CIS Football Report (Week 8)
The entire league was back at it today as the playoffs are getting that much closer for every conference throughout the league.
With the playoffs approaching the battles are becoming much more exciting throughout the country.
There are two weeks before every conference enters their pursuit of the Vanier Cup in November.
For the OUA that pursuit will begin first as they usually do in the biggest conference in the country.
The OUA is set to start their final week of the regular season next week before the quarter-finals of the conference begin.
Their playoff situation is an interesting one as there are plenty of battles to watch in the final week of the season.
First of all the top two spots in the conference grant a bye through the first round of the playoffs.
Generally, there are a couple teams that are far above everyone else who earn this spot but this year three teams head into the final week tied for first place and two more teams are right behind them.
All of these teams are already in though and they are simply fighting for positioning in the conference.
The real battle in the OUA is for the final playoff spot as the sixth place position is still up for grabs with only one week left to earn it.
The Queen’s Gaels have the inside track on the position as they simply need to win their final game to clinch a spot in the playoffs and continue their season.
If they lose it gets interesting as the tiebreaking procedures will come into effect if any of the other teams win, aside from Waterloo.
With all of the other teams tied at 4 points, any of them could get a win and tie the Gaels.
The Gryphons would have the tiebreaker against the Gaels after beating them this year so if the Gryphons win and the Gaels, Guelph will get their chance in the playoffs.
There are any number of other possibilities as well but the fact is the Gaels have everything in their own hands and they enter the final week with complete control over their season continuing or falling short.
The OUA is far from the conference with the most interesting battles as the season closes out with more than a few conferences looking like they will come down to the wire.
In the west, the Calgary Dinos became the first and only team to clinch a playoff spot so far this year.
With two weeks left the rest of the conference seems up for grabs as the Rams are close to earning their own spot but have yet to clinch with the Bisons still sitting in a position to eliminate any of the other three teams currently in a playoff spot.
With two games left the Bisons could go on a run and in their way will be Regina as they play each other in the final game of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan and UBC just look to get their chance at the playoffs with wins in their final games of the season.
There is a lot up for grabs in the west while the Dinos sit back and enjoy the fact that they are in and have another chance at the Vanier Cup.
In the east, the AUS saw StFX take the first playoff spot but like in many seasons in the past they are sure to enter their final week with little known about who will play in the playoffs.
The final two spots in the AUS are always a battle and heading into the final two weeks of their season they constantly fight for the final spots.
With the X-Men solid in their spot in the playoffs Mount Allison, Saint Mary’s and Acadia all still have a chance at a spot.
The last two weeks are going to be extremely important especially for the Axemen who are the team sitting on the outside right now.
If they lose more they will be in a very tough situation in trying to find their way to the playoffs this year.
In Quebec, the battle might be the most interesting though as nobody has clinched a spot yet.
It seems like Montreal and Laval will clinch soon with another win by either but they will continue to fight for first place in the conference.
Meanwhile, there are three more teams all tied for the final spot in the playoffs and only two spots left.
McGill had a big win this week to keep them in the hunt and they will be looking to get two more wins in order to find their way to the playoffs.
Sherbrooke and Concordia are looking just to hang on to their spots as both need wins in the next two weeks to stay there.
The playoff battles continue in the CIS as the most important time of the year is right around the corner and still a lot to figure out in every conference.
Key Scores:
Laurier Golden Hawks 27-25 Guelph Gryphons
– With the Gryphons sitting on the outside of the playoffs they needed this win and they fought as best as they could to get it but they came up just short against a very tough Golden Hawks team who took another win
Mount Allison Mounties 15-13 Acadia Axemen
– For the Axemen, it was a chance to catch-up to the other teams in the playoff hunt and they knew it with how they played but they couldn’t get the win as the Mounties took the win and moved into second place
Laval Rouge et Or 22-19 Montreal Carabins
– The Carabins and Rouge et Or are two of the best rivals in the country right now and they proved why with another very close game that evened the season series between the two and set up a very exciting last two weeks for both teams
Alberta Golden Bears 19-18 Regina Rams
– The Golden Bears have been the worst team in the west this year without a win but they somehow surprised the Rams who took a loss and couldn’t clinch a playoff spot just yet in a game that will hopefully wake them up for the final two weeks
Next Week:
UBC Thunderbirds vs. Regina Rams (Friday, October 21st; 7:00 pm CST)
– The Thunderbirds have gone from the best team in the country to a team fighting for a playoff spot and they continue that in their second last game against a team that will try to recover from a surprising loss
Saint Mary’s Huskies vs. Mount Allison Mounties (Saturday, October 22nd; 2:00 pm ADT)
– The Huskies and Mounties are fighting for home field and a playoff spot as the winner gets closer to clinching while the loser could be exposed to missing out on the playoffs altogether with limited games to recover from a mistake
Ottawa Gee-Gees vs. Queen’s Gaels (Saturday, October 22nd; 1:00 pm EDT)
– The Gaels have everything in their own hands right now as they can clinch a playoff spot with a win against the Gee-Gees but a loss could make them watch the scoreboards for the day as they hope to simply take care of business first
McGill Redmen vs. Concordia Stingers (Saturday, October 22nd; 2:00 pm EDT)
– The Redmen have looked better this year and so have the Stingers now the Redmen look to get a win and spoil the good season by Concordia as a win could help them move ahead of Concordia and into a playoff spot
The Sport Addiction 