After an undefeated regular season and a stellar playoff performance, the Laval Rouge et Or is back in front of its home crowd at the Uteck Bowl.
Laval (10-0) allowed a single point in its first two playoff games and will face the AUS champions, St. Francis Xavier X-Men (8-2), Nov. 17 at TELUS-UL Stadium. The team has a chance to reach its 11th Vanier Cup game, which will also be hosted in Quebec City in 2018.
The Rouge et Or is a perfect 7-0 in Bowl games played in front of their home crowd.
The Quebec team won every RSEQ game by a margin of at least three points and scored over 40 points in six of eight games. Defensive lineman Mathieu Betts had a league-leading nine sacks and quarterback Hugo Richard threw 18 touchdown passes in eight games, third most in the league.
St. FX, riding a five-game winning streak and racking up a playoff average of over 250 rushing yards, is looking to upset the heavy favourites and reach the Vanier Cup for just the third time in team history.
It would also be the first time an AUS team reaches the Vanier Cup in 10 years. St. Mary’s was the last team to do it with a 24-2 win over Laval in 2007.
The winner of this semifinal will face either the Western Mustangs or the Saskatchewan Huskies, who will meet in the Mitchell Bowl on Nov. 17 at TD Stadium in London, Ontario.
The Uteck Bowl kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT) and can be watched on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet NOW. Coverage starts at noon ET.
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