This Saturday (Sept. 17) afternoon, the University of Guelph Gryphon's (1-1) will look to keep their momentum rolling when they take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-1) at Toronto's Varsity Centre at 1:00 p.m.
The Blue's will be entering their home opener with a ton of momentum after topping the rival York Lions to win their fourth consecutive Argo Cup. Guelph should be full of confidence after their drubbing of Waterloo by a final score of 65-13.
Saturday's game will be televised nationally as part of theScore's University Rush series. Both teams will be looking to move above .500 on the year, and should make for an intense showdown.
The Blues will be out for revenge after narrowly falling to the Gryphons, 15-13, on a last-second field goal that was kicked by receiver Michael Fortino in the 2010 season opener at Alumni Stadium. The Blues will looking for their first win over Guelph since 1995. Guelph holds a 20-15-1 head-to-head record over Toronto since their first meeting in 1976.
"We are taking this game as an opportunity to settle in and find some consistency," said University of Guelph head football coach Stu Lang. "We are still trying to find out who we are, obviously it is another big game for us. We always seem to play teams that are opening up at home with large crowds. But it is going to be again a game to test us and find out exactly who we are."
What To Look For: Gryphon's Offense
Third-year Guelph quarterback Chris Rossetti (Mississauga, Ont.) had arguably his best game to date against Waterloo last week, throwing for four touchdowns, completing 11 of his 16 attempts for 241 yards. What's more impressive is he also rushed five times for 26 yards, and did all of this in the first half alone. With the Gryphons hiring a new offensive coordinator this season, Rossetti has worked with two different playcallers in the last two years. Head Coach Stu Lang feels this transition caused some difficulty, which showed up in the Ottawa game, as the offence needed to get comfortable with the playcalling.
"What I have always liked about Chris is that he is a competitor and has an experience of winning so he's fit in quite well so far this season as the starting quarterback. He has built some confidence and we're looking forward to seeing him do some great things as the season progresses."
The Gryphon's still have work to do with their rushing game, but seem to be utilizing a number of different rushers in order to keep defences guessing. Guelph used 11 different rushers in their last game, all with varying success.
What To Look For: Gryphon's Defence
Linebacker Jake Reinhart (Guelph, Ont.) continues to be a dominant tackler on the Gryphon defence, and currently ranks 6th in the CIS with his 16 tackles. The Guelph secondary, not to be outdone, are coming off an impressive game against Waterloo in which they accumulated five interceptions, with Bryan Dunjko (Aurora, Ont.) leading the way with two. Expect more of the same from this talented Gryphon defence.
What To Look For: Blues Offense
The Varsity Blues are coming off a 10-8 victory in which neither team was able to muster a touchdown. However, Toronto did manage to accumulate 366 yards on the day, and had a strong running game from RB Aaron Milton. Wide Receiver Alex Pierzchalski also had a big game, hauling in nine passes for 127 yards.
What To Look For: Blues Defence
Toronto's defence has been fairly mediocre up to this point in the season. In two games, they have only two interceptions and a sack so far to their resume. Expect their defence to be especially fired up in Saturday's home opener, especially considering Guelph QB Chris Rossetti has already been sacked five times this season.
Both these teams will be looking at this game as a statement game for the rest of the season. Last season's 15-13 victory for the Gryphon's will no doubt be in the head of both squads, and should surely make for an exciting game.
