CIS FOOTBALL ROUND-UP: LAVAL ESCAPES, AND CRAZY PLAYOFF TIEBREAKERS ABOUND

One can only imagine what kind of scrutiny Concordia Stingers coach Gerry McGrath would be held up to if he coached in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or Columbus, Ohio instead of Montreal.

On the surface, it looks like McGrath's No. 5-ranked Concordia Stingers gave it the ol' college try up in Quebec City yesterday, losing 21-18 in overtime to the No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or in front of a packed house at PEPS Stadium. Still, from here it seems like the Stingers really shot themselves in the foot, and that usually comes back on the coaches, not the players.

McGrath stuck with his practice of putting in No. 2 QB Robert MacKay for a couple series in the second quarter, which in hindsight, might not have been such a bright idea. MacKay threw two interceptions (on just three attempts), both in Laval territory. When starting QB Scott Syvret returned, he threw two more picks, which combined with a pair of missed field goals by all-Canadian kicker Warren Kean (Kean had a third miss in overtime after Laval's Cameron Takacs made a 23-yarder on his team's possession), kept the Stingers from having the game well in hand by the fourth quarter.

Instead, it was just 15-7 Stingers, and the Rouge et Or, behind Benoit Groulx's 389 yards passing, rallied to take it to overtime.

Those were only the most obvious mistakes, along with the usual missed blocks and tackles that never get mentioned. It just goes to show how hard it is to win at Laval, where the crowds are large and ungodly loud by CIS standards, usually causing the visiting team to have more than its share of mental mistakes.

The real kicker, though, isn't the picks or the missed goals -- it's that Concordia now faces another trip to Laval for the playoffs instead of getting the Rouge et Or on home turf. That is, if they get by Montreal in the semi-final.

DARYL STEPHENSON: WHAT THE HEC?

Windsor running back Daryl Stephenson rushed for 150 yards in a 23-13 win at Guelph, making him the first player in CIS history to have three straight 1,000-yard seasons. Some cisfootball.org regulars, though, are somewhat dubious over whether Stephenson is even a legit Hec Crighton Trophy candidate, let alone the favourite.

In fairness to Stephenson, he's got four big stigmas, only one of which is in his control:

1. The mild resentment that only the glamour-boy positions, quarterback and running back, get considered for the Hec (just like the Heisman Trophy in the NCAA or the NFL's MVP award), although Western receiver Andy Fantuz won in '05.
2. The award has been a bit Ontario-centric, since every winner since 2000 has played for an OUA team. (The '99 winner was Ottawa QB Phill Côté, whose team played in the late and lamented Ontario-Quebec loop.)
3. Whoever was the top OUA offensive performer this year was bound to suffer in comparison to the past three winners: Fantuz, McMaster's Jesse Lumsden (2004) and Queen's Tom Denison (2002-03) all set national season or career records for their respective positions.
4. Windsor has a rep for not delivering against top teams, and that's reflected in Stephenson's stats. He's averaged 80 yards in games against Mac, Western and Queen's, who are a combined 13-8. He's averaged 199 against the likes of Guelph, Waterloo, York and U of T, who are a combined 5-23. Sure, every star pads his stats against the weak teams, but you'd like to see a 100-yard game against a good team every so often. Stephenson gets one more chance against No. 6 Laurier on Saturday.

It's about time that a player some place else in the country was honoured -- someone such as UBC running back Chris Ciezki, Laval QB Benoit Groulx or Acadia receiver Ivan Birungi. Oh, and if there's an offensive lineman or defender who's been the most dominant player in his conference, please speak up on his behalf.

QUEEN'S vs. WESTERN: APPARENTLY, WE HAVEN'T EXAMINED THE CONCEPT OF "FRAUGHT"

You don't want to know what kind of thoughts General Jerkishness was trying to plant around 4 p.m. Saturday, when yours truly had to leave for work with the Queen's Golden Gaels trailing the York Lions early in the fourth quarter. Just a couple minutes earlier, fifth-year slotback Brad Smith's second fumble of the game had just led to a go-ahead touchdown run by York's Pearce Okpata. But the Gaels (3-4) managed to squeak by a bad Lions team 16-14 in overtime to maintain control of their playoff destiny.

So it was easier to keep it in perspective and remember that these are student-athletes, future bankers and lawyers and what-not, and that it's very uncool to judge them on the basis of what happens on an autumn Saturday afternoon. Besides, the Gaels need both good karma and a happy and productive Brad Smith this week, since as anticipated (or dreaded), their season comes down to the Western game.

The 'Stangs (5-2) have a semi-surge on after dominating a suddenly reeling McMaster in the second half to win 29-12.

So, how nuts is it to say that Queen's is capable of pulling this one out? The defence has played well most of the season and Western's offence, in particular its passing game, seems stuck in a post-Andy Fantuz funk. On the other side of the ball, Western's defence sometimes tackles poorly, but that has apparently improved since their Week 3 loss to Laurier.

On the other side of the ball, Gaels QB Danny Brannagan, his 8-for-28 day against York notwithstanding, is at least throwing downfield again and trying to stretch defences. So yes, it's a long shot, but Queen's can pull this off. They at least have some business being on the field with Western.

If the Gaels don't win, they have to hope that (a) Waterloo loses to York, which likely isn't happening or (b) Guelph wins at McMaster (iffy, highly iffy) and creates a three-way tie for the final playoff berth, in which event the Gaels advance on point differential.

OUA PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

There's a chance, theoretically, that there could be a five-way tie for first place in the OUA. Ottawa could, in theory, lose to the U of T, right? Yes, and in theory, trickle-down economics works too.

If four teams end up at 6-2, it should be Laurier in second, Western in third, Mac fourth and Windsor fifth. Laurier and Western each have two wins in the head-to-head matchups between this group of teams; Mac edges Windsor four fourth place due to an earlier win.

Windsor can sneak into second with a win over Laurier combined with Mac and Western losses, but what are the odds of all that happening?

NOT MUCH OF A PROGNOSTICATOR

A less-than-stellar Week 7, with an 8-4 record. Totally out to lunch on McGill's big win over Sherbrooke, Regina's 18-point rally to nip No. 3 Saskatchewan 32-31 and of course, and Western's win over Mac.

The out-on-a-limp Guelph-over-Windsor pick didn't work out too well, although the Gryphons were in the game until the fourth quarter.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CAMERON TAKACS FROM?

The Brantford Bisons minor football program had three of its graduates on the field in the game between unbeatens Concordia and Laval -- Stingers centre Curtis Merrick and rookie defensive back Bryan Charleau, and Rouge et Or kicker-punter Cameron Takacs, whose 65 points and 16 field goals this season lead all CIS players whose teams have played only six games.

Not too shabby for a small-town Ontario program to have that kind of representation in a game between unbeaten Quebec teams.

Charleau, who had 1.5 tackles in the game, and Merrick both played high school football in Simcoe, yours truly's old stamping ground as the sports editor of The Reformer.

Not to rag on the mainstream media, but apparently the Brantford Expositor is still oblivious to the local connection with Takacs, even though the The Globe & Mail profiled him two weeks ago.
Strangely enough, though, the article referred to Takacs being from a similar-sounding southern Ontario city, Brampton... but he did play in the Bisons junior program, and a Canada 411 search finds far more Takacs listings in Brantford and Simcoe, along with a few outlying communities in the general vicinity, than in Brampton.

Strange, that. So it's much more fun to imagine that the The Expositor is way out to lunch here, given their occasionally odd news values, which include a knack for getting scooped in their own backyard by the national media.

That's all for now. By the way, there's a Wednesday game, so the Week 8 picks will come earlier. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.