CIS Football Report (Week 6)
The last month of the CIS season is officially underway and the playoff race is in full swing as the next few games could mean the difference between clinching a spot and falling short.
The for the OUA there are only three games left, many teams only have two, as the season quickly comes to a close and the last few weeks get underway.
For the west and Quebec, next week marks a week off before they enter their last three weeks of the season.
The east coast will see four more games for the rest of the year as they all look to get a spot.
What is interesting this year about the playoff races in every conference is the fact that the races in every division are far from solved.
There are tight races everywhere as teams are far more even than they have been in the past.
It wasn’t long ago that the CIS was ruled by the big four teams with little chance for anyone else to move into the national playoffs.
In the AUS it was slightly different though as the division continued to produce new champions after the Saint Mary’s period of dominance ended.
The Calgary Dinos, Laval Rouge et Or, McMaster Marauders, and Western Mustangs were often the only teams that would have a shot at the Vanier Cup.
In the OUA the only battle was between the Mustangs and the Marauders but one of them was likely to move on while the other was relegated to second in the conference.
These teams would enter the national playoffs and fight it out for the national championship.
The biggest of the four were Laval and Calgary who always seemed to be favourites to win it all in every year.
These teams made it nearly impossible for other teams to move on to the national stage where the games get much bigger.
That started to fall apart only recently as Montreal has taken over the RSEQ while the West is more of a mystery than ever before.
The OUA has been a mix of old teams ruling and new teams making a run while the AUS remained what it has always been.
This year the pattern of unknown seems to be continuing as every conference is seeing a resurgence by a number of teams that nobody expected to be good this year.
Still, as the playoff runs are under way the top teams are still sitting on top of their conferences waiting for someone to challenge them.
In the west, the Dinos are once again in first place but they are not sitting there alone with only three games left.
The Regina Rams have made a push after going winless in 2015 as they now sit tied with the Dinos for first in the CanWest conference.
Meanwhile, the team that many thought was going to take over, the UBC Thunderbirds, are still in the playoffs but are just hanging on to a playoff spot.
In Ontario, the Mustangs are once again ahead of everyone but not by a lot as the Laurier Golden Hawks continue to put together a good year.
They have the ability to challenge the Mustangs while the Marauders have sunk to the bottom of the playoff teams with a few weeks to guarantee their spot.
In Quebec, Montreal has not made things as interesting though as they have risen to the top with only a few games left and very little needed to clinch.
Still, the playoffs could be a different story as they will continue their fight with Laval to determine if they can win their third straight conference title.
The AUS remains the AUS as they are far from figuring anything out with the X-Men as the only “dominant” team in the conference.
They have taken a pretty good lead but with four games left they could very well finish out of the playoffs if they cannot win any of their next games.
As for the last two playoff spots, the AUS is a toss-up as all three teams are now tied with the last four games meaning everything for the teams.
The playoff race is underway as the last few weeks of the season are here and teams look to get a few more wins to find their way to the playoff and keep their Vanier Cup hopes alive.
Key Scores:
Mount Allison 20-16 Acadia Axemen
– The Mounties have not been the team they used to be as the two-time champions have fallen off this year but they stayed in the fight for the playoffs after winning their first game against the Axemen
Regina Rams 37-29 Saskatchewan Huskies
– The Rams continue to surprise everyone proving that they are for real after beating the Huskies and staying in a tie with the conference-leading Dinos as the Rams took the big win against their provincial rivals
Carleton Ravens 43-23 Ottawa Gee Gees
– The Panda Game has been one of the best games every year since Carleton returned to football but this year it didn’t have the excitement as it used to in the last few years with the Ravens taking an easy win over their cross-town rivals
Montreal Carabins 27-20 Sherbrooke Vert et Or
– The Carabins remain the best team in the conference and the top-ranked team in the country but they barely got by the Vert et Or as their dominance took a bit of a hit against a team that was never supposed to challenge them
Next Week:
Laurier Golden Hawks vs. Toronto Varsity Blues (Thursday, October 6th; 7:00 pm EDT)
– The Hawks are the team to watch in the OUA as they continue to put together wins and stay within striking distance of the Mustangs and they hope to continue that trend as they take on the Blues who are once again trying to find a playoff spot
Mount Allison Mounties vs. Saint Mary’s Huskies (Friday, October 7th; 7:00 pm ADT)
– The Mounties finally found a win this year in Week 6 as they earned their first points all year and now are hoping to continue to take that momentum as they take on the Huskies hoping to get their second points and get closer to a playoff spot
Acadia Axemen vs. StFX X-Men (Friday, October 7th; 7:00 pm ADT)
– The X-Men are looking good so far this year as they have moved into first and with a win against Acadia could take a commanding lead in the conference while the Axemen try to keep pace in their fight for the playoffs
Queen’s Gaels vs. McMaster Marauders (Friday, October 7th; 7:00 pm EDT)
– The Marauders are not the team they once were but they are still in the playoffs for now as they hope to get closer to clinching a spot with a win over the Gaels who are in their own playoff fight
The Sport Addiction 