Rick Zazulak
CIS-SIC.ca Staff
OTTAWA (CIS) — The Laval Rouge et Or top the CIS football national rankings for the sixth time in as many media polls this season following a 32-16 home win over the No. 9 Concordia Stingers in a battle for first place in the RSEQ conference.
For the sixth consecutive week, the reigning two-time Vanier Cup champions received all 30 first-place votes and a perfect 300 points from the Football Reporters of Canada panel.
The Canada West-leading Calgary Dinos (4-1) remain comfortably in second spot for the sixth week in a row with 267 points, after a 59-7 domination of Regina.
In another Top-10 battle for first place this past weekend, that one in Ontario, McMaster (6-0) handed Western (4-1) its first loss to an OUA opponent in almost two years, 32-29 in London, resulting in the Marauders moving past the Mustangs in third place in the new national poll.
Positions five through nine remain unchanged this week, including the No. 5 Montreal Carabins (4-1), No. 6 Guelph Gryphons (4-1), No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies (4-1), No. 8 Mount Allison Mounties (5-0) and No. 9 Concordia (4-1), while the upstart Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (4-1) crack the Top 10 for the first time this fall, replacing Manitoba at No. 10.
As expected, top-ranked Laval received a stiff challenge Sunday afternoon from the Stingers, who are enjoying a superb season after going 0-8 a year ago. In the end, the Rouge et Or defence was simply too good, keeping the visitors out of the end zone until the final two minutes of the contest, and the Vanier Cup champs extended a pair of remarkable CIS-record streaks with their 23rd straight win overall dating back to 2012 and their 68th consecutive victory on home turf since 2004.
The previous day in London, McMaster came from behind four times to defeat Western thanks in part to all-Canadian kicker Tyler Crapigna, who booted three field goals to set a new OUA career record with 79, three shy of the CIS mark held by former Sherbrooke standout William Dion. The Mustangs hadn’t lost to an OUA rival in 14 games overall, dating back to a 42-28 setback at the hands of the Marauders in the 2012 conference semifinals.
Other results from Top-10 teams this past weekend included No. 5 Montreal 22, Sherbrooke 16 (at Montreal); No. 6 Guelph 24, Windsor 9 (at Windsor); No. 7 Saskatchewan 31, UBC 25 (at Saskatchewan); No. 8 Mount Allison 38, Saint Mary’s 0 (at Saint Mary’s); No. 10 Laurier 27, York 10 (at Laurier).
Only eight contests are on the CIS schedule on Thanksgiving weekend, with Laval, Calgary, McMaster and Saskatchewan among the teams enjoying a bye.
The reduced schedule is highlighted by a pair of Top-10 confrontations, including No. 10 Laurier at No. 4 Western Thursday at 7 p.m. (Rogers TV, Rogers Sports + & OUA.TV), as well as No. 5 Montreal at No. 9 Concordia Saturday at 1 p.m. (Radio-Canada TV, ici.radio-canada.ca & StretchTV).
NOTES: The 50th TELUS Vanier Cup Tour makes its seventh stop of the campaign on Thursday night at TD Stadium in London for the Top-10 clash between Laurier and Western… For all the information on the 50th TELUS Vanier Cup (including ticket info) visit vaniercup.com.
| Week 5 Rankings | |||||
| Rank | School | Record | FRC Points | 1st Place | Last week |
| 1 | Laval | (5-0) | 300 | 30 | 1 |
| 2 | Calgary | (4-1) | 267 | – | 2 |
| 3 | McMaster | (6-0) | 243 | – | 4 |
| 4 | Western | (4-1) | 196 | – | 3 |
| 5 | Montreal | (4-1) | 167 | – | 5 |
| 6 | Guelph | (4-1) | 157 | – | 6 |
| 7 | Saskatchewan | (4-1) | 157 | – | 7 |
| 8 | Mount Allison | (5-0) | 114 | – | 8 |
| 9 | Concordia | (4-1) | 72 | – | 9 |
| 10 | Laurier | (4-1) | 17 | – | NR |
Other teams receiving votes: Sherbrooke (8), Alberta (5), Windsor (5), and Manitoba (1).
