Queen's pulls off final-minute heroics, Regina mounts 2nd-half comeback to clinch Canada West playoffs
Pair of Canadian DBs face off against each other in UNLV-Boise State battle
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Welcome to the U Sports postseason and NCAA Week 10!
U Sports Top 10
Moving up 📈
No. 1 Montreal Carabins is solo at the top again.
No. 3 Laval Rouge et Or flips with No. 4 Western Mustangs.
No. 5 Guelph Gryphons jumps up by two.
No. 7 Manitoba Bisons and No. 8 Queen’s Gaels each move up one spot.
No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies kicks out previous No. 10 St. Francis Xavier X-Men.
Trending down 📉
No. 2 Laurier Golden Hawks go back to the second position.
No. 4 Western Mustangs out of top three again.
No. 9 UBC Thunderbirds drops three spots.
No. 6 Bishop’s Gaiters outside top five.
Windsor Lancers and StFX fall out of Top 10.
In review: Week 10
OUA quarterfinals
No. 8 Queen’s 22, Windsor 19: After Queen’s starting quarterback Anthony Lio left the game with an undisclosed injury, Russell Weir had to be the Gaels’ hero with just over a minute to play. Queen’s’ defence stopped Windsor on a drive that could have led to the end of the Gaels’ season. Weir got ball at his 24-yard line with 1:01 on the clock. He converted on a third down to get to midfield, and another third came up with just over 10 seconds to play. Weir chucked it up to receiver Logan Walton on third and 20. Touchdown with five seconds left. Windsor’s kick return failed to score. Ball game.
No. 4 Western 46, McMaster 10: The most exciting part of this blowout was the rainbow that appeared over Western Alumni Stadium. The Mustangs scored 26 in the second quarter alone and had a balanced 630 yards of total offence. On defence, Western limited the McMaster Marauders to just 45 rushing yards — 34 coming from Marauders QB Keagan Hall.
No. 5 Guelph 26, Ottawa 15: This game looked like it could have been a runaway train for the Gryphons when they were up 15-0 halfway through the second quarter. But the Ottawa Gee-Gees put up a fight, getting within three at 18-15 until Guelph scored a rouge point with under six minutes to play and capping the game off with a goal line TD run at the 55-second mark. Guelph won despite a poor passing performance from QB Tristan Aboud — 91 yards, 8/16 and no TDs.
Canada West
Regina 29, Alberta 22: The Alberta Golden Bears were up 22-4 with under six minutes left in the third quarter. Then, RB Christian Katende (two) and QB Noah Pelletier (one) combined for three TDs, and the Regina Rams’ defence forced two safeties — 25 unanswered points in less than 20 minutes. Regina’s Jacob Tkachuk intercepted Cade Labrecque on Alberta’s final drive, and the Rams kneeled it out.
No. 10 Saskatchewan 16, Calgary 11: Low-scoring, but a great finish. Down 11-9 with 12 seconds left in the game, Saskatchewan RB Ryker Frank ran four yards for a TD to give the Huskies a five-point lead at the seven-second mark. A Calgary Dinos kickoff return failed, and so did their playoff hopes. Calgary’s woes were highlighted by the run game, recording just 71 yards.
No. 7 Manitoba 51, No. 9 UBC 38: This game was 31-3 for Manitoba halfway through the second quarter, but UBC eventually woke up to make it competitive at 38-31 in the third frame. The Thunderbirds scored one more, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding from Bisons RB Breydon Stubbs, who ran for 244 yards and four TDs.
RSEQ
McGill 29, Concordia 19: McGill Redbirds QB Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald didn’t stop his Lamar Jackson-esque performances this week. He once again led the team in rushing with 124 yards and a TD to boot, while passing for 198 yards. He also scored a passing TD but gave up an interception.
No. 3 Laval 28, Sherbrooke 0: Laval QB Arnaud Desjardins stayed efficient through the air, going 24/29 and throwing for 280 yards and three TDs. Rouge et Or RB Angel Vital supplemented Laval’s pass game with a strong 141 rushing yards. Laval’s defence allowed just nine first downs in the shutout.
AUS
StFX 26, Saint Mary’s 19: The Saint Mary’s Huskies almost came back in this one. With 1:33 showing on the clock in the fourth quarter, Saint Mary’s went from being down 26-5 to 26-12, then 26-19 with six seconds left. The 14-point surge came a little too late for the Huskies, as their onside kick attempt failed and StFX kneeled the game out. Saint Mary’s ground game was limited to goal line highlights, notching just 76 yards.
No. 6 Bishop’s 51, Mount Allison 14: Bishop’s started the bleeding from the get-go, scoring 21 points in the first quarter. The Mount Allison Mounties couldn’t get much going offensively, rushing for just 24 yards and having to switch QBs in the second half. The Gaiters go undefeated for the first time since 1994.
ICYMI: Read last week’s newsletter ⤵️
Preview: Conference semifinals
All four conferences are now entering semifinal playoff games after the OUA finished its quarterfinals week, and Canada West, the RSEQ and AUS completed regular-season play last week.
OUA
No. 5 Guelph at No. 4 Western: The last time Western lost an OUA semifinal game, it was 2014 against Guelph. A decade later, the differences this time around include Western hosting this one and the team boasting a potential Yates Cup fourpeat. It appears the Mustangs will have to wait at least another week until top WR Seth Robertson returns from an ankle injury, among other benched offensive players, but Western is still heavily-favoured.
No. 8 Queen’s at No. 2 Laurier: Queen’s needs everything to go right to escape with a slim margin of victory, and not having two of your top QBs dressing could spell trouble for the underdog. But with Weir’s last-minute performance last week, maybe the Gaels can rely on him for a little more magic. A likely Western victory on the other side of the OUA semis means we’ll either see a 2021 and 2022 Yates Cup rematch with Queen’s or a revenge game at home for Laurier, who lost the OUA title to Western last season.
Canada West
Regina at No. 7 Manitoba: Regina was on the cusp of losing its season last week, and this week is no easier. Manitoba RB Stubbs is heating up at the right time and QB Jackson Tachinski offers a mutual insurance policy on offence. It’s hard to see a win for the Rams without imagining another miracle-type ending.
No. 10 Saskatchewan at No. 9 UBC: The tightest matchup of this week’s playoffs. I give UBC the slight edge because the Thunderbirds are hosting and have already beat Saskatchewan at home earlier this season.
RSEQ
McGill at No. 1 Montreal: I love a good underdog story, but I haven’t seen enough from the McGill defence to convince me that QB Latendresse-Regimbald will have enough support to beat the defending champs. Montreal has too much firepower and is still riding the high of last year’s Vanier Cup.
Concordia at No. 3 Laval: Similar story, but at least McGill has a feature guy to lean on for miracle work. The Concordia Stingers are one of the few teams I have to look up to remember who their stars are. No disrespect, but the numbers just don’t pop this year, and are definitely not enough to drop vaunted Laval.
AUS
Acadia at No. 6 Bishop’s: Not to be rude in two consecutive passages, but Bishop’s QB Justin Quirion is on fire this season and will likely treat this as a glorified practice by the second half. Can we skip the beating and head straight to the Loney Bowl?
Saint Mary’s at StFX: This one won’t be as easy for the defending AUS champ StFX. These teams just played each other and the X-Men almost allowed Saint Mary’s to come back on them in the final minutes. If StFX can keep its guard up for 60 minutes, it can prepare for a likely duel in Sherbrooke, Que. for the conference title next week.
Trophy talk 🏆
Hec Crighton (U Sports MVP)
At this point in the year, I’ve narrowed down the QB list on here to the only two I think could still be in competition for the award, along with two others in offensive skill positions that are at the top of their groupings.
Laurier QB Taylor Elgersma probably has this one locked up. He led U Sports in almost every major category in the regular season, including passing TDs (20), passing yards (2,643), yards per game (330.4), yards per attempt (11.1) and pass efficiency rating (187.5). The Golden Hawks are also one of two undefeated teams, and feature a pass-heavy offence. Arguments against: he threw nine interceptions, and seven were in the final four games of the season.
Laval QB Arnaud Desjardins is Elgerma’s main competition here. He and Laurier’s gun-slinger are the only two QBs in the top three for yardage and TDs, and Desjardins finished the RSEQ season with a 17:1 TD to interception ratio. The Rouge et Or star has Elgersma beat in completion percentage, completing 75.9 per cent of his passes — good enough for best in the country while playing two games (1-1 record) against defending Vanier Cup champion Montreal. Arguments against: he doesn’t have all of Elgersma’s pretty numbers or undefeated record.
Manitoba RB Breydon Stubbs is the best rusher in the nation. He owns the most rushing TDs (14) by four scores and ran for the second-most yards (937) in the league. His 14 TDs broke Manitoba’s single-season record of 13. Stubbs also eclipsed the 120-yard mark three times and ran for 244 yards against UBC this weekend. Arguments against: he’s an RB playing for a QB-dominated award in a season where QBs were hot.
Laurier WR Ethan Jordan had a special season catching passes from the No. 1 guy in this list. The latter half of the Joe Montana-Jerry Rice-like connection recorded 1,000 receiving yards and 10 TDs — ranked No. 1 in both categories. He was also at the top in receptions with 59. Arguments against: same as Stubbs, and award voters would consider Elgersma’s part in Jordan’s stats.
Honourable mentions:
Montreal QB Jonathan Senecal
Bishop’s QB Justin Quirion
Western QB Evan Hillock
Vanier Cup & Bowl Games
We’ll get back to this next week when conference championships are set.
Heading south ✈️
Top performances by Canadians playing in the NCAA:
North Texas Mean Green linebacker Jaylen Smith (Hamilton, Ont.) made a season-high 10 tackles and caught his first interception of the year — second of his college career — in a 45-37 loss to the Tulane Green Wave.
UNLV Rebels safety Jett Elad (Mississauga, Ont.) had nine tackles — three solo — and two pass defences in a 29-24 loss to the Boise State Broncos and fellow Canadian safety Ty Benefield.
Stanford Cardinal WR Elic Ayomanor (Medicine Hat, Alta.) hauled in 11 catches for 96 yards and converted on a crucial fourth down but still lost 27-24 to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Miami Hurricanes DL Akheem Mesidor (Ottawa) finished with three solo tackles and a fourth-down sack to beat the Florida State Seminoles 36-14.
Boise State S Ty Benefield (Vancouver) made four tackles and a pass defence in a 29-24 victory over Elad’s UNLV.
Louisville Cardinals DL Rene Konga (Ottawa) only recorded a single solo tackle in limited snaps due to an apparent injury, but is still Pro Football Focus’ second-highest graded interior defender in the ACC. Konga and Louisville beat the Boston College Eagles 31-27.
ICYMI: Read my first newsletter ⤵️
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.
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)
Canada West
The Ubyssey (UBC)
The Gateway (Alberta)
The Gauntlet (Calgary)
The Sheaf (Saskatchewan)
The Manitoban (Manitoba)
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)
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.