September 15, 2009

MUSTANGS, GAELS, GOLDEN HAWKS REMAIN IN CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10

OTTAWA – For the fourth time in as many weeks, the reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or were a unanimous No. 1 selection in the UFRC – CIS football poll.

The Rouge et Or (2-0), who have topped 52 of the past 53 national rankings dating back to the start of the 2005 season, earned the 55 available first-place votes and 1,730 points in the fourth Top 10 of 2009.

After opening the regular schedule with a 51-0 home win over Concordia back on Sept. 6, the six-time defending Quebec champions were as dominant on the road last Saturday extending their overall winning streak to 14 games with a 45-6 victory over Bishop’s.

The Rouge et Or face their most serious test of the young campaign Saturday when they host the Montreal Carabins (2-0), who have been equally impressive thus far outscoring McGill 66-14 and Concordia 41-18. The Carabins move up three spots to No. 5 in this week’s Top 10, marking their best ranking since the third poll of the 2007 season.

The duel for first place in the QUFL, which will be televised nationally on Radio-Canada, will pit the country’s top defence against the nation’s best offence. Laval has yet to allow points on defence having held Bishop’s to a punt-return touchdown after blanking Concordia, while Montreal has already put up 107 points on the board.

The 2008 Vanier Cup finalist Western Ontario Mustangs and the Saskatchewan Huskies hold on to the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in the poll, respectively, after they both improved to 2-0 last weekend. Western dominated the nationally-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 30-7, while Saskatchewan escaped with its second one-point win in as many weeks, this time edging provincial rival Regina 10-9.

Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 4-Calgary Dinos (1-1), No. 6-Queen’s Gaels (2-0), No. 7-Simon Fraser Clan (2-0), No. 8-St. Francis Xavier X-Men (1-0), No. 9-Laurier (1-1) and No. 10-Saint Mary’s Huskies (0-1).

Calgary, which is up one spot this week, rebounded from a season-opening OT loss to Saskatchewan with a 34-31 win over Alberta (0-2).

After outscoring Guelph 52-49 in Week 1, Queen’s won with outstanding defence last Saturday edging McMaster (1-1) 8-7. The Gaels are also up one position this week.

Simon Fraser continued to prove its appearance in last year’s Canada West final was no fluke holding Manitoba to 69 yards of net offence in a 41-7 win. The undefeated Clan is up three places in the poll.

StFX also made a statement on the first weekend of the AUS season with a 24-19 win over reigning conference champion Saint Mary’s, which was ranked No. 4 going into the contest. The X-Men crack the Top 10 for the first time since a No. 10 showing in the next to last poll of 2005, while the Huskies drop to No. 10 for the first time since the first rankings of 2007.

Laurier was the other big loser in the new poll sliding from No. 6 to No. 9 following its sub-par performance against Western.

Apart from Laval-Montreal, marquee match-ups in Week 4 of the CIS campaign include No. 4-Calgary at Regina (1-1) on Friday night, No. 6-Queen’s at Ottawa (1-1) on Saturday afternoon, and No. 10-Saint Mary’s at 1-0 Acadia on Saturday night (EastLink, 7 p.m. Atlantic Time).

UFRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#4)

Pts (1^st place) Last week

1. Laval (2-0) 1730 (55) 1
2. Western Ontario (2-0) 1589 2
3. Saskatchewan (2-0) 1335 3
4. Calgary (1-1) 1079 5
5. Montreal (2-0) 1011 8
6. Queen’s (2-0) 877 7
7. Simon Fraser (2-0) 774 10
8. StFX (1-0) 432 NR
9. Wilfrid Laurier (1-1) 288 6
10. Saint Mary’s (0-1) 257 4

Other teams receiving votes: Regina (98), Ottawa (46), Guelph (39), Concordia (3), Sherbrooke (3), Acadia (1), McGill (1).

CIS FOOTBAL WEEK 4 SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL)

Friday, Sept. 18
19:00 Bishop’s (0-2) at McGill (1-1)
19:00 Guelph (1-1) at Toronto (0-2)
19:00 No. 4-Calgary (1-1) at Regina (1-1)
19:00 Alberta (0-2) at No. 7-Simon Fraser (2-0)

Saturday, Sept. 19
13:00 No. 5-Montreal (2-0) at No. 1-Laval (2-0), Radio-Canada
13:00 Waterloo (0-2) at No. 9-Laurier (1-1), The Score
13:00 No. 6-Queen’s (2-0) at Ottawa (1-1)
13:00 McMaster (1-1) at York (0-2)
14:00 No. 8-StFX (1-0) at Mount Allison (0-1)
14:00 UBC (1-1) at Manitoba (0-2), Shaw TV
19:00 No. 10-Saint Mary’s (0-1) at Acadia (1-0), EastLink
19:00 Concordia (0-2) at Sherbrooke (1-1)
19:00 No. 2-Western (2-0) at Windsor (2-0)

About University Football Reporters of Canada

The University Football Reporters of Canada represents journalists and broadcasters in every region of the country covering CIS Football. The UFRC’s primary objective is to work with CIS, its institutions and football programs to build resources and exposure for Canadian University Football from coast to coast through the contribution of the media.

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.

December 22, 2009