CIS FOOTBALL PICKS WEEK 7

Here's some Uneducated Guesses on how Week 7 of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football season might shake out, or more likely, how it won't shake out.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Laval to defend its No. 1 ranking with a close win (less than a field goal) at home against Concordia
• Guelph to upset Windsor in a nationally televised game
• McMaster to bounce back from a home loss to Laurier by beating Western

FEATURED GAMES

No. 5 CONCORDIA STINGERS vs. No. 1 LAVAL ROUGE ET OR
Sunday, 1 p.m. (RDS; all times EDT)
Has Laval been the top team in Canada to this point? No. Still, whether or not Concordia QB Scott Syvret is cleared to play, the Rouge et Or are set for a breakout game, especially with a national TV audience, a sold-out crowd and a challenger in the Stingers. Memories of last year's Stinger trip up to Quebec City -- a 43-20 Laval win -- are very fresh. Concordia will keep it close, but a lack of consistency on offence, combined with Laval's crowd advantage, tips this one to the Rouge et Or -- barring turnovers or some big plays on special teams by the Stingers. The Call: Laval 17-15

WINDSOR LANCERS (4-2) vs. GUELPH GRYPHONS (2-4)
Saturday, 2 p.m. (The Score)
Sorely tempted to take the Gryphons to pull the upset on national TV -- they can put up points, and we all know about the Lancers' inability to stake their claim as an OUA heavyweight, or put up gaudy rushing stats against quality teams. The caveats with the Gryphons is that QB Justin Dunk, the country's most prolific passer, is still awfully young, and Windsor's ever-shifting coverages and packages might get him a little confused. Still, Guelph can pull this off -- especially if all-purpose back Nick FitzGibbon breaks some big plays and their defence contains Windsor's Daryl Stephenson. The way the OUA is going this season, nothing should surprise anyone anymore, so Guelph it is. The Call: Guelph 29-26

#7 McMASTER MARAUDERS (5-1) vs. WESTERN MUSTANGS (4-2)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
McMaster's coming off a loss and is a little banged-up (QB Adam Archibald, SB Jon Behie, and DB Jesse Card are all injury concerns). Still, the Marauders are deeper and more physical, and Western isn't throwing the ball well enough to threaten them. Defensively, the Mustangs' still arm-tackle too much. Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds is sixth in the CIS in passing yardage, but then you notice the low yards-per-attempt and the poor TD-to-INT ratio. The Call: McMaster 30-20.

CANADA WEST

SIMON FRASER (0-4-0-1) vs. No. 2 MANITOBA BISONS (5-0)
Saturday, 3 p.m.
Simon Fraser lost 77-7 to the Bisons earlier this year. Let's hope Bisons coach Brian Dobie is a man of mercy. The Call: Manitoba 52-13

No. 3 SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (5-1) vs. REGINA RAMS (2-3)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
Imagined headline in this week's Carillon, the U of R student paper: "Mr. T to pity Rams." Frank McCrystal's defensively challenged crew gets their in-province rivals a week after a loss, which is typically when the Huskies are their meanest. While having tailback Graham Mosiondz back helps Regina's cause, the U of S is simply better, plus last week against Manitoba was a call to action that they need to be more physical up front, especially on defence. To add insult to injury, U of S pivot Bret Thompson will probably put up more passing yards than Rams QB Teale Orban. The Call: Saskatchewan 41-24

CALGARY DINOS (0-5) vs. No. 9 ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS(3-2)
Saturday, 9 p.m.
The Bears are at home, with a bye week, against a team that lost its last two games by a combined 82-13. No way they should lose, right? Well, with underachieving Alberta, anything is possible. So long as the Golden Bears don't make a game of it, they should roll. If Alberta wins, circle Oct. 28 on the calendar -- that's when Calgary hosts Simon Fraser in the season finale, with the distinct possibility both once-proud programs will still be winless. The Call: Alberta 28-14

ONTARIO

QUEEN'S GOLDEN GAELS (2-4) vs. YORK LIONS (1-5)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Two years ago, these teams combined for a Keystone Kops finish, where Queen's missed a last-second field goal for the win, only to get a second chance at it and subsequently convert after York's return man fumbled the ball back to the Gaels. Queen's is a hurting unit, but their defence will give them plenty of chances for the offence to get untracked. Hopefully Queen's noticed how it got its lone touchdown last week, a window-dressing TD from backup QB Ibrahim Zylstra to slotback Brad Smith: They threw the ball up the field! The Call: Queen's 25-23

U OF T VARSITY BLUES (0-6) vs. No. 7 LAURIER GOLDEN HAWKS (5-1)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
True story: When Laurier went 1-7 in 2002, they actually outscored their opposition on the season. Guess who their one win was over? The Call: Laurier 45-10

WATERLOO WARRIORS (2-4) vs. No. 4 OTTAWA GEE-GEES(5-1)
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Ottawa's been playing a lot of guys in the last couple weeks, but you have to wonder about a No. 4-ranked team that's only scored two first-half touchdowns -- one on a Hail Mary and the other on a jump ball -- in the past two weeks against a pair of teams that are a combined 4-8. They will beat Waterloo no problem, but stil you wonder if those slow starts will hurt them in an OUA semifinal against McMaster. The Call: Ottawa 27-13

QUEBEC

No. 8 MONTREAL CARABINS (3-2) vs. BISHOP'S GAITERS(1-4)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
What is it about Quebec schools having trouble putting the ball in the air? For years, Laval couldn't kick. This year, Montreal can't pass. Joseph Mroue will have a big day against a young Gaiters defence. The Call: Montreal 30-7

SHERBROOKE VERT ET OR (2-3) vs. McGILL REDMEN (1-4)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
The Redmen are dedicating this game to former defensive back Strachan Hartley (brother of Canadian Olympic diver Blythe Hartley and former Queen's tailback Wyatt Hartley), now a young doctor who is in his second round of chemotherapy in his battle against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. That's enough to give anyone pause before making some snide comment about the Redmen, but they don't have the running game or defence to handle the Vert et Or, who should move closer to sewing up the final Quebec playoff spot. The Call: Sherbrooke 31-20

ATLANTIC

MOUNT ALLISON MOUNTIES (1-4) vs. SAINT MARY'S HUSKIES(2-3)
Friday, 6 p.m.
The Huskies have got a little of the old "Sm-you Sneer" back, and it's back to reality for Mount A now that the giddiness of ending The Streak (and before U of T!) has passed. The Call: SMU 34-19
(UPDATE: Game was postponed due to the flu outbreak on the Mount A. campus. No one's sure how they'll squeeze it in with only two weeks left in the regular season, but the most reasonable suggestion seems to be to just let all four Atlantic teams into the playoffs.)

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER (2-3) vs. ACADIA AXEMEN (3-2)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Big game for the Axemen, who will move closer to securing first place and bye into the Atlantic final with a win. Acadia should right themselves if starting QB Chris Judd comes back and plays the whole game. With the X-Men, it's not for nothing they share a name with some comic book characters -- they appear to be able to take on other forms from week to week. Acadia's O-line will have to contain X-Men defensive lineman Yahia Dalloul, who grew up in Palestine. The Call: Acadia 20-13

Last week: 9-4 (69.2%)
Season: 59-13 (84.7%)
Closest call last week: Concordia 37-14 over McGill (actual score 41-13)

Previous:
Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.