CIS Previews & Predictions (4): Panda Game, Red/Blue Bowl, Battle of Waterloo all on tap & a look at ALL 13 games

Here we are at the midway point of the 2015 CIS season and once again another classic is unfolding. With all four conferences being hotly contested, wins are becoming ever more crucial. The OUA will feature its version of rivalry weekend with bitter crosstown foes squaring off in annual grudge matches. It all kicks off Friday in Canada’s largest city with York and U of T duking it out in the Red/Blue Bowl. Just down the road The Battle of Waterloo will be waged between Laurier and Waterloo on Saturday and finally in the nation’s capital Carleton and Ottawa will compete for “Pedro the Panda” in the annual Panda Game.

In the rest of the CIS the action is just as intriguing with the final stretch upon us. In the CanWest, Calgary has built a two game lead but after that it’s anyone’s game. Four teams are competing for the final three playoff spots and all enter the final half at 2-2. No doubt somebody out west will be left in the cold come playoff time. The AUS looks to be up for grabs and in the Q, Montreal and Laval are the elite but Sherbrooke has a chance to make it a party of three with a win this weekend vs. Montreal.

Now with that out of the way my picks for the weekend are below. Last weekend was my first respectable weekend going 7-1 (although I can’t really talk about the Guelph game as my predicted 46-44 shootout win was 48-26 blowout of Ottawa). After last week’s record I will endeavour to get REAL ambitious and look at all 13 games on the slate this weekend. Here goes nothing…..

 

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2^ND

Toronto Varsity Blues (1-3) @ York Lions (1-4) RED/BLUE BOWL – A pair of one-win teams, it’s mission critical time for both if they have any hope of making the playoffs. The York defense has been porous thus far in 2015 and it is on that side of the ball that Toronto has the edge.

TORONTO 24 YORK 15

Regina Rams (0-4) @ No. 6 Manitoba Bisons (2-2) – A must win for both teams, but for different reasons. Last year the Bisons failed to win games like this where they were clearly the favourite and struggled to get in the playoffs as a result. For the Rams, they can pretty much kiss their season goodbye with a loss and unfortunately they seem to be getting worse not better.

MANITOBA 42 REGINA 25

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3^RD

St. Mary’s Huskies (0-3) @ St. Francis Xavier X-Men (1-2) – One word that can be used to describe the AUS is familiarity. For the second time in three weeks the Huskies head to Antigonish, Nova Scotia to take on the 1-2 X-Men. In their first encounter the Huskies led 13-11 at the half before the X-Men ripped off 37 unanswered second half points en route to a 48-13 victory. At first glance one might think that it was just a matter of playing a full sixty minutes, but on further review the Huskies total lack of a ground game explains the second half collapse. Averaging 67.3 yards per game on the ground and 3 yards a carry, St. Mary’s face another 0-8 season if they don’t improve upon that.

Look for all-purpose star Ashton Dickson to continually give the X-Men a short field as St.FX wins again, albeit by smaller margin.

StFX 37 SMU 18

 

Mount Allison Mounties (1-2) @ No. 10 Acadia Axemen (2-1) – Two weeks ago Axemen QB Cody Cluett hit Brian Jones for a 53 yard touchdown, giving Acadia a 25-24 lead with only 1:05 left in the game. The Mounties haven’t forgotten and I can’t help but think Acadia is going to be a little shell-shocked after last weekend’s 45-15 beat down at the hands of McGill.

MOUNT ALLISON 23 ACADIA 19

No. 8 McMaster Marauders (3-1) @ Windsor Lancers (1-4) – Windsor won their first game of 2015 with a 22-18 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks. Unfortunately for the Lancers the winning streak will end at one.

MCMASTER 43 WINDSOR 19

Laurier Golden Hawks (1-3) @ Waterloo Warriors (0-4) BATTLE OF WATERLOO – After winning their opener on the road against York, the Golden Hawks have lost three straight including last week’s 22-18 loss to previously winless Windsor. This week they will face their second straight winless team in crosstown rival Waterloo. These teams are closer than one might think and Laurier wins a tight one.

LAURIER 26 WATERLOO 19

No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (5-0) @ Queen’s Gaels (3-2) – Always a tough place to win, Guelph will have their hands full in Kingston this weekend but will find a way to win,

GUELPH 36 QUEEN’S 21

Carleton Ravens (3-2) @ Ottawa Gee-Gees (2-2) PANDA GAME – With the return to the larger stadium, the 2014 Panda game evoked memories of old. In an atmosphere not seen since Ottawa U receiver Tom Casagrande hauled in the winning pass, in the dying moments on national TV over 20 years ago, Carleton receiver Nate Behar broke Gee-Gee hearts everywhere hauling in a Jesse Mills Hail Mary to give Carleton their first Panda of the “new era”

The Gees have had a year to ponder this and motivation will not be an issue. Having said that, this year’s match-up favours Ottawa. The Ravens haven’t been consistent on offense and will be hard pressed to keep up with Ottawa.

OTTAWA 44 CARLETON 31

McGill Redmen (2-2) @ Bishop’s Gaiters (1-3) – A rematch of a week one 10-3 McGill win, both teams are coming off wins against AUS teams. McGill is improved from last season and running back Luis Guimont-Mota can eat up time and yardage averaging 6.0 yards a carrry. With both teams boasting better than average defenses, Mota is the difference. I like McGill to prevail in a relatively low scoring affair.

MCGILL 20 BISHOP’S 13

No. 8 Saskatchewan Huskies (2-2) @ No. 1 Calgary Dinos – The Huskies have bounced back nicely after dropping their first two and if this was in Saskatoon, I might be inclined to pick them. But it’s not.

CALGARY 43 SASKATCHEWAN 24

***UPSET ALERT*** No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds (2-2) @ Alberta Golden Bears (2-2) – For the second straight week, UBC is on are upset alert, again as the higher ranked team. Coach Blake Nill is a proven winner and will have this program competing for a CanWest title soon…just not in 2015. A definite playoff contender, UBC lacks the ground game and defense to go the distance. Alberta will be able to run the ball, control the tempo and win a tight one.

ALBERTA 36 UBC 32

***UPSET ALERT*** No. 4 Montreal Carabins (2-1) @ No. 9 Sherbrooke Vert et Or (1-2) – Sherbrooke is a hard team to figure out taking Laval to overtime then getting thrashed by Montreal and then thrashing a solid Concordia team.  Les Vert et Or have quietly flown under the radar in 2015, but that ends this weekend as they beat Montreal in front of a raucous home crowd that will erupt if (when) senior QB Jeremi Roch sets the career passing mark. Roch is poised to become the all-time CIS passing yardage leader needing 209 yards to break Michael Faulds career mark of 10, 811. Should be a fun afternoon.

SHERBROOKE 30 MONTREAL 21

 

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4^TH

Concordia Stingers (2-2) @ #2 Laval Rouge et Or (4-0) – The Stingers are a good football team, Laval is better.

LAVAL 38 CONCORDIA 20

Record Last Week: 7-1 Record This Season: 12-4