U Sports football playoffs: Carabins, Thunderbirds among teams in action

The defending Vanier Cup-champion Montreal Carabins, the 2023 runner-up UBC Thunderbirds and the undefeated Laurier Golden Hawks are among the U Sports football teams in conference semifinal action this weekend.

Here is a look at Saturday's matchups:

RSEQ Semifinals Concordia at No. 3 Laval

Stade Telus-Universite Laval, Quebec City

The Rouge-et-Or (7-1) look to advance to their 21st straight Dunsmore Cup final when they host the Stingers (2-6). Laval opened the season with a 36-11 win at Concordia, then beat the Stingers 34-10 in a rematch at Laval. The Rouge-et-Or's only loss of the season was 32-31 overtime defeat to top-ranked Montreal, and it's probable that the two rivals will meet in the RSEQ final for the 11th straight year. Laval quarterback Arnaud Desjardins led the conference in passing yards (2,373) and touchdowns (17).

McGill at No. 1 Montreal

CEPSUM, Montreal

The defending Vanier Cup champion Carabins (7-1) take the nation's top ranking into the RSEQ semifinal against the Redbirds (3-5). Montreal had little trouble with McGill during the regular season, winning 47-8 at Percival Molson Stadium and 38-28 at CEPSUM. Montreal's only loss of the season was a 23-22 loss at No. 3 Laval. Montreal will lean heavily on an offence that scored a conference-best 273 points this season.

OUA Semifinals No. 5 Guelph at No. 4 Western

Western Alumni Stadium, London, Ont.

The first meeting of the year between the host Mustangs (7-1) and the Gryphons (6-2) is a crucial one. Both teams come into the game on a roll. Western won four straight to end the season before thumping McMaster 46-10 in the OUA quarterfinals, while Guelph ended the campaign with three straight wins before defeating Ottawa 26-15 last week. Western has advanced to the Yates Cup in eight straight seasons and has won the last three. Guelph is looking for its first conference title since it defeated the Mustangs 23-17 in 2015.

No. 8 Queens at No. 2 Laurier

Laurier Athletic Complex, Waterloo, Ont.

The Golden Hawks (8-0) are one of two undefeated teams heading into Saturday's action after steamrolling through the regular season and earning a bye to the semifinals. Laurier's most lopsided win of the season was a 51-21 rout of Queen's. The Gaels (5-3) were 1-3 on the road this season, but rebounded for a 22-19 win at Windsor in the quarterfinals. Laurier lost 29-14 to Western in last year's Yates Cup, while the Gaels fell to the Mustangs in the previous two finals. The Golden Hawks are led by quarterback Taylor Elgersma, who led the OUA in passing yards (2,643) and touchdowns (20).

AUS Semifinals Saint Mary's at STFX

STFX Stadium, Antigonish, N.S.

The X-Men (5-3) enter the AUS semifinals as the three-time defending Jewett Trophy winners. STFX swept the season series with St. Mary's (4-4), beating the Huskies 19-17 on the road on a last-minute field goal before winning 26-19 at home to end the season. X-Men running back Caleb Fogarty led the AUS with 781 rushing yards.

Acadia at No. 6 Bishop's

Coulter Field, Lennoxville, Que.

The Gaiters (8-0) dominated the AUS regular season, posting a point differential of 200 over their eight games. STFX was next with 85. That differential was fed heavily by a 70-7 round of Acadia (2-6) on Sept. 14. The Axemen put up more of a fight when hosting the rematch but still fell 29-18. Bishop's can get it done on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Justin Quirion leading the conference with 2,307 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and the defence putting up an AUS-best 27 sacks.

Canada West Semifinals Regina at No. 7 Manitoba

University Stadium, Winnipeg

The host Bisons led Canada West with a 7-1 record and defeated the Rams (3-5) 22-13 in their only regular-season meeting of the year. Manitoba's offence is led by Breydon Stubbs, who put up over 1,000 all-purpose yards (937 rushing, 67 receiving) and ran in a Bisons-record 14 touchdowns. The Bisons are looking for their first Hardy Trophy win as Canada West champion since 2014. They say they are inspired to go even further and win the Vanier Cup for longtime coach Brian Dobie', who is retiring after this season. Kenton Appel is a special-teams threat for Regina after leading Canada West with 286 punt return yards,

No. 10 Saskatchewan at No. 9 UBC

Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver

UBC's road to a second straight Vanier Cup appearance begins against a familiar rival in Saskatchewan. Both teams finished the regular season with 5-3 records, but UBC scored five rushing touchdowns in a 38-24 win over the Huskies Sept. 20 at Thunderbird Stadium. However, the Huskies are 11-2 against UBC in the playoffs all-time. The last Hardy Trophy final to feature neither Saskatchewan nor UBC was in 2014.