CIS Football Report (Week 6)

Posted by thesportsjunky on September 30, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

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The CIS has been ruled by the teams known as the Big Four in the last two years with four teams taking over the league. These four teams have been have won their respective conferences in the last two years and are the only teams to see the National Playoffs for the last two years. They have been dominant teams that have been the class of their conferences and the class of the CIS. As they entered another year the questions arose about how exactly they would come out in the new season. For a few of the teams the new season would mean a massive change for their team with their stars gone and replacements coming in to fill big shoes. Would these four teams once again dominate their conferences and make it into the national playoffs for the third year in a row or would they fall and lose their grip on the conference. So far this year the big four have been fairly successful as the teams continue to be the teams to watch for this year. The Calgary Dinos represent the CanWest conference in the big four after winning five straight Hardy Trophies. The Dinos have been the second most dominant team in the CIS as they continue to be the top team in the CanWest. This year they continue to show their dominance in the CanWest conference as they have yet to lose a game this year and have taken out their top two challengers so far. They are looking great once again and with a few more games left against top contenders they could be on their way to another Hardy Trophy. The only team that can outdo the Dinos in terms of dominance is the Laval Rouge et Or in the RSEQ. The Rouge et Or have won 10 straight Dunsmore Cups to be the most dominant team in the CIS. There has never been a team as dominant as Laval and they have not slowed at all this year. The Rouge et Or continue to sit at the top of the RSEQ Conference and have taken out their one challenger this year. The Rouge et Or still look like the best team in the RSEQ and the CIS as another berth in the national playoffs is on the horizon. It has not been all good for the big four though as the Dinos and Rouge et Or have continued their run but the McMaster Marauders and Acadia Axemen are not having the same type of year. In the AUS the Acadia Axemen have been the top team in the conference for the last two years. This year they are climbing out of an early season hole in the conference with the strange start to the smallest conference in the CIS. The StFX X-Men took the top spot at the start of the season while the Saint Mary’s Huskies and the Axemen sat at the bottom. Now the AUS is beginning to get back to normal with the Axemen sitting at the top of the conference and the Huskies sitting right behind them. The Huskies will be the biggest challenge for the Axemen as they are sitting very close to the top spot and have already won a game against their rivals. The Axemen still have a good shot to continue to win the AUS conference but they need to beat the Huskies to get there again. The one big four team that is struggling more than any other is the McMaster Marauders who would go to the Vanier Cup twice in the last two years and now are in danger of missing the playoffs. The OUA has always been one of the most competitive divisions in the CIS and they are proving it once again. The Marauders have only won two games this year and sit in 6^th place tied with York and Toronto for the last three spots in the playoffs. In their place is the Western Mustangs who have gone undefeated this year and look to be the best team in the conference. The Big Four teams are not all guaranteed to get back as there are teams that could be out of the playoffs all together. The Calgary Dinos and Laval Rouge et Or seem to be on their way to remain members of the exclusive conference champion group. The Acadia Axemen and the McMaster Marauders are in danger though with the Marauders at real risk of missing the playoffs altogether. The Big Four is breaking up this year as clearly the period of dominance is ending for some of the teams making the era of dominance at risk of being over, at least for some conferences.

 

CIS Top 10:
1. Western Mustangs (2)
2. Laval Rouge et Or (1)
3. Calgary Dinos (5)
4. Guelph Gryphons (6)
5. Queen’s Golden Gaels (3)
6. Saskatchewan Huskies (7)
7. Montreal Carabins (4)
8. Bishop’s Gaiters (8)
9. McMaster Marauders (9)
10. Manitoba Bisons (10)

 

CIS Standings

AUS:
1. Acadia Axemen (4)
2. Saint Mary’s Huskies (4)
3. StFX X-Men (4)
4. Mount Allison Mounties (2) 

CanWest:
1. Calgary Dinos (10)
2. Saskatchewan Huskies (8)
3. Manitoba Bisons (6)
4. UBC Thunderbirds (4)
5. Regina Rams (2)
6. Alberta Golden Bears (0)

OUA:
1. Western Mustangs (12)
2. Guelph Gryphons (10)
3. Queen’s Golden Gaels (8)
4. Windsor Lancers (8)
5. Ottawa Gee Gees (6)
6. McMaster Marauders (4)
7. York Lions (4)
8. Toronto Varsity Blues (4)
9. Waterloo Warriors (2)
10. Laurier Golden Hawks (2)
11. Carleton Ravens (0)

RSEQ:
1. Laval Rouge et Or (10)
2. Bishop’s Gaiters (6)
3. McGill Redmen (6)
4. Montreal Carabins (6)
5. Sherbrooke Vert et Or (4)
6. Concordia Stingers (0)

 

Key Scores:
Saint Mary’s Huskies 25 – 13 StFX X-Men
– The X-Men were sitting at the top of the AUS conference after three weeks of play but they would get their first big test against the Huskies who took the win and righted the conference moving to the top alongside Acadia

#2 Western Mustangs 50 – 31 Queen’s Golden Gaels #3
– The Mustangs would host their 100^th Homecoming game and who better to play than their longtime rival the Gold Gaels who would put up a fight but in the end would make way too many mistakes giving the Mustangs the chance to win another game

#7 Saskatchewan Huskies 17 – 12 UBC Thunderbirds
– The Huskies continue to stay among the top teams in the CanWest conference but they would struggle against the Thunderbirds taking the game until the 4^th quarter to score the winning TD and remain the top of the conference

Sherbrooke Vert et Or 16 – 12 Montreal Carabins #4
– The Montreal Carabins have been the only team to actually challenge the Laval Rouge et Or but they came up short last week against Laval and the let down of the big game would have its effect with the Sherbrooke taking advantage and earning the win

 

Next Week:
Bishop’s Gaiters vs. McGill Redmen (Friday October 4^th; 7:00 pm ET)
– The Redmen are looking at a decent season where they hope to earn a spot in the playoffs this year and are sitting in a spot right now but they will need to win games like this one against a Bishop’s team that is improved but can be beat

Calgary Dinos vs. Saskatchewan Huskies (Friday October 4^th; 7:00 pm MDT)
– The Dinos continue to be one of the best teams in the country and the Huskies continue to sit behind them and they will look to take another shot at the top spot in the conference after losing to the Dinos earlier this year

Acadia Axemen vs. Saint Mary’s Huskies (Saturday October 5^th; 2:00 pm ADT)
– The Axemen have already lost to the Huskies this year but if they want to win this conference and earn a bye through the first round of the playoffs they need to get a win against their biggest rivals as whoever wins this game will sit atop the AUS

Carleton Ravens vs. Ottawa Gee Gees (Saturday October 5^th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Ravens have had their struggles in their first year back but they will still try to go out and get their first win in the return of the Ottawa rivalry against a Ottawa team that is proving to be a playoff team

Filed under Canadian Football, College Football, Football · Tagged with Acadia Axemen, AUS, Calgary Dinos, CanWest, CID Football Big Four, CIS, CIS Football, CIS Football Week 6, CIS Standings, CIS Top 10, Laval Rouge et Or, McMaster Marauders, OUA, RSEQ, Saint Mary's Huskies, Western Mustangs