CFL.ca Staff
OTTAWA (CIS) – The Laval Rouge et Or (8-0) and Queen’s Gaels (8-0) were once again unanimous choices at No. 1 and No. 2 in the final CIS football national media poll of the 2008 season.
Laval and Queen’s swept the first and second-place votes on all 11 ballots for the third straight week.
The Rouge et Or, who completed a perfect regular season Saturday with a spectacular 67-8 win over McGill, led all nine national rankings this fall, including the last eight in unanimous fashion, marking the third time in four years the five-time reigning Quebec champions lead from start to finish.
The QUFL powerhouse has been ranked No. 1 in 48 of the past 49 CIS polls, dating back to 2005.
The Western Ontario Mustangs (7-1) held on at No. 3 by the slimmest of margins this week, edging the No. 4 Saskatchewan Huskies (6-2) by one point in the voting, 80-79. Saskatchewan moved up one spot in the final poll after clinching first place in Canada West with a convincing 28-3 win over UBC.
The Saint Mary’s Huskies (7-1) also gained one position, to No. 5, after they wrapped up the AUFC regular schedule with a 49-7 domination of StFX.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Dinos (5-3) are down two spots, at No. 6, following a 20-9 loss to Alberta that had no incidence on the Canada West standings.
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (7-2) move past the Simon Fraser Clan (5-3) at No. 7 after an impressive display in the first round of the OUA playoffs. The Hawks blanked McMaster 29-0.
The Concordia Stingers (5-3) and Montreal Carabins (5-3) stay put in the final rankings, at No. 9 and No. 10.
Seven conference semi-finals are on the CIS football schedule this weekend including No. 10 Montreal at No. 1 Laval, Ottawa (5-4) at No. 2 Queen’s, No. 7 Laurier at No. 3 Western, No. 8 Simon Fraser at No. 4 Saskatchewan, Regina (5-3) at No. 6 Calgary, Sherbrooke (5-3) at No. 9 Concordia, and Mount Allison (2-6) at StFX (4-4).
All games are on Saturday except the Regina-Calgary tilt, scheduled for Sunday.
Televised semi-finals include Montreal-Laval (RDS, 1:30 p.m.), Laurier-Western (The Score, 1 p.m.), Simon Fraser-Saskatchewan (Shaw, 1:30 p.m. Central) and Mount Allison-StFX (EastLink, 1 p.m. Atlantic).
MITSUBISHI TOP 10 (#9)
Voting is based on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system, with a first-place vote worth 10 points. The CIS Football Top Ten Committee is made up of 11 members of media from across Canada. A total of nine national rankings will be released for the 2008 season, with the final Top 10 being released once all teams have completed the regular season.
| Pts (1st place) | Last week | |
| 1. Laval (8-0) | 110 (11) | 1 |
| 2. Queen’s (8-0) | 99 | 2 |
| 3. Western Ontario (7-1) | 80 | 3 |
| 4. Saskatchewan (6-2) | 79 | 5 |
| 5. Saint Mary’s (7-1) | 61 | 6 |
| 6. Calgary (5-3) | 45 | 4 |
| 7. Wilfrid Laurier (7-2) | 34 | 8 |
| 8. Simon Fraser (5-3) | 33 | 7 |
| 9. Concordia (5-3) | 31 | 9 |
| 10. Montreal (5-3) | 28 | 10 |
Other teams receiving votes: Regina (4), Sherbrooke (1).
CIS FOOTBALL WEEK 11 SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL)
Saturday, Nov. 1
1:00 pm AUFC semi-final: Mount Allison (2-6) at StFX (4-4), EastLink
1:00 pm OUA semi-final: Ottawa (5-4) at No. 2 Queen’s (8-0)
1:00 pm OUA semi-final: No. 7 Laurier (7-2) at No. 3 Western (7-1), The Score
1:00 pm QUFL semi-final: Sherbrooke (5-3) at No. 9 Concordia (5-3)
1:30 pm QUFL semi-final: No. 10 Montreal (5-3) at No. 1 Laval (8-0), RDS
1:30 pm Canada West semi-final: No. 8 Simon Fraser (5-3) at No. 4 Saskatchewan (6-2), Shaw
Sunday, Nov. 2
1:00 pm Canada West semi-final: Regina (5-3) at No. 6 Calgary (5-3)
