The University of Calgary Dinos will be in familiar territory this week when they travel to Quebec City to battle the hometown Laval University Rouge et Or in the 46th Desjardins Vanier Cup, but the Mitchell Bowl champions don’t have very good memories from their recent visits to “La Vieille Capitale.”
The Canadian Interuniversity Sport football final is set for Saturday at 9:45 a.m. MST at PEPS Stadium, live on TSN, Radio-Canada, and AM 770 CHQR.
It will mark the third late-November trip in as many years to Quebec’s capital for the fifth-ranked Dinos (9-2), who convincingly defeated Saint Mary’s 35-8 over the weekend to earn the right to play for CIS supremacy.
In 2008, a young Calgary squad making its first national semifinal appearance in 13 years was crushed 59-10 in the Uteck Bowl by a veteran-laden Laval team that went on to claim the CIS title. In 2009, in their first Vanier Cup berth in 14 seasons, the Dinos let a 25-7 halftime lead slip away en route to a heartbreaking 33-31 loss to Queen’s.
The top-ranked Rouge et Or (12-0), on the other hand, can barely remember their last bad experience at PEPS Stadium. Their 13-11 win over Western in Saturday’s Uteck Bowl was their CIS-record 43rd consecutive overall victory on home turf, dating back to a 14-13 regular-season loss to Montreal on Sept. 19, 2004.
While the 2008 Uteck Bowl was the only previous matchup in history between Calgary and Laval, their head coaches are familiar foes.
Glen Constantin, in his 10th season at the helm of the Rouge et Or, and Blake Nill, in his fifth campaign with the Dinos after an eight-year tenure at Saint Mary’s, have met seven times as CIS sideline bosses in the past, with Constantin’s troops coming out on top on five occasions. Their head-to-head battles include one Vanier Cup final, at Toronto’s SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in 2003, when Laval downed Saint Mary’s 14-7.
Constantin, who boasts a perfect 4-0 head coaching record at the Vanier Cup, could make history on Saturday. He is currently tied with former Calgary mentor Peter Connellan for most CIS football titles by a head coach.
His Rouge et Or could also enter the record books over the weekend.
Already the only program to capture the Vanier Cup in three different cities (Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatoon), the QUFL champions could become only the second team to win the coveted trophy in its hometown, following the Toronto Varsity Blues in 1965 and 1993.
More importantly, a Laval triumph would tie Western for most titles in history, with six. While Western needed 12 tries to accomplish the feat, the Rouge et Or are perfect in their first five CIS final appearances.
On the other hand, should the Canada West champion Dinos prevail on Saturday, they would join Laval in second place with five banners. The U of C is 4-3 all-time at the Vanier Cup.
Saturday’s contest will feature a Calgary offence that has been rolling on all cylinders since getting all its starters back from injury against Laval’s formidable defence.
Led by two-time Hec Crighton-winning quarterback Erik Glavic, who himself was sidelined with a knee injury for half the regular season, the Dinos have scored 35 points or more in each of their last five games including 40, 56 and 35-point outputs in three playoff duels.
On the other side of the ball, the Rouge et Or have racked up an astounding 14 interceptions in three post-season outings after leading the country for least points allowed (6.4 ppg) for the third straight year — and the fifth time in seven seasons — in conference play.