All four U Sports conferences are officially in full swing as Canada West kicked off its season this weekend, joining Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS) in on the action.
Around U Sports is a weekly feature on 3DownNation that takes readers across the country to summarize collegiate football action, highlighting standout performances and tracking possible playoff matchups. It will run until the second round of the playoffs, at which point 3DownNation will produce standalone articles for each game.
This year’s Vanier Cup is scheduled for Saturday, November 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Sask., marking only the third time the game will ever be played west of Ontario.
Waterloo Warriors, 26 — Toronto Varsity Blues, 23
The Warriors recorded their first win since 2023 and they got it in overtime following a jaw-dropping fourth quarter finish. Varsity Blues quarterback Scott Barnett hit Jake Oseen for a 53-yard touchdown with nine seconds left in regulation to give Toronto a three-point. Three plays later, Waterloo kicker Evan Astolfo sent the game to overtime with a whopping 57-yard field goal, which was the longest in OUA history and second-longest in U Sports history. Astolfo then kicked a 21-yard game-winner in extra time.
No. 10 Regina Rams, 43 — Calgary Dinos, 36
The Dinos scored a touchdown and two-point convert to make this a one-point game with six seconds left, then Vince Triumbari hit an 85-yard rouge on the ensuing kickoff to send it to overtime. The Rams won in the extra frame as Marshall Erichsen became the first Rams running back this century to score four rushing touchdowns in the same game, making this one an instant classic. David Jordan threw three touchdown passes in the loss, while Noah Pelletier threw for 358 yards and a score in the win.
No. 8 Manitoba Bisons, 9 — UBC Thunderbirds, 21
NCAA transfer Drew Viotto was solid in his Thunderbirds debut before getting shaken up, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns against a young Manitoba secondary. The Bisons rushed for over 200 yards but squandered four scoring opportunities, committing two red zone giveaways and missing two field goals. Deacon Sterna was a defensive standout for UBC as the lineman recorded five total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
St. FX X-Men, 35 — Acadia Axemen, 0
Silas Fagnan and Zachary Houde connected nine times for 139 yards and a touchdown to help lead the X-Men to a blowout win in the program’s first game of the regular season. The St. FX defence allowed only 129 net yards in the shutout as second-year linebacker Owen Watrych recorded a team-leading seven tackles, Otito Nwaogu tallied a sack, and Nathan Cayouette snagged an interception.
No. 3 Montréal Carabins, 44 — Sherbrooke Vert et Or, 7
The Carabins dominated this game from pole to pole, outgaining the Vert et Or by over 400 yards to secure the road victory. Enrique Jaimes Leclair was Montréal’s leading receiver, making five catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while Lucas Dembele rushed for 153 yards and one score. Sherbrooke’s lone score came on a 78-yard pass from Samuel Goulet-Menard to Maxime Brousseau in the second quarter, which accounted for almost half of the team’s offensive yardage.
No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies, 29 — Alberta Golden Bears, 20
The Golden Bears significantly outgained Saskatchewan and got home for five sacks but still suffered a home loss to start their season. Huskies quarterback Anton Amundrud threw three touchdown passes, while fourth-round CFL draft pick Seth Hundeby scored a defensive touchdown on a 46-yard pick-six. Alberta quarterback Eli Hetlinger recorded 334 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, and 34 rushing yards, while Seth Poelzer added a score along the ground. This was a penalty-riddled affair as the teams combined for a whopping 35 infractions for 303 yards.
Saint Mary’s Huskies, 46 — Mount Allison Mounties, 7
Saint Mary’s quarterback Justin Shibley lit it up with 385 passing yards and three total touchdowns, while Kallon Edwards was the team’s defensive standout with five total tackles, two interceptions, one sack, and one pass breakup. The Huskies are off to a hot start to the season, winning their two opening games by a combined score of 81-14. The Mounties got their lone score from Rykert Balfe, who caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Joudry.
No. 6 Queen’s Gaels, 38 — McMaster Marauders, 4
The Gaels exploded for 23 points in the second quarter and never looked back as Alex Vreeken hit Nathan Falconi and Mateo Tuioti for touchdown passes and Ethan Dahl scored a short rushing touchdown. Jared Chisari, who had a stint with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2024, also scored a rushing touchdown on one of his 14 carries for 115 yards. Led by veteran linebacker Justin Pace, Queen’s defence allowed only 151 net yards as the Marauders registered a mere eight first downs and were forced to punt 10 times.
York Lions, 17 — Ottawa Gee-Gees, 33
Josh Janssen threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns to help the Gee-Gees record a second-straight win to start the season. Ottawa got a boost on special teams shortly before halftime as Daniel Briere returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, giving the team a three-score lead at the break. Keagan Hall threw two touchdown passes for York, though he managed only 149 passing yards and was sacked four times.
McGill Redbirds, 15 — No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or, 37
Hec Crighton Trophy hopeful Arnaud Desjardins started the season strong after last week’s bye as he threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns and added three carries for 17 yards along the ground to lead Laval to the win. Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald threw a touchdown pass and rushed for over 100 yards in the loss, though it came at a cost as he was sacked a whopping eight times by the Rouge et Or defence.
Windsor Lancers, 9 — No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, 30
Windsor’s stiff defence slowed down Laurier’s attack, allowing only 18 first downs and intercepting NCAA transfer Cam Wither twice, but the Golden Hawks were still able to put 30 points on the board thanks to two touchdown passes to Ryan Hughes and a rushing score from Withers. Marcus Tenney recorded two of Laurier’s four sacks as the Lancers were kept out of the end zone all game, managing only three field goals from Brady Lister.
No. 7 Guelph Gryphons, 33 — No. 4 Western Mustangs, 53
These two teams put up monster numbers along the ground as Jack Kelly, Ethan Dolby, and Jerome Rancourt combined for 254 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns for Western, while Marshall McCray, Isaiah Smith, and Tristan Aboud generated 247 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns for Guelph. This was a rematch from last year’s OUA semifinals and the result was the same. The Gryphons have now faced their two toughest tests of the season with matchups against Laurier and Western, though they’re still 0-2.
The Carleton Ravens (OUA), Concordia Stingers (RSEQ), and No. 5 Bishop’s Gaiters (AUS) were on bye this past week.
Atlantic University Sports (AUS)
Saint Mary’s Huskies 2-0
Bishop’s Gaiters 1-0
St. FX X-Men 1-0
Mount Allison Mounties 0-2
Acadia Axemen 0-2
Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
Ottawa Gee-Gees 2-0
Laurier Golden Hawks 2-0
Western Mustangs 2-0
Toronto Varsity Blues 1-1
York Lions 1-1
Queen’s Gaels 1-1
Waterloo Warriors 1-1
Windsor Lancers 0-1
Carleton Ravens 0-1
Guelph Gryphons 0-2
McMaster Marauders 0-2
Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ)
Montreal Carabins 2-0
Laval Rouge et Or 1-0
McGill Redbirds 1-1
Concordia Stingers 0-1
Sherbrooke Vert et Or 0-2
Canada West
UBC Thunderbirds 1-0
Saskatchewan Huskies 1-0
Regina Rams 1-0
Calgary Dinos 0-1
Alberta Golden Bears 0-1
Manitoba Bisons 0-1
