The first round of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs have come and gone, leaving only four teams vying for the Yates Cup. Meanwhile, the playoff schedule is now set in Canada West, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), and Atlantic University Sport (AUS) as the action gets underway next weekend.
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.
Guelph Gryphons, 18 — Western Mustangs, 17
The Gryphons got a monster upset in London courtesy of 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback. Trey Thompson was wide a 43-yard field goal attempt with no time left on the clock, though the miss went for a walk-off rouge when veteran receiver Seth Robertson ran out of bounds instead of kicking the ball out of the end zone. This marks the first time since 2003 that Western didn’t win at least one playoff game. For our standalone article on the game, click here. As the lowest-remaining seed in the OUA, Guelph will visit the first-place Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks next week.
Ottawa Gee-Gees, 24 — Windsor Lancers, 31
Windsor got only its second playoff win since 2012 and did so through the strength of its running game as Weabge Mombo and Liam Talbot combined for 175 yards and two scores along the ground. Ottawa fared relatively well against a tough Lancers defence — Josh Janssen threw for 307 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the loss — but it wasn’t enough to knock off the third seed in the OUA.
McMaster Marauders, 10 — Queen’s Gaels, 46
This game was never close as Queen’s led 17-0 after the first quarter and 30-3 at halftime. Alex Vreeken threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns for the Gaels, while Jared Chisari had another dominant game along the ground as he carried the ball 20 times for 155 yards and a score. McMaster quarterback Lucas Barresi threw four interceptions, two of which were snagged by fifth-year defensive back Keegan Vanek. Queen’s will now visit Windsor in one of two OUA conference semifinals next week.
UBC Thunderbirds, 31 — Regina Rams, 29
The Thunderbirds erased a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, then got a 31-yard game-winning field goal from Alexander Hillyard to punch their ticket to the postseason. Drew Viotto threw for 423 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the victory, completing 11 passes for 157 yards and two scores to Trey Montour. UBC will visit the Saskatchewan Huskies next week in one Hardy Cup semifinal, while the Rams will host the Manitoba Bisons in the other.
St. FX X-Men, 10 — Saint Mary’s Huskies, 26
Saint Mary’s clinched first place in the AUS standings for the first time since 2018 as Malik Williams and Liam Legge combined for 27 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Malcolm Bussey scored St. FX’s lone touchdown, while Silas Fagnan was intercepted twice by the Huskies. Saint Mary’s will host the Acadia Axemen in one AUS semifinal next weekend, while the second-place X-Men will host the third-place Bishop’s Gaiters in the other AUS semifinal.
Laval Rouge et Or, 26 — Sherbrooke Vert et Or, 3
The Rouge et Or capped their first-place finish in the RSEQ standings as Olivier Cool and Youri Gauthier caught touchdown passes from Jérémy Ouellette, who started in place of Arnaud Desjardins. Laval’s defence was dominant, allowing only 189 yards of net offence and intercepting Jeremy Fyfe three times. The loss eliminated Sherbrooke from postseason contention for a second-straight season.
Concordia Stingers, 31 — McGill Redbirds, 24
Antoine Ouimet scored a nine-yard touchdown run for Concordia with just under one minute left, which proved to be the game-winning score. McGill did a nice job driving the field to try to force overtime, though Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald was sacked deep in Concordia territory as time expired. As the third seed in the RSEQ, the Stingers will now visit the Montreal Carabins in one of next week’s conference semifinals, while McGill will visit the Laval Rouge et Or in the other.
Alberta Golden Bears, 29 — Calgary Dinos, 34
This edition of the Battle of Alberta was played exclusively for bragging rights as neither team was in contention for the playoffs come game day. Jet Zakrzewski and Evan Smith ran for a combined three touchdowns for the Dinos, while Alberta quarterback Eli Hetlinger threw for 236 yards, one touchdown, and rushed six times for 33 yards and a score. Osasere Odemwingie was the top defender on the day, recording eight total tackles and a sack for Calgary.
Acadia Axemen, 7 — Bishop’s Gaiters, 51
Michael Nicoletta and O’Shae Ho-Sang rushed a combined 15 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bishop’s to the blowout win. Rory Litt was the defensive standout of the Axemen, whose lone touchdown came on a pick-six from Payson White, as he made two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Despite the one-sided loss, the Axemen still made the AUS playoffs as the fourth and final seed and will visit Saint Mary’s next week.
Manitoba Bisons, 12 — Saskatchewan Huskies, 31
This game was meaningless for both teams as the Huskies clinched first place after the Regina Rams lost on Friday night and the Bisons secured third place with last week’s win over the Dinos. Saskatchewan Roughriders draft pick Daniel Wiebe capped a brilliant regular-season with seven catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were thrown by Jake Farrell, who started in place of Huskies veteran Anton Amundrud. Lucas Scheck was a defensive standout for Saskatchewan, recording three tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass knockdown.
The updated U Sports standings can be found below. Teams accompanied by an asterisk (*) remain active in the playoff picture.
Atlantic University Sports (AUS)
Saint Mary’s Huskies 7-1*
St. FX X-Men 5-3*
Bishop’s Gaiters 5-3*
Acadia Axemen 2-6*
Mount Allison Mounties 1-7
Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
Laurier Golden Hawks 8-0*
Western Mustangs 7-1
Windsor Lancers 5-3*
Queen’s Gaels 5-3*
McMaster Marauders 4-4
Ottawa Gee-Gees 4-4
Guelph Gryphons 3-5*
Carleton Ravens 3-5
Waterloo Warriors 2-6
York Lions 2-6
Toronto Varsity Blues 1-7
Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ)
Laval Rouge et Or 7-1*
Montreal Carabins 6-2*
Concordia Stingers 3-5*
McGill Redbirds 2-6*
Sherbrooke Vert et Or 2-6
Canada West
Saskatchewan Huskies 7-1*
Regina Rams 6-2*
Manitoba Bisons 4-4*
UBC Thunderbirds 3-5*
Calgary Dinos 3-5
Alberta Golden Bears 1-7
