USports Image
The reigning national champion Laval Rouge et Or top the U SPORTS football national rankings for the second time in as many polls in 2019, this time in unanimous fashion.
2019 U SPORTS Football Schedule & Results
2019 U SPORTS Football Standings
Join the conversation: #UAgree?
Click HERE for this week’s top 10 rankings in all other sports
The Rouge et Or (1-0), who last November captured their record-extending 10thVanier Cup title, received all 18 first-place votes this week from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, good for 540 total points when combined with statistical calculation by the ELO Rating System.
The Western Mustangs (2-0), Vanier Cup finalists in 2018, and Montreal Carabins (2-0) hold on to the second and third positions after meriting 503 and 444 points, respectively.
Rounding out the new top 10 are the No. 4 Calgary Dinos (1-0 / 423 points) and No. 5 McMaster Marauders (2-0 / 418), both up one spot, as well as five teams that were unranked a week ago, including the No. 6 Manitoba Bisons (1-0 / 315), No. 7 Regina Rams (1-0 / 281), No. 8 Guelph Gryphons (1-1 / 281), No. 9 Acadia Axemen (1-0 / 239) and No. 10 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (1-1 / 179).
Following a solid 41-10 season-opening win over Sherbrooke on Aug. 25, Laval enjoyed an early break in its RSEQ schedule on Labour Day weekend and will be back in action Saturday at Concordia (0-2). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, live on TVA Sports and Yare TV.
Western improved to 2-0 in OUA play on Monday night thanks to a stress-free 40-23 defeat of archrival Queen’s in its home opener in London. The Mustangs, who led 20-3 after the first quarter and 34-10 at halftime, should face their stiffest test of the young campaign on Saturday when they visit No. 5 McMaster at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT, OUA.TV & Cable 14).
Canada West teams also joined the action on the long weekend, one week after their counterparts from the three other U SPORTS conferences.
While the defending Hardy Cup champion Saskatchewan Huskies didn’t get off to the start they had hoped for, dropping a one-sided 43-19 decision against No. 6 Manitoba in Winnipeg, fourth-ranked Calgary escaped with a 41-31 road win over Alberta after watching what looked like a comfortable 20-point lead shrink to two points with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
Other Week 2 results from top-10 squads included Montreal 18, Sherbrooke 9 (at Montreal); McMaster 35, Ottawa 22 (at McMaster); Regina 46, UBC 16 (at UBC); Guelph 37, Carleton 20 (at Carleton); Laurier 18, York 10 (at York).
In addition to the Western-McMaster showdown on Saturday afternoon, the Week 3 schedule is highlighted by another Top 10 matchup, this one on Friday in Calgary, where the Dinos host Manitoba at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT (Canada West TV Presented by Co-op & SaskTel maxTV, TELUS Optik TV).
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | MEDIA POINTS (1ST PLACE) | ELO POINTS | TOTAL POINTS | PREVIOUS RANKING |
| 1 | Laval | 1-0 | 270 (18) | 270 | 540 | 1 |
| 2 | Western | 2-0 | 251 | 252 | 503 | 2 |
| 3 | Montreal | 2-0 | 210 | 234 | 444 | 3 |
| 4 | Calgary | 1-0 | 225 | 198 | 423 | 5 |
| 5 | McMaster | 2-0 | 202 | 216 | 418 | 6 |
| 6 | Manitoba | 1-0 | 171 | 144 | 315 | NR |
| 7 | Regina | 1-0 | 155 | 126 | 281* | NR |
| 8 | Guelph | 1-1 | 101 | 180 | 281* | NR |
| 9 | Acadia | 1-0 | 77 | 162 | 239 | NR |
| 10 | Laurier | 1-1 | 62 | 108 | 170 | NR |
| Honourable Mention: McGill (165), Waterloo (131), Saint Mary’s (106), Saskatchewan (100), Ottawa (74) | ||||||
* In case of a tie in total points, the tie-breaker is number of points from the media vote.
For the second straight season, U SPORTS is using the ELO Rating System for the calculation of its weekly national rankings. Powered by RankR, ELO’s unique algorithm blends a statistical calculation with customized variables that is adaptable across a range of sports. For football, it will be combined with the results of the Football Reporters of Canada panel balloting (each weighted 50%) to produce the final top 10.
