QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – The Uteck Bowl weekend officially kicked off Friday afternoon in Quebec City when coaches and players from the University of Western Ontario Mustangs and Laval University Rouge et Or took part in the traditional Meet the Teams media conference.
The second-ranked OUA champions (9-1) visit the No. 1 QUFL champions (11-0) Saturday at noon Eastern at PEPS Stadium in the early CIS football national semifinal, live on TSN and Radio-Canada.
In Saturday’s second semifinal at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, the No. 5 University Calgary Dinos (8-2) host the No. 9 Saint Mary’s University Huskies (6-3) in the Mitchell Bowl at 1:30 p.m. MT (3:30 p.m. ET), live coast-to-coast on TSN and live Manitoba-west on Radio-Canada (tape delay Ontario-east).
Western and Laval have only met once in the past in official competition, the Rouge et Or claiming the 2008 Vanier Cup thanks to a 44-21 win in Hamilton. The Quebec champs also won head-to-head pre-season meetings in 2007, 2008 and 2009, all at PEPS Stadium.
“I think the biggest difference with 2008 is we’re more experienced, particularly our running game and our offensive line,” said Western head coach Greg Marshall, who has led the Mustangs to three OUA titles in four years since taking over in 2007 and had guided McMaster to four straight titles from 2000 to 2003.
“Obviously our main challenge on Saturday will be to establish the run. We know how good Laval is against the run. In 2008, they completely shut us down on the ground.”
Western ranked first in the nation in the regular season with 254.2 rushing yards per game, while Laval allowed a CIS-low 45.7 yards per outing on the ground.
“We have so much respect for Western. Year in and year out, they are one of the top programs in the country,” said Laval head coach Glen Constantin, who has led his troops to a CIS-record eight consecutive Bowl appearances since 2003. The two teams that will take the field on Saturday are very different from the ones that met in 2008. They had Michael Faulds at quarterback, we had Benoit Groulx… But our new QB Bruno Prud’homme and theirs, Donnie Marshall, have done a great job this year in their first season as starters.”
Over 10,000 tickets have already been sold for the Uteck Bowl and a sellout crowd of over 16,000 is expected at PEPS Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 13,000.
“It’ll be an advantage playing in front of our fans, no question. It’s always a tough environment for visiting teams,” said Prud’homme, who completed a CIS-best 68.2 per cent of his passes this fall. “We’re confident but we respect Western a lot. They have one of the best defences in Canada, so it’s an exciting challenge.”
While Laval led the nation with only 6.4 points allowed per game in conference play, Western wasn’t far behind, finishing second with an average of 12.0
“We know it’s going to be a loud, hostile environment, and we’re ready for it,” Donnie Marshall said. “We’ve been in some hostile environments this year and are used to it. We’ve been working on how to handle the noise and we’ll be using lots of signals.”
“They have a really good defence, and their run defence is solid. They have a great defensive line, some really fast DBs. We cannot turn the ball over.”
The winners of the Bowl games advance to the Desjardins Vanier Cup, Saturday, November 27 at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City, live on TSN and Radio-Canada at 11:45 a.m. ET.
UTECK BOWL
When: Saturday, Nov. 20, 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Where: PEPS Stadium, Quebec City
Who: No. 2 Western Ontario Mustangs (9-1) at No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or (11-0)
TV: Live on TSN & Radio-Canada
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO MUSTANGS (OUA champions)
2010 season summary
Overall record: 9-1
Regular season record: 7-1
Regular season standing: 2nd
Playoff record: 2-0
Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 2): No. 2
Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 2 (3 weeks: last 3 polls)
Lowest Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 9 (1 week: first poll)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 10
Regular season offence points (39.6 ppg): 1st OUA / 2nd CIS
Regular season offence total yards (464.5 ypg): 3rd OUA / 5th CIS
Regular season offence passing (210.2 ypg): 6th OUA / 16th CIS
Regular season offence rushing (254.2 ypg): 1st OUA / 1st CIS
Regular season defence points (12.0 ppg): 1st OUA / 2nd CIS
Regular season defence total yards (336.1 ypg): 2nd OUA / 5th CIS
Regular season defence passing (228.8 ypg): 4th OUA / 10th CIS
Regular season defence rushing (107.3 ypg): 1st OUA / 4th CIS
2010 results
Sept. 1 (home): Western 46, Laurier 1
Sept. 6 (away): Ottawa 20, Western 19
Sept. 11 (home): Western 50, McMaster 19
Sept. 18 (away): Western 30, Windsor 15
Sept. 25 (away): Western 15, Guelph 8
Oct. 2 (home): Western 46, Queen’s 10
Oct. 16 (away): Western 76, York 0
Oct. 23 (home): Western 35, Toronto 23
Nov. 6 (home): Western 34, McMaster 28 (OUA semifinal)
Nov. 13 (away): Western 26, Ottawa 25 (OUA final)
2010 OUA individual honours
Major awards: Greg Marshall (coach of the year)
All-stars offence (First Team): Jerimy Hipperson (RB), Matt Norman (G), Josh Buttrill (T)
All-stars offence (Second Team): –
All-stars defence (First team): Mike Van Praet (T), Zander Robinson (DE), John Surla (LB), Craig Butler (HB)
All-stars defence (Second Team): Jason Kosec (LB), Jamie Symianick (CB)
All-stars special teams (First Team): Darryl Wheeler (P), Craig Butler (rush/cover)
All-stars special teams (Second Team): Craig Butler (RET)
All-time head-to-head vs. Laval
Overall record: 0-1
2008 (neutral site: Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton): 44-21 loss (Vanier Cup)
Note: Western lost pre-season contests to Laval in 2007 (20-2), 2008 (37-9) and 2009 (27-0).
Bowl history (since inception of national semi-finals in 1967)
All-time Bowl record: 12-6
All-time Bowl record on the road: 6-5
Uteck Bowl record: 0-0
Uteck Bowl record on the road: 0-0
2008 (home): 28-12 win vs. Saint Mary’s (Mitchell Bowl)
2007 (away): 52-20 loss vs. Manitoba (Mitchell Bowl)
1998 (away): 33-17 loss vs. Saskatchewan (Churchill Bowl)
1995 (away): 55-45 OT win vs. Acadia (Atlantic Bowl)
1994 (away): 41-24 win vs. Bishop’s (Churchill Bowl)
1990 (away): 31-30 loss vs. Saint Mary’s (Atlantic Bowl)
1989 (away): 38-33 win vs. Saint Mary’s (Atlantic Bowl)
1988 (home): 34-15 loss vs. Calgary (Western Bowl)
1986 (away): 29-22 win vs. Acadia (Atlantic Bowl)
1985 (away): 34-3 win vs. Mount Allison (Atlantic Bowl)
1982 (home): 17-7 win vs. Concordia (Western Bowl)
1981 (away): 32-31 loss vs. Alberta (Western Bowl)
1980 (away): 14-4 loss vs. Alberta (Western Bowl)
1979 (home): 32-14 win vs. Queen’s (Yates Cup)
1977 (home): 24-22 win vs. Calgary (Forest City Bowl)
1976 (home): 30-8 win vs. UBC (Forest City Bowl)
1974 (home): 41-17 win vs. Saskatchewan (Central Bowl)
1971 (away): 44-13 win vs. Saint Mary’s (Atlantic Bowl)
Vanier Cup history
All-time record: 6-6
2008 (Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton): 44-21 loss vs. Laval
1995 (SkyDome, Toronto): 54-24 loss vs. Calgary
1994 (SkyDome, Toronto): 50-40 OT win vs. Saskatchewan
1989 (SkyDome, Toronto): 35-10 win vs. Saskatchewan
1986 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 25-23 loss vs. UBC
1985 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 25-6 loss vs. Calgary
1982 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 39-14 loss vs. UBC
1979 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 34-12 loss vs. Acadia
1977 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 48-15 win vs. Acadia
1976 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 29-13 win vs. Acadia
1974 (CNE Stadium, Toronto): 19-15 win vs. Toronto
1971 (Varsity Stadium, Toronto): 15-14 win vs. Alberta
Head coach: Greg Marshall
Year: 11th (4th at Western / 7 at McMaster 1997-2003)
Career regular season record: 66-20-2 (24-8 with Western)
Career playoff record: 21-9 (10-3 with Western)
Career overall record (season and playoffs): 87-29-2 (34-11 with Western)
Career overall record vs. Laval: 0-3 (0-1 with Western)
Bowl record: 1-5 (1-1 with Western)
Bowl wins: 2008 (with Western)
Bowl losses: 2007 (with Western), 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000
Vanier Cup record: 0-1 (with Western)
Vanier Cup wins: None
Vanier Cup losses: 2008 (with Western)
UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL ROUGE ET OR (QUFL champions)
2010 season summary
Overall record: 11-0
Regular season record: 9-0
Regular season standing: 1st
Playoff record: 2-0
Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 2): No. 1
Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 1 (9 weeks: last 9 polls)
Lowest Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 2 (1 week: first poll)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 10
Regular season offence points (45.7 ppg): 1st QUFL / 1st CIS
Regular season offence total yards (460.8 ypg): 1st QUFL / 6th CIS
Regular season offence passing (253.8 ypg): 2nd QUFL / 8th CIS
Regular season offence rushing (207.0 ypg): 1st QUFL / 3rd CIS
Regular season defence points (6.4 ppg): 1st QUFL / 1st CIS
Regular season defence total yards (221.3 ypg): 1st QUFL / 1st CIS
Regular season defence passing (175.7 ypg): 1st QUFL / 3rd CIS
Regular season defence rushing (45.7 ypg): 1st QUFL / 1st CIS
2010 results
Sept. 5 (home): Laval 50, McGill 9
Sept. 11 (away): Laval 36, Sherbrooke 6
Sept. 18 (away): Laval 45, Saint Mary’s 7
Sept. 26 (home): Laval 23, Sherbrooke 7
Oct. 3 (home): Laval 46, Concordia 10
Oct. 9 (away): Laval 19, Montreal 12
Oct. 17 (home): Laval 62, Bishop’s 0
Oct. 23 (away): Laval 68, McGill 0
Oct. 30 (away): Laval 62, Concordia 7
Nov. 6 (home): Laval 56, Bishop’s 1 (QUFL semifinal)
Nov. 13 (home): Laval 22, Sherbrooke 17 (QUFL final)
2010 QUFL individual honours
Major awards: Frédérick Plesius (defensive MVP), Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (outstanding down lineman), Glen Constantin (coach of the year)
All-stars offence: Bruno Prud’homme (QB), Sébastien Lévesque (RB), Julian Feoli Gudino (WR), Pierre Lavertu (C), Pascal Baillargeon (G)
All-stars defence: Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (DE), Frédérick Plesius (LB), Maxime Bérubé (DB), Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau (CB)
All-stars special team: Christopher Milo (P & PK)
All-time head-to-head vs. Western
Overall record: 1-0
2008 (neutral site: Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton): 44-21 win (Vanier Cup)
Note: Laval won pre-season contests over Western in 2007 (20-2), 2008 (37-9) and 2009 (27-0).
Bowl history (since inception of national semi-finals in 1967)
All-time Bowl record: 5-4
All-time Bowl record at home: 4-0
Uteck Bowl record: 3-1
Uteck Bowl record at home: 3-0
2009 (away): 33-30 loss vs. Queen’s (Mitchell Bowl)
2008 (home): 59-10 win vs. Calgary (Uteck Bowl)
2007 (away): 24-2 loss vs. Saint Mary’s (Uteck Bowl)
2006 (home): 57-10 win vs. Acadia (Uteck Bowl)
2005 (away): 29-27 loss vs. Saskatchewan (Mitchell Bowl)
2004 (home): 30-11 win vs. Laurier (Uteck Bowl)
2003 (away): 36-32 win vs. McMaster (Mitchell Bowl)
2001 (away): 48-8 loss vs. Saint Mary’s (Atlantic Bowl) *
1999 (home): 27-21 win vs. Saskatchewan (Churchill Bowl)
* Following the 2001 season, Laval forfeited all its games due to the use of an ineligible player.
Vanier Cup history
All-time record: 5-0
2008 (Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton): 44-21 win vs. Western
2006 (Griffiths Stadium, Saskatoon): 13-8 win vs. Saskatchewan
2004 (Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton): 7-1 win vs. Saskatchewan
2003 (SkyDome, Toronto): 14-7 win vs. Saint Mary’s
1999 (SkyDome, Toronto): 14-10 win vs. Saint Mary’s
Head coach: Glen Constantin
Year: 10th
Career regular season record: 67-14 *
Career playoff record: 24-7 *
Career overall record (season and playoffs): 91-21 *
Career overall record vs. Western: 1-0
Bowl record: 4-4
Bowl wins: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2003
Bowl losses: 2009, 2007, 2005, 2001
Vanier Cup record: 4-0
Vanier Cup wins: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2003
Vanier Cup losses: None
* In 2001, Laval finished with a 5-3 regular season record and a 2-1 playoff record but forfeited all 7 wins due to the use of an ineligible player.
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