket.
Laurier (7-0) @ Western (7-0)
Oct. 18, 1:00pm EST
Slated for the last week of the OUA regular season, this game will decide who gets the number one OUA seed. In the OUA, this would equal a first-round bye and also home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. Beside the point that this game will have every application on the OUA standings, both teams also have Hec Crighton candidates driving their offences.
Laurier wide receiver Ethan Jordan and Western running back Ethan Dolby lead the nation in receiving and rushing respectively. Through six games, both player’s stats are ridiculous. Jordan has 61 receptions for 972 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns. Dolby on the other hand has carried the ball 123 times for 1220 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
No matter how you slice it, this game will be a clash of OUA titans.
Montreal (6-1) @ Laval (5-1)
Oct. 19, 1:00pm EST
The Carabins beat the Rouge et Or back in September, but that was in Montreal. You don’t have to be an RSEQ fan to know that Laval is a different animal at home. The game will sure to be a sellout (last year’s game had a reported attendance of 20 903) and will be no doubt some of the best university competition anyone will see this year.
Montreal quarterback Pepe Gonzalez has 18 passing touchdowns this year, good enough for second in U SPORTS. Laval quarterback Arnaud Desjardins on the other hand currently has the best completion percentage in the country at 75.5 per cent.
If history tells us anything, it’s that this is only round two of a three game series that will culminate in the Jacques Dussault Cup (formerly the Dunsmore Cup). The McGill Redbirds might have something to say about that, but I guess we’ll find out during the RSEQ playoffs.
Manitoba (3-3) @ Saskatchewan (5-1)
Oct. 25, 3:00pm EST
Not the two top Canada West seeds, that would be Saskatchewan and Regina, but this game will provide a battle between the current first place Huskies and the third place Bisons. Both teams have championship pedigree and have looked good so far this season. Perhaps both are poised to make deep playoff runs.
In their first meeting the Bisons were able to give Saskatchewan their only loss of the season, edging them out by a score of 21-20.
Players to watch in this game include Manitoba quarterback Jackson Tachinski and Saskatchewan receiver Daniel Wiebe. Tachinski is third in completion percentage (71.1 per cent) while Wiebe is putting together quite a season in Saskatchewan.
Before the Canada West took a bye week in Week 8, Wiebe sat fourth in receptions with 44, third in both yards with 763 and touchdowns with seven, and has the second highest yards per game average with 127.2.