DuPont’s 10 Things
Welcome to “big game week” (it’s a working title 🤷♂️)!
1. SASK RALLY – as the Saskatchewan Roughriders were on their way to a win over BC in the CFL’s West Division semi-final, the Regina Rams had just capped a wild upset over the Manitoba Bisons and the Saskatchewan Huskies were completing an onside kick to help cap a come-from-behind upset win over the UBC Thunderbirds. Those results have the province of Saskatchewan excited and ready for a big Saturday on the gridiron.
2. RIDERS/BOMBERS – we will get back to the Hardy Cup preview in a minute. Six? SIX?! It’s really the sixth straight year Winnipeg has been in the West Final. That is beyond impressive. Upon looking back, it’s not unprecedented though. Calgary reached the WF seven straight years from 2012-18, BC five times from 2004-08 and Edmonton eight times from 1986-93.
3. PREDICTIONS – I was asked for my GC predictions a couple of weeks ago and I said I thought we would see a Saskatchewan/Toronto Grey Cup and I’ll stick with it going into the weekend. The more we can see Saskatchewan and Winnipeg play meaningful games against each other the deeper this rivalry will get. My life growing up it really felt like the Riders’ biggest rival was Calgary and that’s because they played big games against each other often. It’s swinging back and that’s a good thing.
It’s no secret as to why we are looking at these four teams remaining. Out West you have the top two coaches going head-to-head plus likely the top two in the West MOP voting, and two good quarterbacks. Out East you have much of the same. Two good quarterbacks, two good coaches, and, in the case of Toronto, playing their best football of the year late in the year. Will be interesting how Kelly fares against that Montreal defence this time around.
4. 87th HARDY CUP – Kickoff is set for Saturday at 1pm in Saskatoon and you can expect Griffiths to be full with the two Sask teams meeting. This is extremely interesting. Never have we seen a 3-5 team win the conference but that’s what the Rams are trying to do and they have every opportunity to do so.
5. BY THE NUMBERS – Regina is looking for just its second Hardy Cup championship. The first was back in 2000. Meanwhile, nobody has won more Hardy Cups than the Saskatchewan Huskies and their 21.
The two have met in five previous playoff games with the Rams wining three of them. The last time they met in the playoffs was 2012 where the Rams won 31-9. The last time they played a playoff game IN Saskatoon? It was 2009 and the Huskies won 53-23.
The Huskies stated 0-2 but finished 5-3 while Regina started the season 2-0 but finished 2-5. The Huskies come in winning their last five games while the Rams have won back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of the season. They split the season series 1-1, each winning at home.
6. KPI’s – Both teams can run the ball very well but as Ryker Frank goes so does the Huskies and he’s been good down the stretch…. EXCEPT against the Rams. The Huskies boast one of the best arms in the country in QB Anton Amundrud. He’ll need to protect the football against this ferocious Rams D that’s ranked in the top-7 units in the country. Turnovers likely will dictate this game. Saskatchewan forced two key Rams’ turnovers in their last meeting enroute to a Huskies’ win while the Rams unit had accounted for 11 interceptions.
7. PREDICTIONS – Yeah… that’s not going to happen from me here. I’m looking forward to a great game. But, it doesn’t get easier for the winner. As the national semi-finals await, the CW winner will host the winner of the OUA. Laurier will host Western on Saturday. The Golden Hawks won the only meeting of the season. In Quebec, it’s Laval and Montreal as usual. They split the season series (each win by just one point!) and the winner will likely face Bishops who are having a great year in the AUS.
8. OHL – I’ll get into Saskatoon on Friday afternoon, call the Hardy Cup on Saturday, and be back on a plane Sunday morning. Once I land I’ll be off to Oshawa to host the OHL on Rogers broadcast Sunday night. It’s been fascinating to learn the ins and outs of the OHL and I’m having so much fun. Sounds like I’ll be in the air in more OHL markets as the season moves along. The Generals beat Peterborough in a shootout on Tuesday night. The Petes are still looking for their first win of the year and it looked like Tuesday would be the night.
9. ALUMNI – Seeing these historic rinks in the OHL has been fun. Like my first trip to Peterborough where I was introduced to the square corners on the ice! I also took a look to the rafters to see some of the most decorated alumni imaginable. Then I went to Oshawa and looked at their alumni and now I’m torn! So, let’s settle it: who has the better alumni?
I’ll reveal who I think is better in next week’s column.
10. RANDOMS – Election coverage is amazing watching them work that map/board. Impressive…. I love calling football and how it builds through the week towards the main event. On Saturday I’ll be a 10/10 in my climb. Today, I’m already at a 7!… for the first time in a while I didn’t feel like watching a scary movie on Halloween. It’s the one time of year I’ll watch one. I did crush an entire sleeve of mini coffee crisp bars. They’re my favourite… getting around Ontario can be a pain but man is it beautiful driving around the lake in the fall… more curling coverage again soon as we ramp up leading to the new year. Team Saskatchewan is off to a 4-0 start at the Canadian mixed team championships just down the road from me in St Catharines. Team Thevenot (Skylar Ackerman’s former team) won the Sask Curling Tour event over the weekend. Ackerman, who stepped away to focus on school, returned for the event to help them secure the win. And the Grand Slam event in Alberta is underway. Matt Dunstone fell to Brad Jacobs on Tuesday and will face Mike McEwen on Wednesday…. Now back to football game prep!
See you Saturday from Saskatoon.
