CFL.ca Staff
OTTAWA — The seven-time defending Quebec champion Laval Rouge et Or top the Football Reporters of Canada – CIS rankings for the fourth straight week.
The Rouge et Or, who occupy the No. 1 spot for the 51st time in 55 polls dating back to the start of the 2005 campaign, moved to 4-0 for the sixth year in a row on Sunday thanks to a 23-7 home win over Sherbrooke (1-3) in front of 15,126 fans at PEPS Stadium.
Laval, which received 43 out of a possible 44 first-place votes in the fifth national poll of the season, will try to extend a pair of impressive streaks Sunday when the 2-2 Concordia Stingers pay a visit in Quebec City. The QUFL powerhouse is riding a 39-game overall winning streak at home (since a 14-13 loss to Montreal on Sept. 19, 2004) and has won 14 straight overall against Concordia (since a 38-30 road loss on Oct. 4, 2003) including a pair of lopsided victories a year ago, 51-0 in conference play and 63-1 in a Quebec semifinal.
The rest of the top six also remains unchanged in the new FRC poll with the Ottawa Gee-Gees (5-0), Montreal Carabins (4-0), Calgary Dinos (3-1), Western Ontario Mustangs (4-1) and Regina Rams (3-1) following in order.
The No. 7 McMaster Marauders (3-2) and No. 8 Bishop’s Gaiters (3-1) both move up one spot in the new rankings, the No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2) are back in the Top 10 after a one-week hiatus, while the Guelph Gryphons (3-1) remain at No. 10 despite a 15-8 home loss to Western in the lone Top-10 battle of the past week.
The No. 2 Gee-Gees, who like last week were the only team to steal a first-place vote from Laval in the national poll, got all they could handle from reigning Vanier Cup champion Queen’s on Saturday. Ottawa prevailed 27-25 in overtime to maintain a two-point advantage over the No. 5 Mustangs atop the OUA standings.
The No. 3 Carabins kept pace with Laval in Quebec with a 24-11 defeat of cross-town rival McGill (0-4).
The No. 4 Dinos also survived a scare over the weekend holding on for a 26-25 win over Manitoba (1-3). Calgary remained in a tie atop the Canada West standings with the No. 6 Rams, who crushed UBC (1-3) 41-6.
No. 1 Laval (4-0): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 23-7 home win over Sherbrooke (1-3)… This week: Host Concordia (2-2) on Sunday… Heads-up: Laval is riding a 39-game overall winning streak at home (since a 14-13 loss to Montreal on Sept. 19, 2004) and has won 14 straight overall against Concordia (since a 38-30 road loss on Oct. 4, 2003) including a pair of lopsided victories last season, 51-0 in conference play and 63-1 in a QUFL semifinal)…
No. 2 Ottawa (5-0): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 27-25 overtime win at Queen’s (1-3)… This week: Visit Toronto (1-3) on Saturday… Heads-up: Ottawa is 11-0 overall against Toronto since a 24-21 loss to the Varsity Blues back in the 1974 Yates Cup final…
No. 3 Montreal (4-0): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 24-11 home win over McGill (0-4)… This week: Visit No. 8 Bishop’s (3-1) on Saturday… Heads-up: Montreal beat Bishop’s 40-15 in last year’s QUFL semifinals but the Gaiters had prevailed 21-16 in the regular season…
No. 4 Calgary (3-1): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 26-25 win at Manitoba (1-3)… This week: Host UBC (1-3) on Saturday… Heads-up: Calgary is 4-0 vs. UBC since a 22-16 season-opening loss in 2006…
No. 5 Western (4-1): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 15-8 win at No. 10 Guelph (3-1)… This week: Host Queen’s (1-3) on Saturday (The Score, 1 p.m.)… Heads-up: Western suffered a pair of heartbreaking defeats at the hands of Queen’s a year ago, losing 27-26 in conference play on a Danny Brannagan TD pass with 13 seconds remaining and 43-39 in the OUA Yates Cup final…
No. 6 Regina (3-1): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 41-6 win at UBC (1-3)… This week: Host Alberta (2-2) on Saturday… Heads-up: Regina ranks second in the nation to Laval (38.5) in scoring with 36.0 points per game…
No. 7 McMaster (3-2): Top 10 ranking: Up one position… Last week: 39-3 home win over Windsor (1-4)… This week: Visit York (0-4) on Saturday… Heads-up: McMaster is riding a 13-game overall winning streak over York since a pair of losses to the Lions in 1997, including a 49-8 win in last season’s lone head-to-head contest…
No. 8 Bishop’s (3-1): Top 10 ranking: Up one position… Last week: 18-17 win at Concordia (2-2)… This week: Host No. 3 Montreal (4-0) on Saturday… Heads-up: The No. 8 ranking is Bishop’s best since the Gaiters reached No. 6 on Oct. 16, 2007…
No. 9 Saskatchewan (2-2): Top 10 ranking: Unranked last week… Last week: 33-9 win at then-No. 7 Alberta (2-2)… This week: Host Manitoba (1-3) on Friday… Heads-up: Saskatchewan had been ranked in 72 straight national polls since the start of 2004 before dropping out of the Top 10 a week ago…
No. 10 Guelph (3-1): Top 10 ranking: No change… Last week: 15-8 home loss to No. 5 Western (4-1)… This week: Visit Laurier (2-2) on Saturday… Heads-Up: Guelph is 2-12 in 14 overall duels against Laurier since 1998, the Gryphons’ wins coming in a 2007 OUA semifinal (38-31) and in conference play in 2002 (15-14)…
FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#5)
| Team | Pts | 1st | Last Week | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Laval (4-0) | 499 | (43) | 1 |
| 2. | Ottawa (5-0) | 444 | (1) | 2 |
| 3. | Montreal (4-0) | 403 | – | 3 |
| 4. | Calgary (3-1) | 323 | – | 4 |
| 5. | Western (4-1) | 298 | – | 5 |
| 6. | Regina (3-1) | 258 | – | 6 |
| 7. | Alberta (3-2) | 171 | – | 8 |
| 8. | McMaster (3-1) | 145 | – | 9 |
| 9. | Bishop’s (2-2) | 94 | – | NR |
| 10. | Guelph (3-1) | 40 | – | 10 |
Other teams receiving votes: Alberta (23), Concordia (14), Sherbrooke (7), Acadia (3), Mount Allison (3), Wilfrid Laurier (3).
