CIS Football Report (Week 5)
Throughout any season there will be ups and downs for teams but in the CIS season, there is little room for mistakes.
There aren’t that many weeks in the CIS season and so faltering needs to be fixed quickly in order to have a chance at the playoffs.
Of course, some conferences are easier than others but none allow much of a slide at any point in the season.
If a team struggles out of the gate they will have a tough time getting back to being competitive.
The opposite can be true as well though as teams can get ahead early and make their lives a lot easier when the season comes to a close.
The best teams do this regularly as they are ready to compete from the first week and often run through the conference on their way to the top.
Those teams are doing the same this year as the usual suspects are sitting at the top of every conference.
Not everything is the same though as the CIS is seeing a resurgence from a number of teams that are taking 2016 as their year to get back into the competition.
In almost every conference there are teams that have taken the first part of the season as a chance to get things started right.
For these teams, the playoffs have been a bit of a mystery in recent years as they haven’t been able to find their way to the playoffs or have struggled to get into the playoffs.
Even if they have made the playoffs they often fall short right away as their season ends earlier than they had hoped.
This year these teams are finally starting to have seasons where they might be able to make an impact which for most could be their best seasons in a long time.
In the OUA the Laurier Golden Hawks have been a borderline playoff team year after year.
They have fought for a spot and often fell pretty quickly when the playoffs began.
Most of their regular season was spent fighting for one of the final playoff spots but this year they may be one of the first to get their spot.
They have surprised a lot of people as they sit in second place tied with the top teams in the conference.
They will spend the rest of the season trying to keep up as this team looks better than most thought.
In the CanWest conference, The Regina Rams are making waves this year after sitting winless last season.
They have beat some of the biggest teams in the conference so far this year and have been able to find their way to the top of the conference.
They hope to continue that pattern the rest of the season as they have looked good against the best and it could mean big things as the season enters its second month.
The RSEQ is not out of the picture either as a team that has sat at the bottom of the conference to winning big games.
The McGill Redmen have been one of the worst programs in the CIS over the last few years but a big win this year has given them some hope.
After years of going winless, even two points is big and in a division with only six teams it gives them a chance at the playoffs.
All of these teams ae hoping to continue this early momentum and take it to the playoffs this year.
They have started the way that every playoff teams needs to but what comes next is the tough part for each of them.
They need to now walk into the heart of the season as the playoff race will be coming soon and if these surprise teams can find their way to a few more key wins they will enter that playoff race in good standing.
With this new era of CIS football, they could also find their way to the top of the conference as anything is possible if a team is hot at the right time.
Key Scores:
Regina Rams 32-27 Calgary Dinos
– The Dinos are still one of the best teams in the CIS as they continue to sit at the top of the CanWest conference but they were shocked this week when the Rams took a win against them proving that they won’t walk away with the CanWest this year
Montreal Carabins 63-1 Acadia Axemen
– The crossover began as the RSEQ took on the AUS this week and as usual, it did not end well for the AUS as the Axemen took a big loss to the Carabins who walked away with an easy win in the week
Laval Rouge et Or 49-4 Mount Allison Mounties
– The Rouge et Or had their chance to keep up with the Carabins in their crossover match-up as they took on the Mounties who are struggling this year and continued to struggle against a great program as Laval took the win
Western Mustangs 50-16 Guelph Gryphons
– The OUA was featured once again on TV as the Mustangs and the Gryphons faced off with Guelph looking to fix their issues this season as they are not as dominant as they once were and they showed that again against the Mustangs
Next Week:
Acadia Axemen vs. Mount Allison Mounties (Saturday, October 1st; 2:00 pm ADT)
– The Axemen and the Mounties did not look good against their counterparts from Quebec in the crossover week and both will look to get some extra confidence back as they return to conference play
Laurier Golden Hawks vs. Western Mustangs (Saturday, October 1st; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Golden Hawks are looking better than they have in the last two years but they will get their first true test when they take on the conference-leading Mustangs as the Hawks look to prove that they might actually be able to compete with the best
Saskatchewan Huskies vs. Regina Rams (Saturday, October 1st; 2:00 pm CST)
– The Huskies and the Rams have been better than many thought they would be and now one team gets to prove if they are for real as they face each other looking to continue their strong seasons
McGill Redmen vs. Laval Rouge et Or (Sunday, October 2nd; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Redmen took a win this year, more than they have before, and are looking better but they will get a big test to see just how far they have come as they take on the Rouge et Or hoping that they can at least
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