McMaster Athletics
CFL.ca Staff
OTTAWA — The reigning Vanier Cup champion McMaster Marauders top the Football Reporters of Canada – CIS rankings for the fifth time in as many polls this season.
The Marauders (4-0) received 29 first-place votes and 299 points from the 30-member FRC panel, with the remaining first-place nod going to the Calgary Dinos (4-0), who earned 268 points to remain comfortably in second place for the third consecutive week.
The No. 3 Montreal Carabins (4-0), No. 4 Laval Rouge et Or (4-0), No. 5 Queen’s Gaels (3-1) and No. 6 Western Mustangs (3-1) also stay put in the new media poll. Montreal and Laval both tallied 223 points and the same number of second-place votes, but the Carabins edged their archrivals for third spot thanks to a greater number of third-place votes.
Rounding out the new Top 10 are the No. 7 Regina Rams (3-1), up two positions from last Tuesday; the No. 8 Manitoba Bisons (3-1), who stay put this week; the No. 9 Sherbrooke Vert & Or (2-2), up one spot; and the No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2), down three.
Top-ranked McMaster passed its stiffest test of the young season with flying colours last Saturday, opening up a 33-3 lead in the third quarter en route to a 33-20 home win against Queen’s. Things don’t get any easier for the CIS champs this weekend as they travel to London on Saturday to face No. 6 Western (1 p.m. ET, theScore).
All-Canadian quarterback Kyle Quinlan was once again stellar in the latest Marauders’ victory with 340 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. At the midway mark of the OUA regular schedule, last year’s Vanier Cup MVP averages 307 passing yards a game, leads the country with a remarkable 74.1 completion percentage, and has passed for 10 touchdowns without throwing a single interception. He also averages 67 yards on the ground per contest with four rushing majors.
Both Calgary and Laval easily improved to 4-0 over the weekend, dominating UBC 62-7 and McGill 69-0, respectively. Montreal also remained perfect in conference play but had to battle inclement weather and a tough Sherbrooke defence to prevail 15-6 on home turf.
Other results by Top-10 teams this past week were Western 43, Windsor 26 (at Western); Regina 35, Saskatchewan 26 (at Saskatchewan); Manitoba 51, Alberta 38 (at Manitoba).
In addition to the McMaster-Western clash on Saturday afternoon, three more Top-10 battles highlight the Week 5 schedule, including No. 8 Manitoba at No. 7 Regina on Friday night, as well as No. 4 Laval at No. 9 Sherbrooke (1 p.m. ET, Radio-Canada) and No. 10 Saskatchewan at No. 2 Calgary (5 p.m. MT, Shaw TV) on Saturday.
FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#5)
Pts (1st place) Last week
1. McMaster (4-0) 299 (29) 1
2. Calgary (4-0) 268 (1) 2
3. Montreal (4-0) 223 * 3
4. Laval (4-0) 223 4
5. Queen’s (3-1) 162 5
6. Western (3-1) 143 6
7. Regina (3-1) 129 9
8. Manitoba (3-1) 92 8
9. Sherbrooke (2-2) 32 10
10. Saskatchewan (2-2) 25 7
* Montreal and Laval received the same number of second-place votes but Montreal had more third-place votes.
Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (21), Guelph (17), Windsor (1).
– With files from CIS
