The Montreal Carabins lead the U SPORTS football national rankings for the second straight week but the big story out of the fourth media poll of the campaign is the Waterloo Warriors’ first top-10 appearance in a decade.
Montreal (3-0) received 18 of 19 first-place votes and 189 points from the Football Reporters of Canada panel to remain comfortably ahead of the reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or (2-1), who collected 166 points.
For the second week in a row, the lone first-place nod to elude the Carabins went to the third-ranked Calgary Dinos (3-0), who tallied 151 total points.
Rounding out the new top 10 are the No. 4 Western Mustangs (4-0 / 147 points / no change), No. 5 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3-0 / 105 / no change), No. 6 Regina Rams (2-1 / 90 / no change), No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (2-1 / 62 / up three positions), No. 8 McMaster Marauders (2-1 / 61 / up one), No. 9 Waterloo (4-0 / 25 / previously unranked) and No. 10 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-1 / 14 / down three).
Waterloo, which moved to 4-0 for the first time since 1998 last Saturday thanks to a spectacular 45-43 win at Carleton, is ranked nationally for the first time since 2007. That year, the Warriors were voted No. 10 in the Sept. 18 poll following a 3-0 start but it would be their only ranking of the season as they went on to lose their next five league games.
Top-ranked Montreal’s fierce defence was on full display last Friday in a 28-1 home victory against Sherbrooke as the visitors were held to 10 first downs and 114 yards of net offence. Next up for the No. 1 Carabins is a trip over Mount Royal to Percival Molson Stadium, where they visit McGill (1-2) on Friday evening.
A pair of top-10 battles also highlighted the Week 4 schedule, with both home teams coming out on top. McMaster downed (then No. 8) Ottawa 24-7 in Hamilton, while UBC dominated Saskatchewan 31-10 in Vancouver.
Other results from top-10 squads this past weekend included Calgary 76, Manitoba 17 (at Manitoba); Western 59, Windsor 7 (at Windsor); Laurier 40, Queen’s 17 (at Queen’s); Regina 28, Alberta 18 (at Regina). Laval was enjoying an early bye.
The Week 5 schedule once again features two confrontations between nationally-ranked teams, both on Saturday. Laurier visits cross-town rival Waterloo at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (Rogers TV & OUA.TV), followed by a Saskatchewan-Calgary matchup at 4 p.m. Mountain (CanadaWest.TV).
| RANK | SCHOOL | SEASON | VOTES (PTS) | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Montreal | (3-0) | 189 (18) | 1 |
| 2 | Laval | (2-1) | 166 | 2 |
| 3 | Calgary | (3-0) | 151 (1) | 3 |
| 4 | Western | (4-0) | 147 | 4 |
| 5 | Laurier | (3-0) | 105 | 5 |
| 6 | Regina | (2-1) | 90 | 6 |
| 7 | UBC | (2-1) | 62 | 10 |
| 8 | McMaster | (2-1) | 61 | 9 |
| 9 | Waterloo | (4-0) | 25 | NR |
| 10 | Saskatchewan | (2-1) | 14 | 7 |
| Other teams receiving votes: Concordia (13), Saint Mary’s (12), Ottawa (12), Guelph (5). | ||||
WEEK 4 RESULTS
September 15
- Saint Mary’s 17, Acadia 10 (at Saint Mary’s)
- Bishop’s 32, Mount Allison 31 OT (at Mount Allison)
- Montreal 28, Sherbrooke 1 (at Montreal)
September 16
- Waterloo 45, Carleton 43 (at Carleton)
- Western 59, Windsor 7 (at Windsor)
- McMaster 24, Ottawa 7 (at McMaster)
- Laurier 40, Queen’s 17 (at Queen’s)
- Guelph 43, Toronto 6 (at Toronto)
- Concordia 68, McGill 16 (at Concordia)
- Calgary 76, Manitoba 17 (at Manitoba)
- Regina 28, Alberta 18 (at Regina)
- UBC 31, Saskatchewan 10 (at UBC)
WEEK 5 SCHEDULE
September 22
- No. 1 Montreal (3-0) at McGill (1-2), 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (StretchTV)
September 23
- No. 5 Laurier (3-0) at No. 9 Waterloo (4-0), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Rogers TV & OUA.TV)
- No. 8 McMaster (2-1) at Guelph (2-2), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Rogers TV & OUA.TV)
- Windsor (0-4) at Ottawa (3-1), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (OUA.TV)
- Toronto (1-3) at York (0-3), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (OUA.TV)
- Saint Mary’s (3-0) at Mount Allison (1-2), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Bell Aliant Fibe TV1 & AUStv.ca)
- StFX (1-2) at Bishop’s (1-2), 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT (AUStv.ca & GaitersTV)
- No. 7 UBC (2-1) at Alberta (0-3), 3 p.m. ET/noon PT (CanadaWest.TV)
- Manitoba (0-3) at No. 6 Regina (2-1), 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (Sasktel maxTV, TELUS Optik TV, Bell MTS & CanadaWest.TV)
- No. 10 Saskatchewan (2-1) at No. 3 Calgary (3-0), 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT (CanadaWest.TV)
- Queen’s (0-3) at No. 4 Western (4-0), 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (Rogers Sports Preview & OUA.TV)
September 24
- Concordia (2-1) at No. 2 Laval (2-1), 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (TVA Sports)
