This was a big week in U Sports as it featured key rivalry games in Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan and saw a handful of juicy upsets. Both of last year’s Mitchell Bowl participants are still looking for their first wins of the season, while a couple of scrappy teams from the prairies have improved to 2-0.
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 for the full season through the Vanier Cup in Kingston, Ont. on Saturday, Nov. 23.
No. 1 Montreal Carabins, 22 — No. 3 Laval Rouge et Or, 23
The Rouge et Or got off to an early 15-0 lead as Arnaud Desjardins hit Olivier Cool for two touchdown passes in the first quarter before the reigning Vanier Cup champions came roaring back. Montreal took a 22-20 lead in the fourth quarter on a 61-yard touchdown run from Lucas Dembele but Felipe Forteza — a linebacker, not Laval’s usual kicker — hit a game-winning 53-yard field goal with 18 seconds left on the clock. Laval set a new attendance record in this game as 20,903 fans filled Stade Telus to enjoy one of Canadian football’s best rivalries.
McGill Redbirds, 29 — Sherbrooke Vert et Or, 26
The Redbirds took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run from mobile quarter Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald, though Sherbrooke battled back to tie the game on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Jeremy Fyfe to William Marchand. Mario Delli Fraine kicked what turned out to be a game-winning 18-yard field goal for McGill as Fyfe threw a back-breaking interception to Philippe Trudel deep in Redbirds territory on Sherbrooke’s ensuing drive with a little over one minute remaining.
Saskatchewan Huskies, 28 — Regina Rams, 33
Regina defeated its rivals to the north for the first time since 2017 on the strength of an exceptional performance from third-year quarterback Noah Pelletier, who completed 26-of-31 pass attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Daniel Wiebe was the standout for the Huskies once again as he made five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns and returned four punts for 54 yards. After finishing last season at the bottom of the Canada West standings at 1-7, the Rams are currently tied for first place at 2-0. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan is 0-2 for the first time since 2015.
Calgary Dinos, 36 — No. 5 Alberta Golden Bears, 22
The Dinos completed the upset over their northern rivals thanks to fourth-year defensive backs Nate Beauchemin and Gideon Agyei, who combined for three first-half pick-sixes. Alberta opened the scoring with a pick-six of their own from Charlie De Land but the club was unable to overcome Calgary’s ensuing defensive onslaught. Vince Triumbari went five-for-five on field goals for the Dinos, while the versatile Jonathan Giustini, who was a sixth-round pick to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2024 CFL Draft, went two-for-two for Alberta, including a boot from 51 yards out.
No. 9 Manitoba Bisons, 33 — No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds, 10
UBC built an early 10-0 lead thanks to a three-yard touchdown run from Isaiah Knight and a 29-yard field goal from Kieran Flannery-Fleck, after which it was all Bisons. Jackson Tachinski threw for 286 yards, ran for 61 yards, and accounted for three total touchdowns, while Breydon Stubbs ran for 105 yards and a score. The Bisons intercepted Garrett Rooker and Derek Engel a combined three times, though none of Manitoba’s 33 points were scored off turnovers.
Acadia Axemen, 24 — St. FX X-Men, 22
St. FX quarterback Silas Fagnan threw for 175 yards, ran for 81 yards, and accounted for two total touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to get his team the win as Nick Swain hit a walk-off 43-yard game-winning field goal for Acadia. Last week, the X-Men lost their first regular season game since 2019 to a rising Bishop’s squad. Following a home loss to the Axemen — a team that went 2-20 over the past three seasons — it might be time to press the panic button in Antigonish.
Saint Mary’s Huskies, 33 — Mount Allison Mounties, 22
The Mounties scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make this one respectable but the first half was all Saint Mary’s as the team built a 25-0 lead. Nicholas Park, Malik Williams, and Liam Legge combined for 162 yards and two touchdowns along the ground for the Huskies, while Brandon Quigley ran for 126 yards and a score in a losing effort. Fourth-year linebacker Isaiah Okoli was all over the field for Saint Mary’s, recording nine tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one blocked kick.
Ottawa Gee-Gees, 26 — Waterloo Warriors, 5
Third-year running back Charles Asselin was a workhorse for the Gee-Gees, rushing 25 times for 128 yards and one touchdown and catching four passes for 83 yards in the win. Nick Orr and Anthony Miller combined for 203 rushing yards for the Warriors, though the team was unable to convert the yardage into points as drives repeatedly stalled after crossing midfield, including two missed field goals from Cole Crossett and lost fumbles from Anthony Miller and Quinten Springer.
Guelph Gryphons, 24 — No. 4 Laurier Golden Hawks, 33
Guelph’s season-opening winning streak has come to an end, though it did so against an excellent Laurier team. Second-year quarterback Tristan Aboud went shot-for-shot with Hec Crighton Trophy hopeful Taylor Elgersma as he threw for 201 yards, rushed for 63 yards, and accounted for two touchdowns. Elgersma threw for 241 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while adding another score along the ground. The Golden Hawks will look to play more disciplined football moving forward after committing 15 penalties for 167 yards in this one at University Stadium.
York Lions, 19 — No. 10 Queen’s Gaels, 52
The Gaels built a 21-0 first-quarter lead after scoring in all three phases — a touchdown pass from Alex Vreeken to Andy Quinn, a Silas Hubert fumble recovery, and an Iain St Arnault missed field goal return — but the Lions fought back, outscoring the home side 12-3 in the second quarter. Queen’s poured it on again in the third quarter as St. Arnault added a second missed field goal return touchdown, though the final score was closer than it would have been in past years. Hec Crighton Trophy hopeful Jared Chisari had a surprisingly quiet day for Queen’s, rushing only nine times for 24 yards and one major.
Carleton Ravens, 21 — No. 2 Western Mustangs, 52
The Mustangs scored two touchdowns in the first minute of this matchup as Roman Campanaro returned the opening kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown and Nash MacDonald fumbled the ensuing kickoff, after which Western needed only two plays to find the end zone again. The Ravens did a respectable job of keeping Western’s oft-dominant rushing game in check as Keon Edwards and Keanu Yazbeck combined for 27 carries for 140 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers are still good, of course, but it’s rare for neither of them to reach the century mark.
Toronto Varsity Blues, 3 — McMaster Marauders, 32
The Varsity Blues opened the scoring with a field goal from Sam Henke but it was all McMaster from there as Keagan Hall threw touchdown passes to James Priestner and Jackson Taylor and Lucas Barresi ran in a score from one yard out. The Marauders held Toronto to only 272 yards of total offence as fourth-year linebacker Drake Bodi made three tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception to help his team record its first win of the season.
The Concordia Stingers (RSEQ), No. 7 Windsor Lancers (OUA), and No. 6 Bishop’s Gaiters (AUS) were on a bye this past week.
Atlantic University Sports (AUS)
Bishop’s Gaiters 2-0
Saint Mary’s Huskies 2-1
Mount Allison Mounties 1-1
Acadia Axemen 1-2
St. FX X-Men 0-2
Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
Western Mustangs 3-0
Laurier Golden Hawks 2-0
Windsor Lancers 2-0
Guelph Gryphons 2-1
Ottawa Gee-Gees 2-1
Queen’s Gaels 2-1
McMaster Marauders 1-2
Toronto Varsity Blues 1-2
York Lions 0-2
Carleton Ravens 0-3
Waterloo Warriors 0-3
Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ)
Laval Rouge et Or 2-0
Montreal Carabins 2-1
Concordia Stingers 1-1
McGill Redbirds 1-1
Sherbrooke Vert et Or 0-3
Canada West
Manitoba Bisons 2-0
Regina Rams 2-0
Alberta Golden Bears 1-1
Calgary Dinos 1-1
Saskatchewan Huskies 0-2
UBC Thunderbirds 0-2
