OTTAWA — The OUA playoffs get under way, while the regular season comes to an end in the three other conferences. Following is all you need to know about the upcoming CIS football weekend.
OUA playoffs
The playoffs get under way in Ontario on Saturday with a pair of quarterfinal match-ups. The No. 8-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (6-2) and a trio of 4-4 teams hope to advance to the next round.
Laurier, third in the OUA in conference play, hosts sixth-place McMaster at 1 p.m. (Rogers in Kitchener-Waterloo / Cable 14 in Hamilton), while fourth-place Guelph hosts fifth-place Ottawa, also at 1 p.m. (The Score).
The Hawks and Marauders have met seven previous times in the post-season, with Laurier holding a 4-3 advantage. The Hawks won the last head-to-head playoff match-up, a 43-21 OUA semi-final victory in 2005.
The Gryphons and Gee-Gees have faced off on two occasions in the playoffs, both times in the quarter-finals. Ottawa prevailed 35-21 in 2005 and 33-9 in 2004.
The OUA semi-finals are slated for November 1st, with No. 2 Queen’s (8-0) hosting the lowest remaining seed and No. 3 Western (7-1) hosting the highest remaining seed.
AUFC playoff race
The post-season picture is set in the Atlantic.
The No. 6-ranked and defending Vanier Cup finalist Saint Mary’s Huskies (6-1) have secured first place and a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs. They will host the AUFC final, the Loney Bowl, on November 8.
StFX (4-3) has clinched second place and will host third-place Mount Allison (2-5) in the AUFC semi-final on November 1st.
Acadia (0-7) is out of the post-season for the first time since 1997 and is in danger of going winless for the first time in team history. The Axemen end the 2008 schedule at Mount Allison Saturday at 2 p.m. Atlantic (EastLink).
QUFL playoff race
In Quebec, two teams are assured of their final regular season positions. The No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or (7-0) will finish first for the fourth straight year, while McGill (0-7) will end up sixth and last for the second season in a row. The two teams meet Saturday in Quebec City.
The rest of the playoff picture will be decided following the other Saturday duels that see No. 9 Concordia (4-3) host Sherbrooke (5-2) at 1 p.m., and No. 10 Montreal (4-3) host Bishop’s (3-4), also at 1 p.m. (RDS).
The post-season race can be summed up this way:
SHERBROOKE (5-2)
– Finishes second with a win. Finishes third with a loss.
CONCORDIA (4-3)
– Finishes second with a win. Finishes third with a loss AND a Montreal loss. Finishes fourth with a loss AND a Montreal win.
MONTRÉAL (4-3)
– Finishes third with a win AND a Concordia loss. Finishes fourth with a win AND a Concordia win. Finishes fifth with a loss.
BISHOP’S (3-4)
– Finishes fourth with a win. Finishes fifth with a loss.
Canada West playoff race
Out West, conference play comes to an end with the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies (5-2) visiting UBC (2-5) and the reigning Vanier Cup champion Manitoba Bisons (3-4) visiting Regina (4-3) on Friday night, and the No. 4 Calgary Dinos (5-2) making the short trip to Alberta (1-6) Saturday afternoon.
The No. 7 Simon Fraser Clan (5-3) have a bye week and can only wait and hope for the best. The Clan, who entered the campaign on a 25-game losing streak, are in the post-season for the first time since 2003, when they captured their lone Canada West title.
The post-season race can be summed up this way:
SASKATCHEWAN (5-2)
– Finishes first with a win OR a Calgary loss. Finishes second with a loss AND a Calgary win.
CALGARY (5-2)
– Finishes first with a win AND a Saskatchewan loss. Finishes second with a win OR a Manitoba loss AND a Saskatchewan win. Finishes third with a loss AND a Regina loss.
SIMON FRASER (5-3)
– Finishes second with a Calgary loss AND a Regina loss. Finishes third with a Calgary win AND a Regina loss. Finishes fourth with a Regina win.
REGINA (4-3)
– Finishes third with a win. Finishes fifth with a loss.
MANITOBA (3-4)
– Finishes fourth with a win. Finishes fifth with a loss.
Vanier Cup Blues?
The Manitoba Bisons (3-4) need a win Friday night at Regina (4-3) to earn the fourth and final post-season berth in Canada West. Should the Bisons lose to the Rams, they would become the eighth team in history – and the second Manitoba squad – to miss the playoffs one year after claiming the Vanier Cup.
Of the seven Vanier Cup champions who failed to make the post-season the following fall, only one – 1993 Queen’s – competed in a conference where four or more teams qualified for the playoffs.
Defending CIS football champions missing the cut include:
– Saskatchewan (missed 1997 playoffs with 5-3 record) (1)
– Calgary (missed 1996 playoffs with 4-4 record) (1)
– Queen’s (missed 1993 playoffs with 2-5 record) (2)
– Calgary (missed 1989 playoffs with 4-4 record) (1)
– Acadia (missed 1982 playoffs with 3-3 record) (3)
– Manitoba (missed 1971 playoffs with 5-3) (4)
– Queen’s (missed 1969 playoffs with 5-2 record) (4)
(1) In 1997, 1996 and 1989, only two teams made the playoffs in Canada West. Saskatchewan finished third in 1997, while Calgary was third in 1996 and fourth in 1989.
(2) In 1993, four teams made the playoffs in the OQIFC. Queen’s finished fifth.
(3) In 1982, only two teams made the playoffs in the AUAA. Acadia finished third.
(4) In 1971 in Canada West and 1969 in Ontario-Quebec, no league playoffs were played and the regular champions (Alberta 1971 / McGill 1969) advanced straight to national Bowl games.
The record chase
It was a record-filled season in CIS football and more new standards could be set over the final weekend of the regular season. Strangely, the game to keep an eye on his one of the few match-ups across the country with no playoff implications: McGill at Laval, 1 p.m. on Saturday.
McGill quarterback Matt Connell will play the final game of his career Saturday. The senior from St. Bruno, Que., will add to his own CIS career records for passing yards (10,201), attempts (1,331) and completions (794).
McGill teammate Erik Galas, a fifth-year slotback from Ottawa, will also suit up for the Redmen for the final time. He should add to his CIS career mark of 190 receptions.
Galas and Laval second-year receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino also have an outside shot at the CIS single-season receptions record of 72 set a year ago by Galas’ current teammate, Charles-Antoine Sinotte. Galas and Feoli-Gudino, a native of Costa Rica, are tied for the CIS lead with 60 catches entering their conference finale.
Laval second-year kicker Christopher Milo of Montreal has made 22 field goals in his first seven outings of the campaign, one short of the CIS single-season mark of 23 set by Manitoba’s Jamie Boreham in 2001.
Laval quarterback Benoit Groulx of Montreal is completing 74.55 percent of his passes this fall (167 of 224). The CIS single-season record of 70.4 percent was set way back in 1962 by Alberta’s Garry Smith.
As a side note, Regina quarterback Teale Orban enters the last regular season game of his career, Friday night against Manitoba, with 76 touchdown passes, three short of Ottawa’s Josh Sacobie, who ranks second on the CIS all-time list. The CIS career mark of 87 is held by Saint Mary’s Chris Flynn (1987-90).
CIS FOOTBALL WEEK 10 SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL to home teams)
Friday, Oct. 24
7:00 pm StFX (4-3
) at No. 6 Saint Mary’s (6-1)
7:00 pm Manitoba (3-4) at Regina (4-3)
7:00 pm No. 5 Saskatchewan (5-2) at UBC (2-5)
Saturday, Oct. 25
1:00 pm OUA quarter-final: Ottawa (4-4) at Guelph (4-4), The Score
1:00 pm OUA quarter-final: McMaster (4-4) at No. 8 Laurier (6-2), Rogers in Kitchener-Waterloo / Cable 14 in Hamilton
1:00 pm Bishop’s (3-4) at No. 10 Montreal (4-3), RDS
1:00 pm Sherbrooke (5-2) at No. 9 Concordia (4-3)
1:00 pm McGill (0-7) at No. 1 Laval (7-0)
1:00 pm No. 4 Calgary (5-2) at Alberta (1-6), Shaw TV
2:00 pm Acadia (0-7) at Mount Allison (2-5), EastLink
