CIS Football Report (Week 6)
The season continues to draw to a close as there are now only three games left for most conferences except the OUA who have two. Teams continue to fight for a playoff spot and a chance at extending their season. As week six finished the playoff picture became a little clearer as teams began to take their spots in the next season. Teams continue to fight it out for their playoff spot but a number of teams have already stamped their passport to the playoffs. In the OUA there are a total of 6 playoff teams for the biggest conference in the CIS. With that there are a number of teams seeking a spot and after week 6 three of those spots were gone. The McMaster Marauders, Queen’s Golden Gaels, and Guelph Gryphons all secured their spots in the playoffs with only two games left to earn a top spot. All three teams will continue to fight for the top two spots as they hope to earn a first round bye in the OUA playoffs. They will also earn home field throughout the playoffs and into the championship game if they can get there. As these three teams still have plenty to fight for the bigger battle is still in the rest of the standings as every team now has a mathematic shot at the playoffs after Ottawa won their first game this year. Western, Laurier, and Windsor are all looking to keep their spots in the playoffs but are not very far ahead of the rest of the teams. All three teams will need a win next week to ensure that they can make the playoffs. In the RSEQ and the CanWest conferences the playoffs are generally wide open. Only one team in each conference clinching their spots, Laval and Calgary, there is plenty of room for teams to march towards the playoffs. With only one spot in the playoffs taken from each conference there are open spots that can be clinched within the last three weeks. Then there is the AUS conference where four teams continue to fight for three playoff spots with no guarantees. With such a small conference there are endless possibilities as to what can happen. Acadia looks to be in control but will need at least one more win to clinch their playoff spot. Meanwhile Mount Allison, StFX, and Saint Mary’s are all very close and will need a good run in the last three weeks of the season if they hope to take a playoff spot. The AUS is the only conference without any playoff spots taken as they continue to fight. The CIS season is coming close to the end and so with the end comes the beginning of the playoffs. More importantly teams begin to separate themselves from the pack in the race for the Vanier Cup. The top teams in each division all have a shot and many are the familiar faces as Calgary, Laval, Acadia, and the 2011 champions McMaster are all looking great again this year. The best part about football is that there is nothing set in stone as any team can get hot at the right time. Every conference has a number of teams that can make their mark on the national stage and all it takes is a few good games. As the season closes out the race for the Vanier Cup becomes more and more real as teams first look for a chance to keep their season alive in the playoffs and then begin a new season. Every game becomes that much more important with only a few games left as the next few weeks could mean the end of the season for a number of teams or the chance to win the conference for others. It is setting up for another great end to the CIS season and with playoffs just around the corner the games will only get better.
CIS Top 10:
1. McMaster Marauders (1)
2. Calgary Dinos (2)
3. Laval Rouge et Or (4)
4. Queen’s Golden Gaels (5)
5. Montreal Carabins (3)
6. Regina Rams (6)
7. Guelph Gryphons (9)
8. Manitoba Bison (8)
9. Western Mustangs (7)
10. Acadia Axemen (10)
CIS Standings:
CanWest:
1. x-Calgary Dinos (10)
2. Regina Rams (8)
3. Manitoba Bison (6)
4. Saskatchewan Huskies (4)
5. UBC Thunderbirds (2)
6. Alberta Golden Bears (0)
OUA:
1. x-McMaster Marauders (12)
2. x-Queen’s Golden Gaels (10)
3. x-Guelph Gryphons (10)
4. Western Mustangs (6)
5. Laurier Golden Hawks (6)
6. Windsor Lancers (6)
7. Toronto Varsity Blues (4)
8. York Lions (2)
9. Ottawa Gee Gees (2)
10. Waterloo Warriors (2)
RSEQ:
1. x-Laval Rouge et Or (12)
2. Montreal Carabins (10)
3. Sherbrooke Vert et Or (6)
4. Bishop’s Gaiters (4)
5. Concordia Stingers (4)
6. McGill Redmen (4)
AUS:
1. Acadia Axemen (8)
2. Saint Mary’s Huskies (4)
3. Mount Allison Mounties (2)
4. StFX X-Men (2)
x- Clinched Playoff Spot
y- Clinched Conference
b-Clinched First round bye
Key Scores:
McGill Redmen 34 – 20 Bishop’s Gaiters
– The Gaiters have struggled all year to find their winning ways as they have been very inconsistent all year and a loss to McGill continues the trend as the Redmen took their second win of the year
Saint Mary’s Huskies 43 – 7 Mount Allison Mounties
– The Huskies stumbled out of the gate in the battle for the AUS but they are beginning to put together some wins as they continue to climb up the standings to make sure they get a shot at revenge in the AUS conference
#9 Guelph Gryphons 42 – 39 Western Mustangs #7
– The Mustangs have not been the same team this year and they continue to fall down the standings as they lost another game pushing them out of the top three in the conference and making it that much harder for them to fight for a bye
#4 Laval Rouge et Or 30 – 11 Montreal Carabins #3
– Laval has been at the top for a long time but this year Montreal looked to challenge them until they met for the first time this year as the Rouge et Or made sure everyone knew they were still the best easily getting past the Carabins
Next Week:
York Lions vs. Toronto Varsity Blues (October 13th; 1:00 pm EDT)
– The Red and Blue Bowl has been a game that meant nothing for a long time but this year it is different as the Blues are looking for the win to keep the fight for the playoffs alive while the Lions are looking to play spoilers to their biggest rivals
#3 Laval Rouge et Or vs. #5 Montreal Carabins (October 13th; 1:00 pm EDT)
– Both teams continue to fight for first in the RSEQ and after an easy win for the Rouge et Or last week the Carabins are looking for some revenge against their longtime rivals to put them back into a tie for first with only 2 games left
#4 Queen’s Golden Gaels vs. #7 Guelph Gryphons (October 13th; 1:00 pm EDT)
– The Gryphons and Gaels are fighting it out for the first round bye and to be the second best team in the OUA and this game will be the difference in the fight with only one game after this one the winner will have a boost into 2nd place
#6 Regina Rams vs. UBC Thunderbirds (October 13th; 2:00 pm PDT)
– The Thunderbirds are trying for a late season comeback and after a week off they will go back at it as they look to get the win against the Rams and move into a playoff spot with only two games after this
The Sport Addiction 