FRC – CIS Football Top 10 (#10 - final): Leading trio undefeated heading into playoffs

Photo credit James Hajjar

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Western Mustangs top the tenth and final CIS football national rankings of the season. The OUA powerhouse led the last five media polls of the campaign after moving past the Laval Rouge et Or, who held the pole position for the first five weeks.

Western (8-0) and second-ranked Laval (8-0) once again received 20 and 10 first-place votes from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, respectively, with the Mustangs earning 290 total points in the poll compared to 278 for the reigning Vanier Cup champions.

The Calgary Dinos (8-0), the only other team in the country to finish the regular season with an unblemished record, remain at No. 3 for the fifth straight week.

Rounding out the final Top 10 of 2013 are the No. 4 Queen’s Gaels (7-1), No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (7-1 / 1-0 playoffs), No. 6 Bishop’s Gaiters (6-2), No. 7 Montreal Carabins (5-3), No. 8 McMaster Marauders (5-3 / 1-0), No. 9 Manitoba Bisons (5-3) and No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3).

The only change from last Tuesday sees Bishop’s and Montreal swapping positions.

The playoffs got under way this past weekend in Ontario, while league play came to an end in the three other CIS conferences. Seven league semifinals are on the schedule this week.

In the OUA quarter-finals, McMaster dominated Ottawa 41-7 and Guelph defeated Windsor 31-21. Western and Queen’s enjoyed first-round byes.

In Saturday’s OUA semis, the two-time conference champ Marauders visit the top-ranked Mustangs (1 p.m. - Sportsnet 360), while the Gryphons hit the road to battle the Gaels (4:30 p.m. – Sportsnet 360). In the regular season, Western crushed Mac 58-15 (Sept. 7) and Queen’s outscored Guelph 37-23 (Oct. 19).

In Quebec, Laval scored 27 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim a 30-11 road win against Montreal and put an exclamation point on a perfect league schedule. Meanwhile in Sherbrooke, Bishop’s and record-setting quarterback Jordan Heather prevailed 40-21 over McGill to leapfrog Montreal in the standings and secure their first home playoff date since 1994.  

Saturday’s RSEQ Final Four will see the Rouge et Or host unranked Sherbrooke (1 p.m. – Radio-Canada TV) and the Gaiters host the Carabins. Earlier this fall, Laval swept its two-game series against Sherbrooke, 20-0 (Sept. 7) and 38-3 (Oct. 20), while Montreal dominated Bishop’s 44-18 on home turf in the lone meeting between the two teams (Sept 6). 

In Canada West, league action came to an end with Calgary doubling UBC 34-17 to complete its 8-0 campaign, Manitoba rolling over Alberta 60-18 to clinch second place, and Saskatchewan defeating Regina 33-15.
 
In the CWUAA semis, the Huskies visit the Bisons on Friday night (7 p.m. CT – SHAW TV) and the Dinos host UBC for the second straight week, on Saturday (3 p.m. MT – SHAW TV). In regular season matchups, Calgary had also beat UBC 41-31 in its opener back in August (Aug. 31), while Manitoba and Saskatchewan split their two-game series, the Huskies prevailing 36-34 in Winnipeg (Sept. 7) and the Bisons winning 33-26 in Saskatoon (Oct. 18). 

Finally, the lone AUS semifinal will see Acadia visit Mount Allison on Saturday in a battle of unranked rivals (2 p.m. AT – Eastlink TV), with the winner advancing to the Loney Bowl final against first-place Saint Mary’s on Nov. 9. The Axemen and Mounties are 1-1 this season in head-to-head competition, Acadia triumphing 40-9 (Sept. 28) and Mount A responding taking the rematch 23-14 (Oct. 26), both on home field.

NOTES: All four conference finals are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9... The Uteck Bowl (RSEQ at AUS) and Mitchell Bowl (OUA at Canada West) are set for Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12:30 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET, respectively, live nationally on Sportsnet 360 and Radio-Canada... The TELUS Vanier Cup will be staged in Quebec City on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. ET, live on Sportsnet 360 and Radio-Canada. 

FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#10 - final)

Pts (1st place) - Last week
1. Western (8-0)  290 (20) 1
2. Laval (8-0)   278 (10)  2
3. Calgary (8-0)   235  3
4. Queen’s (7-1)  216  4
5. Guelph (7-1 / 1-0)  167  5
6. Bishop’s (6-2)  128  7
7. Montreal (5-3)  125  6
8. McMaster (5-3 / 1-0)  103  8
9. Manitoba (5-3)  66  9
10. Saskatchewan (5-3)  29  10

Other teams receiving votes: Saint Mary’s (6), UBC (3), Sherbrooke (1).

WEEK 10 RESULTS

OUA quarter-final: McMaster 41, Ottawa 7 (at McMaster)
OUA quarter-final: Guelph 31, Windsor 21 (at Guelph)
Laval 30, Montreal 11 (at Montreal)
Calgary 34, UBC 17 (at Calgary)
Bishop’s 40, McGill 21 (at Bishop’s)
Manitoba 60, Alberta 18 (at Alberta)
Saskatchewan 33, Regina 15 (at Regina)
Saint Mary’s 12, StFX 6 (at StFX)
Mount Allison 23, Acadia 14 (at Mount Allison)
Sherbrooke 28, Concordia 21 (at Sherbrooke)

WEEK 11 SCHEDULE: CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (all times local)

November 1

19:00   No. 10 Saskatchewan (5-3) at No. 9 Manitoba (5-3) (SHAW TV & video webcast)

November 2

13:00   Sherbrooke (3-5) at No. 2 Laval (8-0) (Radio-Canada TV & video webcast)

13:00   No. 5 Guelph (7-1 / 1-0) at No. 4 Queen’s (7-1) (Sportsnet 360)

13:00   No. 7 Montreal (5-3) at No. 6 Bishop’s (6-2) (video webcast)

14:00   Acadia (3-5) at Mount Allison (4-4) (Eastlink TV & video webcast)

15:00   UBC (4-4) at No. 3 Calgary (8-0) (SHAW TV & video webcast)

16:30   No. 8 McMaster (5-3 / 1-0) at No. 1 Western (8-0) (Sportsnet 360)

About Football Reporters of Canada

Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) represents journalists and broadcasters in every region of the country covering CIS Football. Since 1958, Football Reporters of Canada has been an organization of media members who have covered the Canadian Football League, serving to select the league’s outstanding players, coach-of-the-year and all-star teams through voting conducted by its members. In 2009, the FRC amalgamated with the University Football Reporters of Canada (UFRC) to give the organization greater scope in its affiliation with amateur and college football. FRC also works with the CFL and CIS to establish guidelines and working conditions for the men and women who report on the game. Selected members of FRC also help to choose builders, players and media members for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

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