Men’s Football
The reigning Vanier Cup champion Western Mustangs top the U SPORTS football national rankings for the second consecutive week.
- 2018 U SPORTS Football Schedule & Results
- 2018 U SPORTS Football Standings
- Join the conversation: #UAgree?
Coming off an early break in their OUA schedule, the Mustangs (1-0) received 123 voting points from the Football Reporters of Canada panel and an additional 130 from the ELO Rating System for a combined total of 253.
For the second straight Tuesday, the Laval Rouge et Or (2-0 / 233 points), Montreal Carabins (1-0 / 190), Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (2-0 / 184), Calgary Dinos (1-0 / 171) and UBC Thunderbirds (1-0 / 136) follow in order.
Western (9), Laval (3) and Calgary (1) each merited first-place votes from the 13-member FRC panel.
Rounding out the second top 10 of the 2018 campaign are, in order, the previously-unranked Carleton Ravens (1-1 / 63 points), the Guelph Gryphons (1-1 / 60), who hold on to eighth place, as well as the Ottawa Gee-Gees (1-1 / 50) and Saskatchewan Huskies (1-0 / 25), two teams that were also on the outside looking in a week ago.
While top-ranked Western and third-seeded Montreal both enjoyed a bye this past weekend, No. 2 Laval displayed all its firepower on Saturday night in its home opener against Concordia, following a subpar season debut at Sherbrooke.
After being held to 11 first downs and 222 yards of total offence in a 14-1 win over the Vert & Or on Aug. 24, the Rouge et Or exploded for 29 first downs and 502 yards versus the Stingers en route to a convincing 47-9 victory in Quebec City. The vaunted Laval defence was also a force, limiting the visitors to just nine first downs and 211 yards.
Meanwhile in Kingston, fourth-ranked Laurier notched its second comfortable win in as many outings, outscoring Queen’s 44-18 after dominating Ottawa 39-21 in Week 1.
In Canada West, where conference play started a week later than in the other conferences, No. 5 Calgary won a 49-35 shootout at Regina, while No. 6 UBC escaped with a 30-20 decision over visiting Manitoba.
Other Week 2 results from top-10 squads included Carleton 38, Windsor 20 (at Windsor); Guelph 33, York 18 (at Guelph); Ottawa 18, McMaster 11 (at Ottawa); Saskatchewan 42, Alberta 0 (at Saskatchewan).
The Week 3 schedule is highlighted by no less than three top-10 matchups, including a much-anticipated duel between the Rouge et Or and Carabins, Saturday at 2 p.m. in Montreal, live on TVA Sports. The RSEQ archrivals have met in each of the past five conference championship matches, all of which were decided by three points or less.
Other top-10 confrontations include UBC at Calgary on Friday night (5:30 p.m. Mountain on CanadaWest.TV), in a rematch of the past three Hardy Cup finals, as well as Guelph at Ottawa on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. on Rogers TV and OUA.TV), in a rematch of a 2017 OUA quarter-final.
For its part, defending national champ Western, which kicked off the campaign on Aug. 26 with a narrow 26-23 overtime win at Carleton, returns to action Saturday at 4 p.m. for its home opener against 1-1 McMaster (live on OUA.TV and tape delayed on Rogers TV).
FRC – U SPORTS Football Top 10 (#2)
School | Record | Points | Media | ELO | Previous |
Western | (1-0) | 253 | 123 (9) | 130 | 1 |
Laval | (2-0) | 233 | 116 (3) | 117 | 2 |
Montreal | (1-0) | 190 | 99 | 91 | 3 |
Laurier | (2-0) | 184 | 80 | 104 | 4 |
Calgary | (1-0) | 171 | 93 (1) | 78 | 5 |
UBC | (1-0) | 136 | 71 | 65 | 6 |
Carleton | (1-1) | 63 | 24 | 39 | NR |
Guelph | (1-1) | 60 | 8 | 52 | 8 |
Ottawa | (1-1) | 50 | 24 | 26 | NR |
Saskatchewan | (1-0) | 25 | 25 | 0 | NR |
Honourable mentions: Regina (20), Queen’s (14), Saint Mary’s (12), Manitoba (9), Waterloo (6), McMaster (4). |