Considering the Cats are on a little bit of a down slide I thought it’d be refreshing to talk some OUA/CIS football. I’d be willing to guess most posters on here pull for the hometown Mac Marauders which I must admit up until this year I did too but I am now a student at York University so needless to say my OUA affiliation now lies with the Lions.
So just a few story lines after first two weeks:
Ottawa Gee Gees running the Wing T offence and struggling now sitting at 0-2 on the season which is quite the fall from grace after finishing 7-1 just two season ago.
My school the York Lions earned only their second victory in the past 4 years last weekend after defeating the aforementioned Ottawa Gee Gees 47-36. The Lions are a team on the rise and could realistically go 4-4 this season and earn their first playoff birth since Andre Durie dawned the red and white. Needless to say I am very excited about York’s upside.
The Laurier Golden Hawks have struggled out of the gate getting off to a 0-2 start including a week one loss to U of T who are far from a OUA powerhouse. This weeks match-up with York should be an interesting one and will likely be a sink or swim game for the Hawks.
McMaster has benefited from 19 returning starters from last season’s Vanier Cup winning team. Mac has looked like the most dominant team in the OUA IMO posting 50 points and 68 points in their first two games. Mac looks poised to make a run at a repeat.
Western still has a bitter taste in their mouths after their season ended prematurely at the hands of the Marauders last season and have looked like a team on a mission the first two weeks. It seems as if the OUA will come down to the Stangs and Marauders once again this season.
U of T is a team on the rise as well downing the Golden Hawks 19-0 in their home opener however Western brought them back to reality last weekend, dusting the Varsity Blues 62-7. U of T will be an interesting team to watch this year - much like York, their stock is rising in the OUA.
Queens is the last of the 2-0 teams (Western and Mac being the others) however their first two opponents were among the lower tier in the OUA (Laurier and York) so this weekends match-up with Western should give us a better feel for what the Gaels have to offer this season. You can catch the Gaels and Stangs on University Rush on the Score.
This should get the ball rolling on discussions. I hope that this thread catches fire and we can have some good discussions throughout the season.
I went to UofT during the dark years when they were so bad they were dropping games 84-0 to McMaster so I hate McMaster like I hate the Argos. I could never cheer for them no matter what.
Anyway, it is nice to see that UofT is starting to turn things around and that shutout of Laurier was great. My hope is that they can get into the playoffs this year. They won three games last year, so winning four or five and making the OUA playoffs is a real possibility. Go Blues!
Great idea for a thread I like CIS football :rockin: it is a great game very under appreciated,I watch as much as I can. I'd have to say I got a soft spot for the Mount Allison Mounties being the only CIS team in New Brunswick.I follow the UNBSJ Seawolves of the AFL.Their first game is Saturday 7PM AT Canada Games Stadium, Holland Collage vs UNBSJ.
Oddly enough, I don't have the hate for York that many of my classmates and co-workers had. They were all from Toronto, so that might have something to do with it.
But yes, I guess we are rivals. And just a friendly reminder, we've won the last four. We're going to make it five this year.
The hate for U of T runs thick here on campus, any mention of a Varsity Blue is followed closely by hisses and boos :lol:
I'm hoping to make it downtown to catch the Red&Blue bowl this year, I am SEVERELY irked that I missed our victory against the Gee Gees however I know it wont be our last this season :rockin:
I am actually really excited for the Stangs and Marauders to face off this season. Going to be homecoming at Western and we all know that stadium will be rocking, going to be a tough game for Mac.
Things will definitely get more interesting as the top teams start to play each other in all conferences. MAC looks good & I don't think we've even seen them play 4 quarters yet.
OUA plays Canada West to see who goes to the Vanier while the AUS plays RSEQ. It'll be a battle between MAC & Western for the Yates. Calgary should win the Hardy. I'll go out on a limb & say Montreal beats Laval this year in the Dunsmore. Winner of Loney Bowl doesn't really matter, just allows you to get crushed by Laval or Montreal. But I'll pick The X-Men.
Interesting thing about the Gee Gees ... That's Etchivery coaching there ... Don't know what happened to that program ... It was solid for a while!
Enjoy it while you can. Ravens return in 2013. The dynasty starts then!
Ottawa is running the archaic Wing T offence. I couldn't believe it as I watched their game last week against York. The difference in that game was that York was allowing Gibbons to also throw the ball as much as they were feeding Exume the ball which made for a lethal combo. Ottawa was VERY one dimensional and still needs to work out a few wrinkles in their offence.
When you run something like the Wing T or the option or the like, it changes everything & takes a while to get going. Your recruiting changes. Takes a few years to get the kind of kids into such a system. But once you do, it can be very good since teams rarely see it and aren't built to defend it. Look at Navy, Georgia Tech, Oregon & Oregon State.
But it can be debilitating long term too. Takes as much time to change back if you decide to go back to traditional pro set.
Hope Etchivery is staying there for a while. Otherwise it'll be an exercise in futility & frustration.
Ottawa struggling just makes a Raven victory in the Panda Game next year! (Like it was ever in doubt!!!)
Mustangs and Gaels going toe to toe right now, great rivalry game. You can tell Queens is feeding off the loud crowd and seems to have the momentum heading into the second half.
Ottawa making Mac look semi human trailing the Mauraders by just 13 points heading into the second half.
Laurier is controlling the game against York winning 17-3 at half. York is killing themselves with penalties and Laurier is getting a ton of pressure on Gibbons.
Waterloo giving Guelph a run for their money tied at half.
York lost a close one to Waterloo today. Great effort at a comeback. Gibbons threw for 352 yards but still through some terrible INTs that shouldnt have been thrown. Couple close losses in back to back weeks now.
U of T hanging tough with Guelph today but just couldn't squeak out a W. That Varsity Blue program is really making its presence known in the OUA this season.
Mac beats Queens in the undefeated showdown but still that's not very surprising. Queens will likely be looking for redemption in the playoffs.
Red&Blue bowl should be a good one this year, of course with the red coming out on top. :rockin: