TORONTO, ON – The second week of the U SPORTS OUA football season is finished, and the Western Mustangs continue to look like the apex predators of the conference, despite McMaster keeping the game close. While U SPORTS posts a weekly ranking based off media voting and an ELO system, 49 Sports’ Cameron Moore will publish power rankings each week throughout the season.
1. Western Mustangs (-)
Western avoided a scare from McMaster in week two. The Mustangs trailed for a large portion of this game (a significant difference from week one). The defending Yates Cup champions took back the lead midway through the third quarter. A final minute pick six via Max Nixon sealed the game for Western a secured an unblemished record for another week.
Consider this weekend a weird falter in Western’s consistent dominance over the OUA. Western’s run game was uncharacteristically poor against McMaster. Keon Edwards rushed for only 23 yards, but he did manage to reach pay dirt once.
Evan Hillock followed up his OUA offensive player of the week performance by putting on another electric display under center. Highlights included Hillock linking up with Mohsan Jamal for a 96 yard catch and run for a score. The Mustangs’ quarterback finished the game with 388 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns.
Despite the appearance of some shakiness this game, the Mustangs remain atop the 49 Sports’ power rankings.
NEXT: Sept .9 @ Carleton Ravens (0-1)
2. Laurier Golden Hawks (-)
Laurier’s 2-0 records comes off claiming victory over a second-straight playoff team. The Golden Hawks were the superior bird beating the Carleton Ravens 20-15.
Laurier’s defense continues to impress. Week one they held Yates Cup finalist Queen’s to only 10 points and now Carleton to just 15. Good enough to place the Golden Hawks as the fourth best team in points allowed per game. The run defense is the ultimate strength of this team so far, allowing the second least amount of yards per game. Only Western allows less.
Discipline was a big issue against the Ravens, losing 110 yards due to penalties.
NEXT: Sept .9 @ Guelph Gryphons (1-1)
3. Windsor Lancers (+1)
Windsor had little to no issues moving the ball this week, decimating Guelph on the ground. Weagbe Mombo and Joey Zorn both rushed for over 100 yards, while Christian John and Liam Talbot both had 80 more. Quarterback Danny Skelton joined in the rushing fun, chipping in with 59 yards of his own. The Lancers totaled 488 yards on the ground.
The passing attack was solid as well, Danny Skelton completed 18 of his 21 passes for a 189 yards and two touchdowns. Skelton has had a highly efficient start to the season leading the OUA in completion percentage (73.5%).
The Lancers took control of the game early and kept it, never once losing the lead. The only time this team seemed to relent was in the fourth quarter, when any semblance of a comeback was impossible.
The only negative that can be drawn from this game is the Lancers had 12 penalties and lost 104 yards due to those infractions.
NEXT: Sept .9 @ Waterloo Warriors (1-1)
4. Ottawa Gee-Gees (+2)
Amlicar Polk torched the University of Toronto, putting up 191 yards on the ground, but never reached the end zone. All Gee-Gee points came off the leg of Campbell Fair in their 15-10 win.
Ottawa jump ahead two spots as the last of the 2-0 teams, although their performance left a little bit to be desired. The passing game wasn’t efficient with Ryan Licandro managing four yards per attempt. This offense is heavily run reliant, but so far no one has had an answer for Polk.
The Gee-Gee’s defense shut down the Varsity Blues. Ottawa held them to under five yards per carry and held Kinsale Philip to around five yards per attempt.
NEXT: BYE
5. Queen’s Gaels (-)
Queen’s had their bye during week two, so they stay steady at the five spot. They dealt with a tough week one when they lost to Laurier.
The league did start to take shape while Queen’s were away from OUA play, which plays into them staying in the same place this week. The Gaels get a whole extra week to prepare for their trip to the province’s capital where they will take on the Varsity Blues. Expect Queen’s to rebound from their opening week loss.
NEXT: Sept .9 @ Toronto Varsity Blues (0-2)
6. Carleton Ravens (-)
The Carleton Ravens make their 49 Sports power ranking debut this week falling short to Laurier 20-15.
Heading into the fourth quarter Carleton were behind, but only by four points. Early into the final quarter, Brandon Forcier missed a long field goal attempt, which would of made it a one-point game. The Ravens very next possession ended in an interception, setting up the Golden Hawks with great field position. Carleton added a touchdown late, however they still fell short.
They walked into Laurier territory and played well, despite the fourth quarter shortcomings. Tanner Lefebvre threw for 310 yards against the Golden Hawks. Although he’s only played one game, Lefebvre is fifth in passing yards.
Carleton opened their season with a tough matchup and it does not get any easier next week. They will be in the comfort of their own home, but they take on the OUA’s “final boss”.
NEXT: Sept .9 vs. Western Mustangs (2-0)
7. McMaster Marauders (-)
McMaster might be 0-2, however their record does not reflect their level of play. The Marauders stormed into Alumni Stadium and held a lead against a team whose last loss in the OUA predated COVID-19.
Not only did they hold a lead, they held Western to under 70 yards rushing. Last years rushing leader Keon Edwards only put up 23 yards on nine carries. Unfortunately, the secondary got cooked by the Mustangs receivers. Mohsen Jamal and Savaughn Magnaye-Jones both had over 100 yards receiving.
Mathieu Gale made his season debut and was a huge boost to the passing game with 10 catches for 107 yards.
NEXT: Sept .9 vs. York Lions
8. Guelph Gryphons (-5)
As good as week one was for the Gryphons, week two was the polar opposite. Everything that was promising about week one died at the hands the Lancers. Tristan Aboud in his second OUA start couldn’t replicate the magic of his debut, completing under 40 percent of his passes for just 36 yards. Second string quarterback Marshall McCray came in midway through the third quarter and the offense got something rolling.
McCray scampered into the end zone in the fourth Guelph’s first touchdown of the game. On their next drive, they only needed one play to reach pay dirt. Donavin Milloy took off for a 75 yard run.
It will be interesting to see who lines up under center for their next game, McCray or Aboud?
NEXT: Sept .9 vs. Laurier (2-0)
9. Waterloo Warriors (-)
There were plenty of points to around in Waterloo’s 53-32 win over York. The Warriors achieved various ways to put points on the board. Through the air…On the ground…Even a punt was returned for a touch down.
They were able to pound the pigskin efficiently amassing more than 400 yards on the ground. Quinten Springer and Anthony Miller were both efficient runners averaging over 10 yards per carry.
The Warriors did not pass a ton only, Nick Orr finished the game with only 11 attempts. Despite that lack of attempts, Orr passed for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Giving up 32 points to York should be a cause for concern for Waterloo’s defense.
NEXT: Sept .9 vs Windsor Lancers
10. Toronto Varsity Blues (-2)
Its now back-to-back weeks the University of Toronto offense could only put up 10 points. The running game is below average getting under five yards per carry. The passing game lacks any real ability to vertically stretch the field. The Varsity Blues find themselves in the bottom half of passing yards per game (164.5) and in rush yards per game (80.5).
Defensively there was an improvement, holding Gee-Gee’s quarterback Ryan Licandro to under five yards per attempt. Their success in combatting the air attack was not met on the ground, allowing around eight yards per carry.
Last week, they kept pace with Guelph in terms of time of possession, however this week they were out possessed by over ten minutes.
NEXT: Sept. 9 @ Carleton Ravens (0-1)
11. York Lions (-1)
Down one spot, but still last in the power rankings due to the introduction of Carleton this week. The Lions defense was not able to bounce back and gave up more than 50 points to the Warriors.
The run defense is a serious problem, week one they allowed 381 to Western and this week 402 to Waterloo. In both games York allowed over 10 yards per carry.
The offense scored over 30 points this week, which is a huge improvement from their season debut. Running back Justin Fawcett had a much better game with 87 yards rushing.
NEXT: Sept .9 @ McMaster Marauders (0-2)