It's conference championship Saturday in Canadian university football tomorrow, and the diehards at cisfootball.org have chipped in to tee up each of the four games. Presenting: the Quebec Student Sport Federation Dunsmore Cup final, featuring the Concordia Stingers (7-2) at the Laval Rouge et Or (8-1), to be aired live at 12 p.m. ET on RDS.
Board regulars Bizz (an R&O fan) and Marc (a Stingers supporter), took the time to share their thoughts.
First off, Marc is downplaying the crowd factor at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City, where crowds of 18,000 have flustered more than visiting team and have made Laval nearly unbeatable at times: "Concordia played well at PEPS a month ago (in a 21-18 overtime loss), thus should be prepared for Laval's "hostile" crowd; I think the home-field advantage isn’t as significant asothers seem to think it is. (Hell, it's not like Con U is going into Columbus or Ann Arbor with crowds of100,000.)
Stingers coach Gerry McGrath has beaten Laval at the PEPS in the playoffs (2002). He can look every player in the eye and say,“Guys, I'm living proof it CAN be done.”"
When Concordia has the ball:
Marc: "The Stingers have a viable running attack for the first time since J-M Paquette left in '02. McGrath has a decent offensive mind, so I think he’ll come up withsome interesting things to work off the run game. To wit, last week Con U busted off a couple of nice end-arounds (Marc Champagnie) as the Montreal defense was keyed-in on RB Andrew Hamilton.
"QB Scott Syvret doesn't have to be spectacular. All he has to do is play as he did last week vs. U of M, that is, not turn the ball over (Con U would likely have beaten Laval a fewweeks ago if not for those two end-zone picks he tossed up) and complete a few key passes.
Bizz: "The Stingers have a great RB in Hamilton, but our D-line is also very good against the run.
"So what will work best for both teams is a swing pass to the running back coming out the backfield (to me, it's a disguise running play). Laval will use mostly Nic Bisaillon (No. 24) and ConU will go with Hamilton. If either of them catch it in open field, you're in for a wild run."
Bizz adds: "I suspect Laval's game plan will be to force ConU to use the pass more than they would want to; and Concordia's would be to make Laval run more often."
From here, it looks like Laval's secondary is probably not as strong as its front seven.
When Laval has the ball:
Bizz: "The Laval O-line is pretty young but they stand where the coaches expected them to be at this time. Since ConU D-line is good, running up the guts (which is a R&O specialty) won't work, may be a couple of times but they won't live with it. They have a good looking reverse -- a fake to the back and giving the ball to a quick receiver - that might work for another couple of times. "
Marc: "Defence can never be underestimated in big games at this time of year, and Con U's D is clearly one of thebest in the country. (Ignore that loss to Sherbrooke. A dozen starters didn't dress.)"
Concordia's defence, which is led by Sammy Okpro (the Q's leading tackler) and linebacker Patrick Donovan, finished sixth in the country, No. 3 against the run. The big question here is how pass-wacky Laval, which loves five- and six-receiver sets, will go.
From a Laval vantage point, that forces the Stingers to go deeper into their stock of defensive backs. From Concordia's, it means Laval may go two-and-out more if QB Benoit Groulx struggles.
Special teams:
Bizz: "Special teams are about equal too. Dangerous returners on both sides. Stingers punters are always good and Mike Renaud may have the edge. For the placekickers, I think Cameron Takacs has done a great job for Laval and he sure have the mental edge by winning in OT vs the Stingers earlier this year."
One last thing:
Marc: "Laval seems more human this year: Terrible halves vs. McGill and bottom-feeding Bishop's, loss to U of M (with an asterisk), going to OT at home vs. Con U."
Last Dunsmore Cup for each: Concordia last won in 1998 (under current Queen's coach Pat Sheahan), Laval is looking for its fourth straight title
Environment Canada gameday forecast: Rain, high 6C
Sager's call: Concordia 23, Laval 22
Other championship games: Atlantic, Canada West, Ontario
Previous week's picks:
Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, OUA first round & Semifinal Saturday
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
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