TORONTO, ON – For the first time since 2019, Western University, Laval University and the University of Saskatchewan aren’t in the U SPORTS Vanier Cup.
The 2023 edition of the U SPORTS football national championship will see the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and University of Montreal Carabins travel to Kingston, Ont. to battle for the league’s biggest prize at Richardson Stadium.
These two teams have met before.
In November 2015, UBC took down then-defending champs Montreal in the national championship 26-23. The Thunderbirds have not been back to the big dance since, but the Carabins went back to the U SPORTS Vanier Cup four years later against the University of Calgary Dinos, losing again.
Will Montreal finally get their day in the sun after almost 10 years of disappointment, or will UBC upset the Carabins once again?
Montreal Carabins
Montreal is coming into the national championship hot following a statement victory over Western in the Uteck Bowl.
The Carabins defence forced six turnovers against the highest-scoring offence in U SPORTS football on Saturday, winning 29-3. The Mustangs were kept from scoring a single touchdown for the first time since September 2021.
Montreal quarterback Jonathan Senecal led the Carabins offence in the air and on the ground, tallying 228 passing yards and 38 rushing yards. This comes after a season where Senecal finished fourth in passing yards, with 2,215, and fifth in passing touchdowns, with 15 — in both categories, he’s one spot behind UBC quarterback Garrett Rooker.
Despite having no other players in the top five for any other major statistical category, the Carabins still finished with strong numbers.
Montreal was third in the country for scoring (288 points), fourth in rushing touchdowns (13), and first in red zone scores (31) and red zone touchdowns (21). On defence, the Carabins were second in interceptions (13), third in fumble recoveries (8) and fourth in defensive touchdowns (2).
Montreal’s vulnerabilities lie in their running game and time of possession.
Senecal is the starting quarterback but has more rushing yards (394) than the next two Carabins players combined. This presents a problem to an offence that hasn’t had to deal with their quarterback getting injured yet, luckily. But if Senecal goes down, they don’t have much of an insurance policy to fall back on for either the pass or the run games.
Their offence’s time on the field isn’t great, either. Montreal finished 20th in time of possession, recording just over 29 minutes per game, while 10 teams in the league broke 30.
Montreal’s keys to victory are keeping Senecal healthy and keeping the defence off the field as long as possible.
UBC’s Vanier Cup hopes upon Rooker
UBC has had one of their best seasons in years, with quarterback Garrett Rooker leading the charge on offence.
Following the heart-stopping ending to the Thunderbirds Hardy Cup victory that saw Rooker connect with receiver Sam Davenport for a game-winning touchdown, the UBC offence kept the good times rolling in the Mitchell Bowl. Rooker threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns, including 139 yards and two scores to Davenport, in the 47-17 win over the St Francis Xavier X-Men.
UBC’s defence stood strong all game, recording three interceptions and getting to the backfield for four sacks.
Rooker is coming off a season where he landed third overall in passing yards with 2,266, fourth in passing touchdowns with 16 and first in completion percentage at 70.2%. Davenport was also efficient in the air as part of his dynamic duo with Rooker, producing the most receiving yards per catch in the country with 24.4 and the third-most yards per game with 92.8.
UBC’s offence was third in total offensive yards (3,726, fifth in scoring (271 points), fourth in passing first downs (105), fifth in third down percentage (60%) and fourth in red zone touchdown percentage (68%).
The Thunderbird defence has been unimpressive, only making it into the top five for tackles with 410. They were 23rd in interceptions (4), 18th in sacks (11) and had no defensive touchdowns.
As long as UBC running back Isaiah Knight continues to prove his supplementary role in this pass-first offence, the Thunderbirds will only have to worry about their defence.
UBC’s keys to victory are maintaining a strong connection between Rooker and Davenport, and, like Montreal, keeping their defence off the field.
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