FRC – CIS Football Top 10 (#3): McMaster stays in the lead, Calgary up to No. 2

Photo credit David Moll

OTTAWA (CIS) – The McMaster Marauders top the Football Reporters of Canada – CIS rankings for the third time in as many polls this season. For the second straight week, the reigning Vanier Cup champions received all 30 first-place nods and 300 points from FRC voters.

Behind the national champs, only three other teams stay put in the new poll, including the No. 4 Montreal Carabins (210 points), No. 5 Western Mustangs (177) and No. 6 Queen’s Gaels (160).

The Calgary Dinos earned 256 points to move past the Laval Rouge et Or (224) in second place. The No. 7 Manitoba Bisons (126) are up three spots, the No. 8 Acadia Axemen (76) are up one, the No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies (39) drop one position, while the No. 10 Regina Rams (31) make their way into the Top 10 for the first time this fall.

Top-ranked McMaster easily improved to 2-0 in conference play last weekend with a 68-21 win at Waterloo. The Marauders, who have outscored their opponents 118 to 30 in their first two league games, travel to Ottawa later this week and will face the winless Gee-Gees (0-2) on Saturday.

No. 2 Calgary (2-0) crushed Alberta 65-6 on Friday night, racking up 500 more yards on offence than its provincial rivals in the process (657-157). The Dinos should face a much stiffer test on Saturday when they visit No. 7 Manitoba (2-0).

No. 3 Laval also improved to 2-0 last weekend but scored only 11 points on offence and trailed late in the third quarter before coming back to edge 0-2 Bishop’s by 28-22. The Rouge et Or host No. 8 Acadia (1-0) on Saturday night in RSEQ-AUS interlock action. The nine-time Quebec champions will look to extend their CIS-record home winning streak to 53 games overall, dating back to 2004.

Other results by Top-10 teams last weekend were Montreal 48, Concordia 10 (at Montreal); Western 62, Toronto 7 (at Western); Queen’s 42, Laurier 16 (at Laurier); Manitoba 31, Saskatchewan 28 (at Manitoba); Acadia 21, Saint Mary’s 16 (at Acadia); Regina 49, UBC 20 (at Regina).

NOTES: In addition to Calgary-Manitoba and Acadia-Laval, a third Top-10 matchup is scheduled on Week 3 as No. 5 Western (2-0) visits No. 6 Queen’s (2-0) on Saturday... The Calgary-Manitoba contest will mark the third duel versus a Top-10 opponent in as many weeks for the seventh-ranked Bisons, who opened conference play with a 31-24 road win against then-No. 7 UBC before defeating Saskatchewan on home turf last Saturday.

FRC – CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#3)

Pts (1st place) Last week
1. McMaster (2-0) 300 (30) 1
2. Calgary (2-0) 256 3
3. Laval (2-0) 224 2
4. Montreal (2-0) 210 4
5. Western (2-0) 177 5
6. Queen’s (2-0) 160 6
7. Manitoba (2-0) 126 10
8. Acadia (1-0) 76 9
9. Saskatchewan (1-1) 39 8
10. Regina (1-1) 31 NR

Other teams receiving votes: Sherbrooke (14), Guelph (13), Windsor (4), StFX (2).

No. 1 McMaster (2-0): Top 10 ranking: No change... Last week: 68-21 win at Waterloo (0-2)... This week: Visit Ottawa (0-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. ET...

No. 2 Calgary (2-0): Top 10 ranking: Up one position... Last week: 65-6 home win over Alberta (0-2)... This week: Visit No. 7 Manitoba (2-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. CT...

No. 3 Laval (2-0): Top 10 ranking: Down one position... Last week: 28-22 win at Bishop’s (0-2)... This week: Host No. 9 Acadia (1-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. ET...

No. 4 Montreal (2-0): Top 10 ranking: No change... Last week: 48-10 home win over Concordia (1-1)... This week: Host Bishop’s (0-2) Saturday at 1 p.m. ET...

No. 5 Western (2-0): Top 10 ranking: No change... Last week: 62-7 home win over Toronto (1-1)... This week: Visit No. 6 Queen’s (2-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. ET...

No. 6 Queen’s (2-0): Top 10 ranking: No change... Last week: 42-16 win at Laurier (0-2)... This week: Host No. 5 Western (2-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. ET...

No. 7 Manitoba (2-0): Top 10 ranking: Up three positions... Last week: 31-28 home win over then-No. 8 Saskatchewan (1-1)... This week: Host No. 2 Calgary (2-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. CT...

No. 8 Acadia (1-0): Top 10 ranking: Up one position... Last week: 21-16 home win over Saint Mary’s (0-1)... This week: Visit No. 3 Laval (2-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. ET...

No. 9 Saskatchewan (1-1): Top 10 ranking: Down one position... Last week: 31-28 loss at then-No. 10 Manitoba (2-0)... This week: Visit UBC (0-2) Saturday at 2 p.m. PT...

No. 10 Regina (1-1): Top 10 ranking: Unranked last week... Last week: 49-20 home win over UBC (0-2)... This week: Visit Alberta (0-2) Friday at 7 p.m. MT...

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE: WEEK 3 (all times local)

September 14
19:00 Mount Allison (0-1) at McGill (0-2), SSNCanada.ca (web)
19:00 No. 10 Regina (1-1) at Alberta (0-2), CanadaWest.tv (web)

September 15
13:00 Concordia (1-1) at StFX (1-0), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 York (1-1) at Laurier (0-2) laurierathletics.com/live (web)
13:00 Waterloo (0-2) at Guelph (1-1), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 No. 5 Western (2-0) at No. 6 Queen’s (2-0), theScore (TV & web)
13:00 No. 1 McMaster (2-0) at Ottawa (0-2), Rogers Ottawa (TV – tape delayed to 8 pm) & SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 Sherbrooke (1-1) at Saint Mary’s (0-1), Eastlink (TV & web)
13:00 Bishop’s (0-2) at No. 4 Montreal (2-0), Radio-Canada (TV & web)
13:00 Windsor (1-1) at Toronto (1-1), SSNCanada.ca (web)
13:00 No. 2 Calgary (2-0) at No. 7 Manitoba (2-0), CanadaWest.tv (web)
14:00 No. 9 Saskatchewan (1-1) at UBC (0-2), Shaw (TV) & CanadaWest.tv (web)
19:00 No. 8 Acadia (1-0) at No. 3 Laval (2-0)

-CIS-