On paper, it might not look like much of a contest.
The Queen’s Gaels will be up early Saturday morning to hit the road for an afternoon game against the Ravens at Carleton in a match-up of an undefeated contender for the national title and a host team looking for its first win of the season.
According to U Sports rankings, the defending Yates Cup champions are slotted as No. 5 in the national rankings coming off their decisive 49-22 victory over the University of Waterloo in their home opener at Richardson Stadium last weekend. A late score by the Warriors in garbage time made the score and the statistical lines look closer than the run of play in the contest.
On the strength of that performance and a somewhat less impressive win over the University of Toronto at Varsity Stadium on Aug. 31, Queen’s has been tapped as the No. 2 team in Ontario University Athletics football this season, behind only Western.
Given that there’s been some significant turnover at key positions from last season’s championship lineup, there’s every reason to believe that the 2026 Gaels’ best football is ahead of them.
Meanwhile, the Ravens (0-3) were soundly beaten at Guelph 60-15 on Saturday. Carleton’s common opponent with Queen’s is Waterloo, the Warriors having travelled to the capital and edged the Ravens 24-20 in Week 2 — hard to find any foundation for an upset in those outcomes.
Many at a distance would suspect that the Gaels’ greatest threat would be knowledge not of the results so much as the schedule that lies ahead: Next week the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (3-0) are booked into Richardson Stadium.
Last weekend, the Gee-Gees scored a 20-18 upset of Laurier on the Golden Hawks’ home field. The preseason No. 2-ranked team in the country, Laurier was missing a few key players due to injury, but nonetheless, the win marks Ottawa as a threat to make a run deep into fall.
In his press availability Thursday, Queen’s head coach Steve Snyder stressed that the Ravens pose immediate threats that his team can ill afford to look past, despite recent past performances and the look of the standings. (Although, if you wanted to drill down a little deeper, it would be worth noting that the Carleton knocked off Ottawa 20-14 in the schools’ annual Panda Game last fall.)
Snyder touted Carleton’s air corps, which even in the three losses has averaged more than 350 yards per game, ranking third in the OUA. “They have some playmakers, for sure,” Snyder said. “They have some dangerous guys and they’ve developed an exceptional chemistry in their passing game. Their quarterback (Elijah Barnes) is a young guy that I got to work with at the East-West Bowl. What stood out to me is the confidence he has and the natural ability he has — a big, fast, skilled kid with a massive arm and a great understanding of the game.”
Given that the defensive secondary has been the area of the Queen’s defence that has seen the most turnover from the championship run, the Ravens’ strength might line up to test some new talent making the transition to the collegiate game.
Snyder also alluded to Carleton representing something of an unknown quantity for this year’s team. “We haven’t played at Carleton since 2021,” the coach said. “We saw them in a controlled scrimmage last season.”
Snyder did allow that the Gaels made major strides from Week 1 to the home opener. “The end goal is for us to get better and there’s room for improvement,” Snyder said. “That’s where our focus is. We were a better team (against Waterloo) than we were in Week 1. We are progressing.”
One area where the Gaels seem closer to a finished product is their passing game, led by fifth-year quarterback Alex Vreeken. Through the first two games, Vreeken is averaging an OUA-best 395 yards passing per game, 70 yards clear of second-place Western QB Jerome Rancourt. On the passing-efficiency stat line, Rancourt has a bare edge over the Gaels pivot in second place, 188.8 to 182.2.
To this point in the season, Vreeken has spread the rock across the lineup — against U of T, 10 different receivers caught passes — and Snyder enthused about the quarterback’s ability to stretch opponents’ coverage, buying time rolling out of the pocket.
“Alex has certainly developed,” Snyder said. “He came in as a talented passer and now he’s just an exceptional quarterback and a great leader. He’s throwing the ball at a very high level right now. I really hope the Kingston fans are enjoying this because this is a pretty serious arm talent we’re witnessing.”
The kickoff a TAAG Park is scheduled for 1 p.m.
