Laurier clinches OUA No. 1, Rourke's Hoosiers move to No. 16 on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend
Golden Hawks lock up 1st conference No. 1 since 2005 Vanier Cup season
Pressure Package newsletter 🍁🏈🎓 | This is Alex McComb’s Canadian college football newsletter. Sign up below to receive Pressure Package in your inbox every Tuesday morning.
Welcome to U Sports Week 9 and NCAA Week 8!
If you're new to my content, my name is Alex, and I'm a multimedia storyteller who can't stop talking about college football. I played linebacker and fullback (and “emergency” right guard for two weeks) for the Western Mustangs from 2016 to 2019, winning a Vanier Cup national championship in 2017. I've been covering U Sports football and other Canadian university sports since I hung up my cleats almost five years ago. Find my full storytelling portfolio here.
I’ll be publishing Pressure Package every Tuesday and you can expect to see a new edition in your inbox at 8 a.m. ET. Today’s newsletter is coming to you Wednesday morning because U Sports did not update their Top 10 until Tuesday (normally Monday) due to Thanksgiving Monday.
In this newsletter, I talk about:
U Sports Top 10
Quick game summaries and upcoming week previews
Vanier, conference and MVP trophy previews and predictions
Canadians in the NCAA
Links to Canadian student publications covering football
More links to Canadian college football media
U Sports Top 10
Moving up 📈
No. 1 Montreal Carabins move up one after an overtime win over the Laval Rouge et Or.
No. 3 Western Mustangs go up from No. 4 after another 61-point offensive talent show.
No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds and No. 7 Guelph Gryphons inch closer to the top half of the list after ranking No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, last week.
Trending down 📉
No. 2 Laurier Golden Hawks drop from the top spot despite maintaining a perfect record.
No. 4 Laval switches spots with No. 3 Western.
No. 8 Windsor Lancers fall two spots after losing to No. 7 Guelph.
In review: Week 8
OUA
No. 2 Laurier 33, No. 8 Windsor 26: Canada’s top team escaped Rose City with just a one-score lead, clinching their first OUA top-spot finish since the 2005 Vanier Cup season. Windsor had a 10-5 lead in a defensive battle halfway through the second quarter until Laurier pulled away with 21 unanswered points. The Lancers had 10 points in the final frame to get within a touchdown, but couldn’t finish the job in their second consecutive loss.
McMaster 34, Waterloo 32 (OT): The McMaster Marauders — whose quarterback has the most passing yards per game in the country (323.1) — had a close call against the conference’s only remaining winless team. Waterloo Warriors running back Quinten Springer went wild with 224 rushing yards and two touchdowns, making up for the team’s milquetoast 141 passing yards. Waterloo’s upset fell flat when kicker Cole Crossett missed the final field goal attempt in overtime.
No. 7 Guelph 33, York 19: Guelph was inconsistent against a team they were expected to beat, recording 17 points in the second quarter, but failing to notch more than one score in any other frame and getting outscored 14-9 in the second half. Gryphons QB Tristan Aboud went off for 470 passing yards and three TDs just to win by a two-score margin. It wasn’t the homecoming York Lions QB Shawn Lal — who played for Guelph in 2021 and 2022 — wanted, but the score showed York is on the come-up.
No. 3 Western 61, Toronto 6: The Mustangs’ second straight 61-point game and their second-most points scored this season. (Western’s Week 3 71-3 beating of Waterloo is the highest score in U Sports football this season.) Not much else to say about this thumping.
Canada West
The Canada West conference took Thanksgiving off for an all-team bye week.
RSEQ
No. 1 Montreal 32, No. 4 Laval 31 (OT): After Laval scored what could have been the OT-tying touchdown, they opted to try to win the game with a two-point conversion, but failed. The Rouge et Or took the first meeting of the season in Week 3 by one point, and Montreal won the second by the same difference. The Dunsmore Cup should be another classic.
Sherbrooke 30, McGill 24 (OT): The McGill Redbirds fumbled away the second of two OT games in “la belle province” this weekend. Dual-threat McGill QB Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald was sacked and lost the ball in the second OT period, giving the Sherbrooke Vert et Or the opportunity and momentum to eventually close it out.
AUS
Saint Mary’s 15, Mount Allison 8: The low-scoring game out east saw just two TDs, both coming in the final four minutes of the game. Though the Saint Mary’s Huskies didn’t score on the ground, running backs Malik Williams and Reece Wyke were the stars of the show. Williams ran for 132 yards on 24 carries (5.5 yards per carry) and Wyke had 95 rushing yards on just 12 carries (7.9 yards per carry).
StFX 46, Acadia 0: Talk about air force. The St. Francis Xavier X-Men held the Acadia Axemen to 31 passing yards and zero passing first downs. And it wasn’t much prettier in the run game for Acadia, either. A sweet revenge for the X-Men who lost to the Axemen on a game-winning field goal in Week 2.
Preview: Week 9
The final weeks of the U Sports football regular season are upon us. Here’s a look-ahead to Week 9’s slate of games:
OUA
Toronto (1-6) at Ottawa (3-4): The Ottawa Gee-Gees will squeeze their way into the OUA playoffs with a win. A loss could spell trouble: wins for both York and the Carleton Ravens would kick Ottawa out if Toronto upsets the Gee-Gees, too. But Ottawa fans can take a deep breath since the only way that can come close to happening is if the No. 2 team in U Sports falls to 2-5 Carleton.
York (2-5) at McMaster (3-4): If York wins, they could steal a playoff spot from McMaster and enter the postseason for the first time since 2004, as long as Carleton loses. If McMaster wins, both York and Carleton are done. Though 2-5, the Lions’ game against Guelph this past weekend should tell the Marauders they won’t go down easy.
Waterloo (0-7) at No. 10 Queen’s (4-3): The Queen’s Gaels’ OUA standing won’t get better with a win, but a loss coupled with McMaster and Ottawa wins in Week 9 would drop the Gaels to the seventh and final playoff position.
No. 8 Windsor (5-2) at No. 3 Western (6-1): The Lancers knew going into this season they’d have a tough final three weeks — Guelph, Laurier, Western — so they took advantage of the early schedule with five straight W’s. Whether they’re back in the win column this weekend or not, Windsor should be proud of their first consecutive winning seasons in the 21st century and hold their heads high going into the postseason.
No. 2 Laurier (7-0) at Carleton (2-5): Carleton is in the OUA wildcard playoff puzzle with York, Ottawa and McMaster, needing to beat Laurier and have York upset McMaster — if this set of dominoes falls in the Ravens’ favour and Toronto upsets Ottawa, Carleton can climb even higher in the seeding. Meanwhile, Laurier can give starters like veteran QB and Hec Crighton-hopeful Taylor Elgersma a break before taking a restful first-round bye week to watch everyone else fight each other.
Canada West
Calgary (2-4) at No. 6 UBC (4-2): Canada West is the most competitive conference in U Sports football, looking like a game of rock-paper-scissors every week, and this game is no different. These two met at the end of September for a 32-30 barn-burner in Calgary, with UBC escaping with the win. This week’s edition should see fireworks — not pyrotechnics, for those who don’t understand metaphors — starting early on Friday.
No. 9 Manitoba (5-1) at Alberta (2-4): Don’t let the Alberta Golden Bears’ record fool you. The last time these two saw each other on Sept. 14, the Manitoba Bisons barely squeaked out a 24-23 victory at home. Now, the Bisons have to fly west to Edmonton to stay atop conference standings.
Regina (2-4) at Saskatchewan (3-3): Battle of Saskatchewan. The Regina Rams got the best of the Saskatchewan Huskies 33-28 on Sept. 6. A similar result would put the Huskies in a dangerous spot with playoffs on the line.
RSEQ
No. 1 Montreal (6-1) at Concordia (2-4): Montreal isn’t stressing over this one, but the Concordia Stingers (playoffs clinched) will be on their toes, depending on if they want to play Montreal or Laval to kick off the postseason.
McGill (2-4) at No. 4 Laval (5-1): With Sherbrooke on a bye, McGill has a slight advantage to determine their own fate. A single win over the remaining two games gets the Redbirds into the playoffs. But if they lose both, the Vert et Or could pull off a miracle against mighty Laval next week and kick McGill out.
AUS
StFX (3-3) at Mount Allison (1-5): StFX has seen Mount A twice already in the preseason and regular season, and won the latter 34-7 on Sept. 14. The X-Men started 2024 on a losing kid but got back to their winning ways, winning three of their last four. If StFX wants to prove they’re still a championship contender, they better stick the landing in Sackville, NB.
No. 5 Bishop’s (6-0) at Acadia (2-5): The Bishop’s Gaiters already beat Acadia 70-7 on Sept. 14, and are sitting pretty and locked in at No. 1 in the conference. The Axemen don’t have that luxury, and will have to battle it out in the standings with Mount A in the final two weeks to survive elimination.
…
Here’s a look at where we stand for the playoffs:
Clinched
OUA: Laurier, Western, Guelph, Windsor, Queen’s
Canada West: Manitoba
RSEQ: Montreal, Laval, Concordia
AUS: Bishop’s, Saint Mary’s
Not so fast! (2 weeks left for CW, RSEQ, AUS; 1 week for OUA)
OUA: Ottawa, McMaster, Carleton, York
Canada West: UBC, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Calgary, Regina
RSEQ: McGill, Sherbrooke
AUS: St. FX, Acadia, Mount Allison
Sleeping in November
OUA: Toronto, Waterloo
Trophy talk 🏆
Vanier Cup
Laurier hasn’t done most of the things they’re doing right now since 2005: their last national championship season. It’s Vanier or bust for so many veterans on this roster.
Western is picking up speed since the loss to Laurier earlier in the season. You can keep the Mustangs in the Vanier conversation for a while.
Montreal is on pace to return to the Vanier Cup for a second straight season if they can repeat their win over No. 4 Laval this past week in November.
Laval isn’t the last horse in this race, and will force Montreal to play their best football in the Dunsmore Cup once again.
Manitoba is a hard sell coming out of a potential Mitchell Bowl facing the RSEQ, but seeing kicker Maya Turner — the first woman to play in a U Sports regular season football game — would be so cool for young women, and anyone, to see on national television.
UBC can also return to the Vanier Cup for a second consecutive season now that they’re on a 4-0 purge of Canada West since starting 0-2.
Bishop’s is on a similar path as Manitoba and UBC, having to face a U Sports juggernaut in (probably) either Western or Laurier, assuming the Gaiters win the Loney Bowl.
Bowl games
Uteck Bowl: The AUS champions are scheduled to host the OUA champions on Nov. 16. The current most likely scenarios are Laurier-Bishop’s and Western-Bishop’s in Sherbrooke, Que. (or the east coast, if not Bishop’s). Did you know 16 of the last 20 Vanier Cups were won by the Uteck Bowl champs?
Mitchell Bowl: On the same Saturday, the Canada West champs will host the RSEQ winners. This one can go many ways matchups-wise, but my best guess is Montreal or Laval will fly to either Manitoba or UBC.
Hec Crighton (U Sports MVP)
Laurier QB Taylor Elgersma is third in U Sports for passing yards per game (313.6) and second in passing TDs (16) — the only QB in the top three in each major category — and first in both yards per attempt (10.7) and pass efficiency rating (181.6). He’s also a threat on the run, being tied for seventh in rushing TDs (six). Arguments against: he’s tied for fourth in interceptions (eight).
Laval QB Arnaud Desjardins leads the country in completion percentage (76.4), has the best TD:INT ratio (13:1) and joins just three other QBs who currently have more than 300 passing yards per game (304). Arguments against: the stats where he ranks No. 1 aren’t in the shiniest two categories.
Montreal QB Jonathan Senecal is the defending Hec Crighton winner and isn’t slowing down. He’s third in completion percentage (72.4 per cent) and tied for third in passing TDs (13). The 2023 Vanier Cup champ has also averaged 334 yards in two games against No. 4 Laval. Arguments against: he’s not first in any major QB stat.
Western QB Evan Hillock has the most passing touchdowns in Canada (17), has the second-fewest interceptions (four) among QBs with double-digit TDs and only follows Elgersma in pass efficiency rating (180.7). Arguments against: his completion percentage is below 70 (66.9 per cent) and he’s 11th in yards per game (251.3).
McMaster QB Keegan Hall came out of the woodwork this season, and leads the nation in passing yards per game (323.1) and is among just four QBs who have completed more than 70 per cent of passes (71.8). Arguments against: he hasn’t won big games in the OUA and McMaster is on the edge of the playoff picture.
Honourable mentions:
Bishop’s QB Justin Quirion
Guelph QB Tristan Aboud
Saskatchewan RB Ryker Frank
Laurier WR Ethan Jordan
Calgary Dinos DB Nate Beauchemin
Conference championship predictions
Yates Cup (OUA): Laurier-Western in Waterloo, Ont. is what’s on the menu so far, unless Windsor, Queen’s or Guelph have something to say about it.
Hardy Cup (Canada West): Huskies won’t like to hear this, but Manitoba-UBC is the most probable matchup in November, purely based on a belief that Manitoba will shake off their lone loss to Saskatchewan this past week.
Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ): Do you really have to ask? Montreal-Laval, book it (again).
Loney Bowl (AUS): Bishop’s-St FX. The Gaiters are the clear favourite, and I think the X-Men will use their playoff experience over the last four years to win under pressure and get back to the AUS championship game.
Heading south ✈️
This is where I’ll talk about the top performances by Canadians playing in the NCAA every week.
No. 16 Indiana Hoosiers QB Kurtis Rourke (Oakville, Ont.) was on a bye this week, but the Hoosiers still went up the board from No. 18 to 16 in the Associated Press poll. Pro Football Focus ranks Rourke the second-best passer with a 91.2 grade — tied with Vanderbilt Commodores QB Diego Pavia and 0.1 points behind Miami Hurricanes QB Cam Ward.
Montana Grizzlies WR Keelan White (Vancouver) hauled in five catches for 53 yards, averaging 10.6 yards per reception in a 31-20 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
North Texas Mean Green LB Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ont.) made eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in a 47-41 victory against the Florida Atlantic Owls.
Georgia State Panthers QB Christian Veilleux (Ottawa) put up 211 passing yards with a TD and an interception in a 21-14 loss to the Old Dominion Monarchs.
UNLV Rebels safety Jett Elad (Mississauga, Ont.) caught a pick and recorded 12 tackles — eight solo — in a 50-34 win over the Utah State Aggies.
Student shout-outs 📢
I got my start in multimedia storytelling and sports journalism at a student newspaper. It’s important for me to spread the love to those student journos finding new leads on campus fields across the country, just like I did a short time ago.
Below, you’ll find links to student newspapers covering their respective schools’ U Sports football teams:
OUA
The Western Gazette (Western)
*My old stomping grounds!
The Cord (Laurier)
Imprint (Waterloo)
The Silhouette (McMaster)
The Varsity (Toronto)
Excalibur (York)
The Queen’s Journal (Queen’s)
The Fulcrum (Ottawa)
The Charlatan (Carleton)
The University of Windsor has a student newspaper (The Lance), but hasn’t published a sports story since January 2022. The University of Guelph also has a student publication (The Ontarion), but their website is currently under construction.
Canada West
The Ubyssey (UBC)
The Gateway (Alberta)
The Gauntlet (Calgary)
The Sheaf (Saskatchewan)
The Manitoban (Manitoba)
The University of Regina has a student newspaper (The Carillon), but the publication does not appear to cover the Rams.
RSEQ
Impact Campus (Laval)
Quartier Libre (Montreal)
Concordia
The McGill Tribune (McGill)
Le Collectif (Sherbrooke)
AUS
The Xaverian Weekly (StFX)
The Campus (Bishop’s)
The Athenaeum (Acadia)
The SMU Journal (Saint Mary’s)
Mount Allison University has a student publication (The Argosy), but it doesn’t appear to cover the Mounties regularly.
More Canadian college football coverage
U Sports football is covered by the media at a level not seen since theScore’s former television program “University Rush” covered Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS, the former name for U Sports) football up until the early 2010s.
Below are links to some of the great media sites and social media accounts putting in the work to improve campus awareness of U Sports football across Canada:
Great article, Alex. Proud of you!