2012 OUA Football Preview

The Ottawa Gee-Gees have struggled out of the gate in the 2012 season, dropping games to the Windsor Lancers and the York Lions. Their defence has been a serious area of concern; after two games, they are ranked 9th in the OUA, giving up 561 yards per game. In contrast, the Marauders are ranked 1st in the OUA for offense, gaining 632.5 yards per game. Mac will look to take advantage of a porous Ottawa secondary, who ranks last in defending the pass. From a defensive perspective, McMaster needs to take care of business against the Gee-Gee’s mobile QB Aaron Colbon, who has ran all over his competition through two weeks of action.

Hailing from Kingston, ON, the Queen’s Golden Gaels are the first real competition for the McMaster squad. The nationally ranked Gaels, victors of the 2009 Vanier Cup, are 2-0 to start the season, taking down the York Lions and Laurier Golden Hawks. Queen’s defence has held up well through two weeks but the Mac offense will be the first real test for the Kingston natives. QB Billy McPhee has started off the season with average numbers: three touchdown passes and two interceptions. McPhee, who has faced two bottom-five defences, will be facing a ball-hawking secondary in McMaster, who picked off six passes in last year’s Yates Cup semi-final against the Gaels. Queen’s defense is a middle-of-the-pack unit, ranking 6th in pass defense and 4th in defending the run. McMaster is the favourite, but this should be a competitive game for the Maroon and Grey.

@ Western - September 29th 1PM

In Week 5, the Marauders are the visitors for the Western Homecoming game. The Mustangs were the last team to defeat McMaster, back in Week 2 of the 2011 OUA season. Western is undefeated: winning a road game against the Waterloo Warriors, and winning their home opener against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Despite losing 2011 OUA Rookie of the Year RB Tyler Varga to an NCAA scholarship at Yale University, the Mustangs still boast the best running game in the province, averaging 337.5 rushing yards per game. QB Donnie Marshall is off to a hot start in 2012, making smart decisions (10.28 yards per attempt) and throwing with accuracy (64% pass completion percentage). McMaster faces their biggest defensive test, with Western owning the number one spot in passing and rushing defense statistics. The Marauders will rely heavily on the linebacking corps of Aram Eisho, Nick Shorthill, Shane Beaton, and Ben D’Aguilar to shut down the running game. The Western Mustangs could be the team Mac meets in the Yates Cup, so this Week 5 match-up will be critical for the Marauder team.

@ York - October 4th  7PM

The match up for McMaster in Week 6 will be a drastic change from the two weeks prior, and not just because of a rare Thursday night kick-off. The 1-1 York Lions are a much weaker squad in comparison to Mustangs and Golden Gaels. The biggest challenge for McMaster will be QB Myles Gibbon, a former NCAA player from South Alabama. Gibbon has thrown for three touchdowns and 582 yards through two games. The Lions have struggled to protect their quarterback, giving up seven sacks for 24 yards. The offensive line will need to improve by week 6, otherwise the McMaster defense will expose this fault early and often. Defensively, the York Lions have done well defending the pass, only giving up 155 yards per game after facing Ottawa and Queen’s. The Marauder running game has an opportunity to take advantage of a young York defense, who ranks 7th in run defense.

Windsor - October 13th 1PM

Week 8 sees the Marauders on the big stage, with the Score visiting Ron Joyce Stadium to broadcast the McMaster Homecoming game against the Windsor Lancers. Windsor is a growing force in the OUA, led by their star under centre, Austin Kennedy. The quarterback has looked strong out of the gate, including a six touchdown and 482 passing yard game against Ottawa.  The 1-1 Lancers are a team who will need to grow defensively as the year goes on, most notably in run defense. After games against the Guelph Gryphons and Ottawa Gee-Gee’s, Windsor ranked 7th in defending the run. Kyle Quinlan will also be a test for the Lancer secondary, who have yet to face an elite caliber quarterback.

Laurier - October 20th 1PM

To close the season, McMaster hosts the Laurier Golden Hawks. After losing WR Shamawd Chambers to the Edmonton Eskimos, the 0-2 Golden Hawks are in a rebuilding year. McMaster will look to close out the season with a win against a team who failed to put points on the board against the Toronto Varsity Blues. One of the bright spots for the team is their defensive line, who has eight sacks through two games, good for 3rd in the OUA. The offense is being run through QB Travis Eman, a first-year quarterback still adjusting the university game. The Golden Hawk running game is currently a run-by-committee affair, but expect this to change by the end of the season while the Laurier coaching staff figures out the player’s roles. The experienced Mac offensive line will hold up against Golden Hawks, allowing Quinlan to do damage in the air against the 8th-ranked passing defense. The recipe for success for Laurier’s opponents was a balanced attack of running and passing, but look for Mac to lean in favour of the aerial attack to avoid the Laurier D-line.