CIS-SIC.ca
CIS-SIC.ca Staff
OTTAWA (CIS) – The Laval Rouge et Or (7-0) top the CIS football national rankings for the ninth time in as many media polls this season heading into a much-anticipated regular schedule finale against their archrivals.
For the ninth 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.
There is a lot of movement in the new media poll as the Calgary Dinos (6-1), who remain at No. 2 for the ninth week in a row, are the only other team to hang on to its previous position.
Following in order are the No. 3 Montreal Carabins (6-1 / up one position), No. 4 McMaster Marauders (7-1 / down one), No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (7-1 / down one), No. 6 Mount Allison Mounties (8-0 / up one), No. 7 Western Mustangs (6-2 / down one), No. 8 Saskatchewan Huskies (5-2 / up two), as well as the No. 9 Sherbrooke Vert & Or (4-3) and No. 10 Ottawa Gee-Gees (5-3), both unranked last Tuesday.
Laval (53-14 vs. McGill), Calgary (67-6 vs. UBC) and Montreal (56-8 vs. Bishop’s) were all easy winners this past weekend.
McMaster was upset 38-18 by Ottawa in a game that meant everything for the Gee-Gees, who were fighting for their playoff life, while the Marauders had already clinched first place in the OUA standings.
Other results from Top-10 teams included Guelph 41, Laurier 31 (at Laurier); Mount Allison 18, Saint Mary’s 10 (at Mount Allison); Western 43, Windsor 21 (at Western); Saskatchewan 41, Alberta 23 (at Saskatchewan); Sherbrooke 29, Concordia 0 (at Sherbrooke).
Thanks to their win over Saint Mary’s, the Mounties completed the first perfect regular season in program history and became the first AUS team go undefeated in league play since Saint Mary’s in 2001
The playoffs get underway in two conferences on Saturday, including an AUS semifinal between Acadia (3-5) and StFX (4-4) and OUA quarter-finals that will see Western host Laurier and Ottawa travel to Windsor.
All three games are live on the web at AUStv.ca (also on Eastlink TV) or OUA.TV.
The most-anticipated contest of the weekend, however, is the regular season finale between the top-ranked Rouge et Or and the No. 3 Carabins, Saturday at 1 p.m. in Montreal (live on Radio-Canada).
While the Rouge et Or head into the duel with a 27-point cushion thanks to a 40-13 season-opening win back on Sept 6., the Carabins are still mathematically in the hunt for first place in the RSEQ standings and will want to send a message going into the playoffs.
NOTES: The 50th TELUS Vanier Cup Tour is at the University of Montreal this Saturday for the much-anticipated duel between the Rouge et Or and Carabins… For all the information on the 50th TELUS Vanier Cup (including ticket info) visit vaniercup.com.
| Week 8 Rankings | |||||
| Rank | School | Record | FRC Points | 1st Place | Last week |
| 1 | Laval | (7-0) | 300 | 30 | 1 |
| 2 | Calgary | (6-1) | 270 | – | 2 |
| 3 | Montreal | (6-1) | 223 | – | T4 |
| 4 | McMaster | (7-1) | 217 | – | 3 |
| 5 | Guelph | (7-1) | 183 | – | T4 |
| 6 | Mount Allison | (8-0) | 143 | – | 7 |
| 7 | Western | (6-2) | 134 | – | 6 |
| 8 | Saskatchewan | (5-2) | 92 | – | 10 |
| 9 | Sherbrooke | (4-3) | 54 | – | NR |
| 10 | Ottawa | (5-3) | 23 | – | NR |
Other teams receiving votes: Concordia (9), Manitoba (3), and Laurier (3).
