Photo: Ian MacAlpine/Queen’s Athletics
The U Sports football regular-season is coming to a close, but there’s been quite the shake-up in the national rankings. Outside of the Laval Rouge et Or (No. 1) and Montreal Carabins (No. 2), the remaining eight spots all saw change on Monday.
The Queen’s Gaels have moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 after clinching first place in the OUA standings with a 25-17 victory over the McMaster Marauders, who fell from No. 8 to No. 10.
Tyler Mullan kicked six field goals in the win, while Ashton St. Germain added a touchdown on offence. This marks Queen’s first first-place finish since 2021, when they lost the Yates Cup to the Western Mustangs.
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The Tricolour’s rise led to a short fall for the Saskatchewan Huskies, who moved from No. 3 to No. 4. The Dogs narrowly beat the lowly Alberta Golden Bears this past week, needing a 41-yard walk-off field goal from James Keane to get the 21-19 win at a rain-soaked Griffiths Stadium.
The Windsor Lancers have moved up from No. 6 to No. 5 after beating the Guelph Gryphons to clinch a home playoff game in the OUA quarterfinals. Hec Crighton Trophy hopeful Kareame Cotton threw his 26th touchdown pass of the season and rushed for 62 yards and a score in the 27-23 win.
The Western Mustangs fell from No. 5 to No. 7 after squandering a 21-7 lead against the Laurier Golden Hawks to lose 55-39. Ben Casselman, who recently took over the starting job at quarterback, threw for 428 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss.
The Golden Hawks have rejoined the rankings at No. 9 as a result of the win, in which Will Russell threw for 481 yards and five touchdowns. Laurier will try to repeat the result when it visits Western again in this weekend’s OUA quarterfinal.
The UBC Thunderbirds moved up from No. 9 to No. 8 after beating the Regina Rams by a score of 21-17. Riley Michaud scored a touchdown with one minute left in the fourth quarter to give UBC the lead, then Derek Durand intercepted Regina quarterback Owen Sieben moments later to seal the win. UBC clinched a home playoff game, but could still finish first in the Canada West standings with a victory over Saskatchewan this week.
The Rams fell off the rankings after their loss to UBC. They were one of several teams to receive votes but still fall outside the top 10, alongside the McGill Redbirds, St. FX X-Men, Guelph Gryphons, and Manitoba Bisons.
1) Laval — 160 points (80 media/80 ELO)
2) Montreal — 142 points (70 media/72 ELO)
3) Queen’s — 121 points (57 media/64 ELO)
4) Saskatchewan — 115 points (59 media/56 ELO)
5) Windsor — 82 points (42 media/40 ELO)
6) Saint Mary’s — 70 points (22 media/48 ELO)
7) Western — 64 points (40 media/24 ELO)
8) UBC — 38 points (22 media/16 ELO)
9) Laurier — 35 points (3 media/32 ELO)
10) McMaster — 27 points (27 media/0 ELO)
For a full recap of U Sports action this past week, click here.
