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Football Top 10: Montreal moves up to No. 1 following win over Vanier Cup champs

U SPORTS Staff

Montreal Carabins move past archrival Laval in the rankings

FRC – U SPORTS Football Top 10 (#3) Montreal moves up to No. 1 following win over Vanier Cup champs

They were the top two teams in the first two national polls of the U SPORTS football season and they remain 1-2 this week. Only this time around, the Montreal Carabins move past archrival Laval in the rankings thanks to a 21-16 home win over the reigning Vanier Cup champions in the most anticipated matchup of the young campaign.

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Montreal (2-0) received 17 of 18 first-place votes and 161 points from the Football Reporters of Canada panel for a comfortable cushion over the Rouge et Or (2-1), who collected 139 points but failed to register a single No. 1 nod after being a unanimous choice for top spot in each of the first two polls of 2017.

The remaining first-place vote in the new rankings went to the Calgary Dinos (2-0), who remain in third position for the second straight week thanks to a 122-point tally.

Rounding out the third top 10 of the fall are the No. 4 Western Mustangs (3-0 / 108 points / no change), No. 5 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (2-0 / 85 / up one position), No. 6 Regina Rams (1-1 / 66 / down one), No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-0 / 49 / up one), No. 8 Ottawa Gee-Gees (3-0 / 29 / up one), No. 9 McMaster Marauders (1-1 / 20 / down two) and No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds (1-1 / 18 / no change). 

The early-season meeting between Laval and Montreal last Saturday at sold-out CEPSUM Stadium definitely lived up to the hype. For the ninth straight head-to-head confrontation dating back to 2014 – including the last three Quebec conference finals – the margin of victory between the two national powerhouses was less than a touchdown. In the win, Carabins quarterback Samuel Caron once again proved that his RSEQ player-of-the-year title from 2016 was no fluke as he racked up 377 yards and one major on 27-of-40 passing against one of the best defences in the country. 

In the other top-10 duels from the past weekend, defending Canada West champion Calgary humbled visiting Regina 46-26, while Western held the McMaster offence to 13 first downs in a convincing 29-14 at Hamilton. 

Other Week 3 results from top-10 teams included Laurier 38, Carleton 35 (at Laurier); Saskatchewan 43, Alberta 17 (at Saskatchewan); Ottawa 26, York 17 (at York); UBC 32, Manitoba 18 (at UBC). 

Top-ranked Montreal gets back on the field on Friday night, once again in the friendly confines of CEPSUM Stadium, where 0-3 Sherbrooke will be looking for its first win of the season. 

Meanwhile, a pair of top-10 matchups are scheduled for Saturday, including No. 8 Ottawa (3-0) at No. 9 McMaster (1-1) at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (OUA.TV), and No. 7 Saskatchewan (2-0) at No. 10 UBC (1-1) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (Sasktel maxTV, TELUS Optik TV, Bell MTS & CanadaWest.TV). 

NOTES: Sportsnet and TVA Sports are once again the official broadcasters of the U SPORTS football semifinals and final in 2017... The Mitchell Bowl (RSEQ at Canada West) and Uteck Bowl (OUA at AUS) are set for Saturday, Nov. 18, while the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Vanier Cup follows on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. ET at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton... For all the information on the 53rd Vanier Cup (including tickets) visit vaniercup.com. 

FRC – U SPORTS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#3)

Rank School Season Votes (pts) Previous
1 Montreal (2-0) 161 (17)  2
2 Laval (2-1) 139 1
3 Calgary (2-0) 122 (1) 3
4 Western (3-0) 108 4
5 Laurier (2-0) 85 6
6 Regina (1-1) 66 5
7 Saskatchewan (2-0) 49 8
8 Ottawa (3-0) 29 9
9 McMaster (1-1) 20 7
10 UBC (1-1) 18 10
Other teams receiving votes: Saint Mary’s (5), Concordia (3), Guelph (2), Waterloo (2), Acadia (1). 

WEEK 3 RESULTS

September 8

  • Calgary 46, Regina 26 (at Calgary)
  • Saskatchewan 43, Alberta 17 (at Saskatchewan) 

September 9

  • Acadia 38, StFX 24 (at StFX)
  • Guelph 82, Windsor 10 (at Guelph)
  • Western 29, McMaster 14 (at McMaster)
  • Ottawa 26, York 17 (at York)
  • Waterloo 28, Toronto 23 (at Waterloo)
  • Saint Mary’s 40, Bishop’s 21 (at Bishop’s)
  • Montreal 21, Laval 16 (at Montreal)
  • UBC 32, Manitoba 18 (at UBC)
  • McGill 18, Sherbrooke 16 (at Sherbrooke)
  • Laurier 38, Carleton 35 (at Laurier)

 

WEEK 4 SCHEDULE  

NOTE: Click HERE for the complete 2017 regular season schedule & results

September 15

  • Acadia (2-1) at Saint Mary’s (2-0), 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT (Bell Aliant Fibe TV1 & AUStv.ca)
  • Bishop’s (0-2) at Mount Allison (1-1), 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT (AUStv.ca)
  • Sherbrooke (0-3) at No. 1 Montreal (2-0), 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

September 16

  • Waterloo (3-0) at Carleton (1-2), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (OUA.TV)
  • No. 4 Western (3-0) at Windsor (0-3), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Cogeco TV & OUA.TV)
  • No. 8 Ottawa (3-0) at No. 9 McMaster (1-1), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (OUA.TV)
  • No. 5 Laurier (2-0) at Queen’s (0-2), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Cogeco TV & OUA.TV)
  • Guelph (1-2) at Toronto (1-2), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (OUA.TV)
  • McGill (1-1) at Concordia (1-1), 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT (TVA Sports & StretchTV)
  • No. 3 Calgary (2-0) at Manitoba (0-2), 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT (CanadaWest.TV)
  • Alberta (0-2) at No. 6 Regina (1-1), 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (Sasktel maxTV, TELUS Optik TV, Bell MTS & CanadaWest.TV)
  • No. 7 Saskatchewan (2-0) at No. 10 UBC (1-1), 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (Sasktel maxTV, TELUS Optik TV, Bell MTS & CanadaWest.TV)

Publication of ballots - 2017 FRC media panel

Name Affiliation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Donnovan Bennett (Chair) Sportsnet Montreal Laval Laurier Western Calgary UBC Regina Concordia Saskatchewan McMaster
Gord Randall Krown Countdown U Calgary Montreal Laval Western Regina Laurier Saskatchewan UBC McMaster Saint Mary's
C-A Sinotte TVA Sports Montreal Laval Calgary Western Saskatchewan Laurier McMaster Regina UBC Ottawa
Claude Scilley Kingston sports reporter Montreal Laval Laurier Western Calgary Regina McMaster Ottawa Saskatchewan Saint Mary's
Lee Barette canadafootballchat.com Montreal Laval Calgary Western Regina Laurier McMaster UBC Concordia Ottawa
Moe Khan TSN Radio 690 Montreal Laval Calgary Ottawa Western Laurier Saskatchewan Saint Mary's Acadia Waterloo
Shelby Blackley The Globe and Mail Montreal Laval Calgary Regina Western Laurier Saskatchewan McMaster Ottawa UBC
Monty Mosher Nova Scotia sports reporter Montreal Laval Western Calgary Regina Laurier Saskatchewan McMaster Saint Mary's Ottawa
Michel Bélanger Former CIS Communications Montreal Laval Calgary Western Regina Laurier Saskatchewan Ottawa UBC Saint Mary's
Andrew Wadden Krown Countdown U Montreal Calgary Laval Western Saskatchewan Laurier Ottawa Regina UBC McMaster
Marshall Ferguson TSN Radio 1150 Montreal Laval Calgary Regina Laurier Western Saskatchewan Guelph UBC McMaster
Richard Boutin Journal de Québec Montreal Laval Western Calgary Laurier Regina UBC McMaster Ottawa Saskatchewan
John Edwards U SPORTS Statistics Consultant Montreal Calgary Laval Western Regina Laurier Ottawa Saskatchewan McMaster Guelph
Justin Dunk 3DownNation Montreal Laval Calgary Western Laurier Saskatchewan Ottawa Regina UBC Saint Mary's
Tim Micallef Sportsnet Montreal Laval Laurier Western Calgary Ottawa Saskatchewan Regina McMaster UBC
Neate Sager The CIS Blog Montreal Calgary Laval Western Regina Laurier Saskatchewan McMaster Saint Mary's Ottawa
Ameeta Vohra Football Canada Montreal Western Laval Calgary Laurier Saskatchewan Ottawa Waterloo Saint Mary's Regina
CFL   Montreal Laval Calgary Western Regina Laurier Saskatchewan UBC Ottawa McMaster