TORONTO, ON – The penultimate rankings for the 2023 OUA season are here. Queen’s running back Jared Chisari had another monster game. Western and Laurier remain kings of the OUA, retaining their undefeated status for another week. Carleton pulled of a highly improbable comeback. The OUA once again had a wild week.
While U SPORTS posts a weekly ranking based on media voting and an ELO system, 49 Sports’ Cameron Moore will publish power rankings each week throughout the season.
1. Western Mustangs (-)
The Mustangs put up a cool 66 points against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, continuing their perfect season. The win sets up a clash for a first-round bye against Laurier on Saturday. Western have already ruined one undefeated season beating the 5-0 Windsor Lancers a few weeks ago.
This team possesses the best offense in the OUA, leading in yards per game (526.1). They also score the most points per game (45.3). They’ve been able to score at will consistently, only being held to under 30 points once this campaign.
The Mustangs have grown wings and become Pegasus through their success in the air this season. Quarterback Evan Hillock averages around 300 yards per game throwing to a litany of talented receivers. Mohsan Jamal, Seth Robertson, and Savaughn Magnaye-Jones are all top 10 in receiving yards. Jamal leads in yards (645) and Robertson is the OUA leader in touchdowns (8).
For all these reasons and their 7-0 record, it’s no shock Western has made permanent residency of the top spot.
2. Laurier Golden Hawks (-)
Laurier also scores a ton of points like Western, and are also undefeated like Western. There are tons of similarities between the two top teams in the OUA. The Golden Hawks truly took flight in week three, scoring more than 30 points in every game since then.
Taylor Elgersma has grown into one of the best quarterbacks in the country. No one in the entirety of U SPORTS had thrown for more yards than the third-year quarterback this season. He’s thrown for 16 touchdowns and has cut his interception by a ton. Last year he threw eight, that number is down to three.
Raidan Thorne and Ethan Jordan have been excellent targets for their signal caller. Both of them find themselves among the top of U SPORTS receivers. Thorne has the second-most receiving yards in the country (633) and Jordan is right behind him in third (577).
A date with Western next week gives them the potential to finish first and earn a bye. More importantly, a chance to leapfrog the Mustangs in the 49 Sports power rankings, the real victory.
3. Queen’s Gaels (+1)
Jared Chisari has emerged as a perennial MVP candidate after putting together another ridiculous game. The running back ran for over 175 yards for the third straight game. During the Gaels’ three-game win streak, Chisari has 700 yards on the ground and five touchdowns.
The credit for success doesn’t all fall on Chisari, their defense has been stellar. They allow only 16.3 points per game, alleviating the pressure on the offense. Secondly, Queen’s are the only team in the conference allowing less than 300 yards per game.
The winning streak has them in position to host a first-round home playoff game. It has been quite the turnaround since the beginning of the season even though they are missing their starting quarterback Alex Vreeken.
They are hot at the best time possible.
4. Windsor Lancers (-1)
Opposite of Queen’s, Windsor has been ice cold over the last couple of weeks. They went through the undefeated gauntlet losing to both Laurier and Western. In those two losses, their point differential is -44 each game decided by more than two scores.
Despite holding the head-to-head over Queen’s, Windsor has not been the better team since that game. This team was referred to as Yates Cup contenders a couple weeks ago. Now, that notion has cooled off a little bit. They have struggled in those big match ups.
Despite the negativity of the first two paragraphs, this is a good football team. They are just going through a rough patch at a bad time.
Assuming their next game goes as expected, Windsor will head into the postseason with home-field advantage for the first round.
5. Ottawa Gee-Gees (-)
Not first, not second, but third string quarterback Josh Janssen has been a revelation for the Gee-Gees. Since he took over under center, Janssen has 2-2 record including a dramatic Panda Game win. The passing game has looked much better under Janssen. He is fifth in passing yards per game (238.5), completes nearly 70 percent of his passes and thrown for four touchdowns.
Amlicar Polk has slowed down from his supernova start. He has fallen to third in rush yards per game (117.7), which is still a remarkable number. The slide has come in the last three weeks only rushing over 100 yards in one of those games. In fairness, Polk only has three touches against McMaster.
The biggest criticism against Ottawa is that all their wins have come against teams with a losing record, while losing games against Western, Laurier, and Windsor. They have a chance to buck that trend in their final regular season game.
6. Carleton Ravens (+1)
Coming off back-to-back losses, Carleton absolutely needed a win. They got that win against Waterloo coming back from a 20-point deficit. It took a last-second rouge for the Ravens to put away the Warriors, but they showed resilience.
They’ve shown resilience in multiple games this season, like in their loss to Ottawa in the Panda Game. A trait that is unquantifiable by numbers. What is quantifiable is their record and other statistics to justify this ranking.
Just like their capital city counterparts, Carleton also has cleaned up against the lower end of the standings. They’ve claimed wins over the aforementioned Waterloo and have wins over both Toronto-based teams.
When faced with an opponent north of the standings, Carleton has lost by more than two scores all but once.
7. Guelph Gryphons (-1)
Guelph lost a spirited contest against Queen’s 24-17. A game where they had more first downs and yards than their opponents. Two early interceptions set the offense back. In the second half, they only scored a safety until a late touchdown put them within a score. However, it was too little too late.
This has been one of the most fun teams to watch this season, from 1-7 to a team on the verge of playoffs. Donavin Milloy has emerged as a true player. He went from having 84 yards in one season to averaging over 120 per game. Tristan Aboud has shown glimpses of being a quality quarterback despite it being his first OUA season.
This has been a solid season for the Gryphons, but there is room for improvement. Take the rushing defense as an example, only York allows more yards on the ground. They don’t allow a ton of passing yards (215 per game), but they do struggle at getting at the quarterback. Guelph only has six sacks, the second-worst total in the OUA.
Guelph hold the final playoff spot heading into the final week of the regular season. Their path to guarantee post-season football is clear, beat Carleton.
8. Toronto Varsity Blues (-)
This season for Toronto has been one of major regression. They were 4-4 last year and made the playoffs. This year the best record they could have is 3-5 and playoffs are no longer possible. The Varsity Blues started the season 0-4 and then entered a mad dash to salvage the season. Toronto proceeded to win two of their next three games. Their loss against Western knocked Toronto out of contention.
Their offense struggled to move the ball, being one of two teams to average less than 300 yards per game. Kinsale Philip, who started the majority of last year lost his starting role midway through the season to Scott Barnett. The second-string signal-caller has thrown six touchdowns and seven picks this season.
Adam Williams went from rushing for nearly 700 yards to just 207 this year. As a team, the University of Toronto has the third-worst rushing attack in the conference (116.9).
9. Waterloo Warriors (+1)
Waterloo lost heartbreakingly against Carleton, but they still have a shot at post-season football. The Warriors had the ball for about 11 minutes more than their opponents and still could not translate it into a win.
James Basalyga was Nick Orr’s favourite target with four catches, 158 yards, and a score. The receiver is prone to having some big games including a two-touchdown affair against York. He also had nine catches and 91 yards against Laurier. Basalyga’s 79 receiving yards per game is the fourth-best in the OUA.
The Warriors’ strength on defense lies in the battles in the trenches. The team’s 19 sacks ties them with Laurier for the second-most in the conference. Defensive lineman Tyson Hergott is responsible for 10 of those sacks. He is lethal as a run-stuffer too, Hergott’s 11 tackles-for-loss is the second-most in the OUA.
10. McMaster Marauders (-)
McMaster wrapped up their season last week with a 23-9 loss to Ottawa, meaning they’ll finish the 2023 season with a 2-6 record. The Marauders will finish in second-last place in the OUA this year.
Their pass-first offense has led to plenty of opportunities for Jackson Cooling. the wideout is second in the OUA in catches (49), he has played one more game than the rest of the receivers. That being said, he’ll probably end up somewhere in the top five once all the games are done.
Keagan Hall threw the ball a ton this season. Assuming Elgersma throws more than 20 times against Western, something that is very likely. Hall will finish second in pass attempts (262), more than quarterbacks like Hillock and Lefebvre. Being in his third year McMaster’s starting gunslinger will be back under center for another year. His favourite target Cooling is also in his third year, giving the duo another opportunity next year.
11. York Lions (-)
York had the week off, extra time to prepare for their last opportunity for a win this season. That chance comes against a Windsor team who has lost two-straight. The Lancers are going to want to finish the season on a high-note, so the Lions are likely in for a tough go.
This program needs to do some serious thinking because they have not been good for a while. The last time this team won more than two games was five years ago.
They’ve been shut out in more than half of their games this season. The Lions have a point differential of -449 and have allowed 200 points more than any other team in the OUA.