Saskatchewan, Regina upset top seeds; Western in record 9th-straight Yates Cup
Rourke tosses 4 touchdowns in Indiana win after surgery on throwing hand
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 conference championship week and NCAA football Week 11!
In review: U Sports conference semifinals
OUA
No. 2 Laurier 29, No. 8 Queen’s 21: The Queen’s Gaels had a surprising 12-3 lead in the final four minutes of the first half. But the Laurier Golden Hawks showed their (delayed) might, scoring 23 points in three minutes and 48 seconds. Neither team could get to the endzone in the second half, with Laurier giving up three field goals and kicking one of its own to walk away with a one-score victory.
No. 4 Western 30, No. 5 Guelph 19: Another surprisingly close game until the final quarter. The Guelph Gryphons limited the Western Mustangs’ run game to 97 yards, and were down by just a point, 20-19, until the early moments of the final frame. The Mustangs pulled away with a strong-man touchdown from receiver Brayden Misseri, followed by a game-winning field goal from kicker Brian Garrity. Western is going to its ninth-straight Yates Cup, breaking its previous record of eight consecutive from 1988 to 1995.
Canada West
Regina 28, No. 7 Manitoba 25: Game of the week. These two were neck-and-neck the whole way, with the top-seed Manitoba Bisons taking a late 25-21 lead in the fourth. The bottom-seed Regina Rams started its final offensive drive inside its own 10-yard line, marched over 100 yards in about four minutes and scored a go-ahead TD with 19 seconds to play. Manitoba couldn’t mount a final comeback, as the Rams’ defence closed it out with an interception.
No. 10 Saskatchewan 38, No. 9 UBC 33: Another upset on the road. The UBC Thunderbirds were winning 33-20 with under 12 minutes to play. The Saskatchewan Huskies went on a scoring surge in the fourth quarter, starting with a field goal and rouge point from kicker Lukas Scott. With exactly one minute left, Huskies quarterback Anton Amundrud threw a 33-yard TD to Ercy Avul to reduce their deficit to two points, 33-31. Saskatchewan recovered an onside kick for a chance to win the game, and they did, with a goal line rushing TD from RB Ryker Frank.
RSEQ
No. 3 Laval 41, Concordia 18: Not as much fun in Quebec; this one was basically over by halftime. Laval Rouge et Or QB Arnaud Desjardins threw for more yards (327) than the Concordia Stingers entire offence had all day (244), and he got some rest with backup QB Victor Charland coming in to play a few reps. Not much else to talk about from this game.
No. 1 Montreal 42, McGill 3: At least Concordia scored a few TDs. The McGill Redbirds couldn’t get anything going other than kicking one ball through the uprights in the first quarter. Again, the winning QB (Jonathan Senecal) had more passing yards (311) than the losing team had in total yards (283). The Montreal Carabins’ defence also dropped McGill QB Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald for six sacks and picked him off three times.
AUS
Saint Mary’s 21, StFX 17: For the first time since 2019, the Loney Bowl — also known as the Jewett Trophy — will be played without the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. The Saint Mary’s Huskies went ahead in the opening moments of the final quarter and the defence stood tall, shutting out the X-Men in the second half. Despite StFX QB Silas Fagnan’s 376-yard game, it will be Saint Mary’s that will go on to its first Loney Bowl since 2018.
No. 6 Bishop’s 59, Acadia 0: The Acadia Axemen had two first downs and 58 net yards all game. That should tell you exactly what happened here. Bishop’s Gaiters QB Justin Quirion finished with 364 passing yards and four TDs, and three different Bishop’s receivers had more receiving yards than Acadia had total yards — Oliver Burnett (127), Brendan Griffiths (80) and Charles-Edouard Bizier (67).
Preview: U Sports conference championships
Here are my predictions for one of my favourite weeks of the year:
OUA: Yates Cup
No. 4 Western at No. 2 Laurier: Western beats Laurier on the road.
Yes, I am a former Mustang. But hear me out. If this game were played one week after the last Western-Laurier game, I’d pick Laurier, but that’s not the case, and lots has changed since then. The Golden Hawks have gotten sloppier on turnovers, with QB Taylor Elgersma throwing seven of his nine interceptions in the last five games of the season (post-Western). The Mustangs have been solid since losing their first regular season game in three years, scoring 207 points on the back half of the season.
Western has outplayed Laurier in every game other than the one against each other. The Mustangs have a better point differential against all common opponents both Western and Laurier have played, including playoffs. Western also has the best point differential in U Sports at 33.4 — 49.5 points per game and 16.1 average points against.
(Note: Western’s stat against McMaster and Laurier’s stat against Queen’s are both averages based on two games.)
One other quick fact: Western has played in eight Yates Cup rematches since the tophy’s inception in 1898, losing just the first one in 1954 to the Toronto Varsity Blues. This weekend’s rematch against Laurier is Western’s second in a row.
Canada West: Hardy Cup
Regina at No. 10 Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan beats Regina at home.
We learned this week that Regina can win big games, but so can Saskatchewan. The Huskies also have the best QB, RB and WR — Anton Amundrud, Ryker Frank and Daniel Wiebe — on the field this coming Saturday. Though Regina boasts a better defence, I don’t believe it’s good enough to knock off another hot team that’s been to two of the last three national championships.
RSEQ: Dunsmore Cup
No. 1 Montreal at No. 3 Laval: Laval beats Montreal at home.
It seems whoever hosts this battle wins, which happens to be Laval this week. Both meetings between these two Quebec juggernauts this season were one-point games, won by the home team. Rouge et Or QB Arnaud Desjardins is the better arm in this year’s edition of the RSEQ championship, and has the bigger fire in his belly after losing in this game a year ago.
AUS: Loney Bowl
Saint Mary’s at No. 6 Bishop’s: Bishop’s beats Saint Mary’s at home.
Bishop’s is the only AUS school in the U Sports Top 10 and has the best QB and RB duo in the conference — Justin Quirion and O'Shae Ho-Sang. Saint Mary’s does have two weapons on defence in defensive back Logan Mendes, who had an AUS-leading five interceptions, and linebacker Zachary Chiarotto, who recorded 45 tackles and two forced fumbles.
The one time these two teams played in the regular season, the Gaiters won a close 19-14 game. Expect another nailbiter with Bishop’s taking home its first-ever AUS trophy and first conference championship since 1994 when the school was still playing in Quebec.
More trophy talk 🏆
Hec Crighton (U Sports MVP)
My Hec Crighton picks were locked in after last week.
ICYMI: See my Hec Crighton selections in my last Pressure Package newsletter:
Vanier Cup & Bowl game predictions
Uteck Bowl (OUA at AUS): No. 4 Western beats No. 6 Bishop’s on the road.
The AUS has not seen a Vanier Cup since 2007, and they won’t see one in 2024. The OUA’s top teams have too much firepower compared to most of the country, and even at home, the Gaiters’ roster has little chance to overcome a U Sports titan.
The last time Western travelled to play the Loney Bowl champion in the Uteck Bowl was 2017 when I was in my second year with the Mustangs. We beat Acadia 81-3 — if you have time to find Twitter discussions from this game, it’s worth a look — and a week later, won our first Vanier Cup in 23 years.
Mitchell Bowl (Canada West at RSEQ): No. 3 Laval beats No. 10 Saskatchewan at home.
The 2022 Vanier Cup rematch. Unfortunately, Saskatchewan QB Amundrud probably won’t get revenge for his predecessor, Mason Nyhus, who lost two straight national championships to finish his career. The Rouge et Or are just too big to fail if they can get past Montreal.
Vanier Cup: No. 4 Western beats No. 3 Laval in Kingston, Ont.
Western and Queen’s have the biggest “traditional” school rivalry, but the Mustangs and Rouge et Or have the most storied football rivalry. Western has been to this game more times than anyone. Laval has won this game more times than anyone. These teams have met three times in the last seven years, with Laval winning the latter two: the 2017 and 2018 Vanier Cups, and the 2022 Mitchell Bowl.
This year rings like 2017 for Western:
Mustangs looking for revenge against Laurier
The OUA goes to the AUS for the Uteck Bowl
Vanier Cup is in Ontario
Because this game can go either way, I’ll lean toward these historical similarities and the fact that I wouldn’t be able to look at my three Western jerseys in my room ever again if I were to pick Laval in this.
Heading south ✈️
Top performances by Canadians playing in NCAA football:
No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers QB Kurtis Rourke (Oakville, Ont.) is back in the headlines after dishing out four TDs for 263 yards less in a 47-10 win over the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday. This performance came less than two weeks after getting surgery on his throwing hand. His thumbnail shattered in a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Oct. 19, and he had to get two screws put into his thumb to repair it.
(🎥 Big 10 Network)
Stanford Cardinal WR Elic Ayomanor (Medicine Hat, Alta.) scored a TD and registered 108 receiving yards on four receptions, averaging 27 yards per catch in a 59-28 loss to the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday.
Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (Ottawa) had four tackles in a 53-31 victory against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday.
Boise State safety Ty Benefield (Vancouver) made five tackles — four solo — in a 56-24 win against the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday.
Montana Grizzlies WR Keelan White (Vancouver) caught a TD and finished with 73 receiving yards on six catches, averaging 12.2 yards per reception in a 42-7 win over the Cal Poly Mustangs on Saturday.
ICYMI: Read my first Pressure Package 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.
Death, taxes, and Western in the Yates Cup. I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed in the Gaels for not closing out the game. We'll be back. Someday...