CIS Playoff Previews & Predictions: Western, Calgary & Laval favourites – can anyone stop them?

*****PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION*** MTL/ SHERBROOKE SCORE SHOULD READ 38-24

Last weekend we got a taste of preseason action as the OUA kicked off their playoffs with a couple of games. Well, this weekend we get the full course with all four conferences playing host to semi-final match-ups. It’s always with mixed emotions that I head into this time of year. On one hand, we’ll see some great football as the road to the Vanier Cup nears an end, on the other, the season is only a few weeks from being over.

Will anyone knockoff the two unbeaten teams? Will there be a shakeup at the top of the Q? Let’s take a look at the CFC CIS Previews and Predictions for the first full weekend of postseason action.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

AUS Semi-Final – Acadia Axemen (4-4) @ St. Francis Xavier X-Men (5-3)  – A battle of two teams that seem to be heading in drastically different directions. StFX closed out the regular season red-hot, winners of three in a row while Acadia hasn’t beaten anyone not named St. Mary’s since their week one win against these same X-Men.

The Axemen are not the same team without star tailback Thomas Troop, who is out for the year with a broken ankle. Struggling to establish the run, the Axemen rushed for a paltry 134 yards in their final two games without Troop. At this time of year, failure to establish the run usually equates to failure to advance. On the other side StFX boasts one of the country’s most underrated backs in Ashton Dickson (160 carries, 866 yards, 5 TDs). The team that can control the ball usually wins at this time of year.

StFX 21 ACADIA 17

 

OUA Semi-Final – No. 9 Laurier Golden (5-4) @ No. 2 Western Mustangs (8-0) – A rematch of a week three 59-9 Western romp, this is a much different Laurier team this time around. Both teams can “ground and pound”, with Western leading the CIS in rushing and Laurier boasting the country’s top rusher, Dillon Campbell.  Both defenses are above average physical squads and fans of smash mouth football should enjoy the battles in the trenches. The difference, and a big one at that, Western pivot Will Finch. Finch leads a Western attack that can run or pass with equal precision. If needed Finch can take over a game against the best of teams, but the key is he doesn’t have to. The ‘Stangs have literal waves of weapons they can deploy, whereas Laurier’s offense becomes pretty pedestrian after Dillon Campbell. This one should be a lot closer than the earlier September game, but Laurier’s somewhat one-dimensional offense won’t be able to strike quickly or often enough to keep up. The Hawks defense is good, but nobody has so much as slowed down the Western attack and I don’t see it happening this week.

WESTERN 46 LAURIER 24

 

OUA Semi-Final – No. 10 Carleton Ravens (6-3) @ No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (5-3) – Last week I picked Carleton to beat Queen’s, liking the match-up for the Ravens. Carleton romped to a 39-8 win, able to run at will when needed extending drives while jumping out to a 21-0 first quarter lead. This week I don’t like the match-up. Queen’s has been at best suspect against the run and Carleton exploited that. But Guelph is a much different beast than Queen’s. Ranked in the top five in most defensive categories, the Gryphons have specialized in shutting down opposing offenses and should cause the Ravens offense a lot of problems.

GUELPH 35 CARLETON 20

Guelph vs Carleton

RSEQ Semi-Final – Concordia Stingers (4-4) @ No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or (7-1)– The Stingers continue to improve under head coach Mikey Donovan, but unfortunately for the second year in a row they get to head to Quebec City for their playoff opener. It will be closer than last year’s 74-18 blowout, but Laval still wins this one handily. Concordia is a year away from cracking the big three in the Q.

LAVAL 44 CONCORDIA 28

 

RSEQ Semi-Final – No. 9 Sherbrooke Vert et Or (5-3) @ No. 4 Montreal Carabins (6-2) – Les Carabins and Vert et Or split the regular season series, with the home team winning each time. Montreal has the top-ranked defense in the CIS, Sherbrooke number three and we all know defenses win championships. At the end of the day expect Montreal to run a little more effectively than Sherbrooke. That and home field will be the difference.

MONTREAL 38 SHERBROOKE 24

Carabins vs Vert et Or 2015

CANWEST Semi-Final – No. 8 Manitoba Bisons (5-3) @ No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds (5-3) – For the second time in two weeks, the Bisons and T-Birds will square-off. Last week the two met to finish off their respective regular seasons, with home field in the first round on the line. This week there is a lot more at stake with the winner advancing and the loser holding their last team meeting the following Monday. UBC won last week  24-10, but the Bisons were without starting pivot Theo Deezar who returns for the semis. UBC is 2-0 against Manitoba this season, but as tough as it is to beat a strong conference rival twice in the same year, doing it three times is exponentially tougher.

MANITOBA 38 UBC 33

CANWEST Semi-Final – Saskatchewan Huskies (3-5) @ No. 1 Calgary Dinos (8-0) The Huskies stormed back from a 23 point, third quarter deficit to punch the last remaining playoff ticket. Their reward for such resiliency? They get to play the undefeated and top-ranked Dinos. Complacency won’t be an issue, as the Dinos remember last season’s early playoff exit after a similar unbeaten season. The Dinos have WAY to much firepower, on both sides of the ball. This one won’t be close.

CALGARY 47 SASKATCHEWAN 22

 

Record Last Week: 7-3  Overall Record This Season: 58-13

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  1. Pingback: OUA Semi-final mid Week thoughts | Gryphons Football Blog

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