November 26, 2005
CIS COACHES MAKE THEIR VANIER PREDICTIONS
After dominating arguably the toughest conference in the country, then defeating the two-time defending Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or two weeks ago in the Mitchell Bowl, the Saskatchewan Huskies are predicted by most to win this Saturday’s Vanier Cup. But coaches throughout the CIS say that to underestimate Laurier would be a grave mistake on the part of Saskatchewan.
Leading up to this Saturday’s contest, four coaches from across Canada – Jerry Friesen from the University of Alberta, Marcello Campanaro from McMaster University, Glen Constantin from Laval University, and Blake Nill from Saint Mary’s University – offered up their thoughts on the two teams competing in this year’s game.
Jerry Friesen, University of Alberta
Friesen’s Alberta squad finished 7-1 this past season, losing to Saskatchewan 30-17 in the CanWest final. He says that if Laurier has hopes of defeating the Huskies, they better be ready to go right at the opening gun.
“Saskatchewan always has a really strong start, they’re very methodical right from the get-go, and usually by the second quarter, everyone is trying to play catch up.”
In Alberta’s two losses to the Huskies, Saskatchewan opened up leads of 14 and 17 points before Alberta erased the zero on their side of the scoreboard. In their two other playoff games, Saskatchewan took a 15-3 lead against Laval, and scored 19 unanswered points to start the game against UBC.
“If you’re close to them after the first few minutes, then you’ve got a good shot,” Friesen says.
When asked to predict a winner, Friesen says that despite his respect for Laurier, it will be tough to beat the representatives from CanWest. But he believes the Hawks can make a game of it. “The key to beating Saskatchewan is getting to second and short. If Laurier can do that, they’ve got a shot.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 10
Marcello Campanaro, McMaster University
McMaster’s Campanaro, who fell to Laurier in the OUA semi-finals, watched both national semi-finals, and came away impressed by both victors.
“Saskatchewan did a great job moving the ball on the ground, which opened things up on the play-action. Anytime you run the ball on Laval, you’re doing a good job. Their offensive line is tough – they’re big, they’re strong, and they handled (Miguel) Robede (1st overall 2005 CFL draft pick) all day,” Campanaro says. “I thought Laurier played well too. Against us and Western and Acadia, they’ve executed so well, you can just tell they’re very confident right now. Sure they didn’t have to play Laval or Saskatchewan but they’ve handed it to the past three teams they’ve played in the playoffs so far.”
Campanaro believes that the key matchup to watch on Saturday will be the battle between Saskatchewan’s big offensive line, and Laurier’s quick, athletic defensive line. “It’s the match-up for Laurier; if they can’t shut down the run, they’re in trouble. But then there’s a dilemma, because the guy who throws the ball over there for Saskatchewan is pretty good too,” he says.
Campanaro also highlighted what many coaches say is a contrast in styles between the Huskies and Golden Hawks. While Saskatchewan keeps things fairly simple on both sides of the ball, Laurier employs motion on almost every offensive play, and runs very complicated schemes.
“I think what Laval did to Laurier (in last year’s Uteck Bowl victory) is the blueprint to beat them, which is to play a ‘vanilla’ defence. Laval just sat back and said come and try to beat us. They didn’t change their philosophies based on down or distance. The more base defence you play – as long as you play it well – the more successful you’ll be against Laurier.”
Similar to coach Friesen from Alberta, Campanaro believes that the first quarter will be the determining factor for Laurier, especially with an anxious, Ontario crowd in attendance at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. “The difference will be in the first quarter. If you can get the crowd into it in the first quarter, then it will give Laurier confidence and it will shake the Saskatchewan players a bit. As experienced as the Huskies are, they’re still just college guys out there, they’re not pros so the crowd will have an effect. But Laurier has to get it going early if they want to have a chance and I think they can do it.”
Prediction: Laurier by 3
Glen Constantin, Laval University
Constantin is the head coach of arguably, the top program in Canadian university football. His Laval Rouge et Or teams have won back-to-back Vanier Cups and finished this season with an 8-0 record before falling to Saskatchewan 29-27 in the Mitchell Bowl. Constantin has the unique experience of having faced both of this year’s Vanier Cup participants in the past year. He came away from this year’s loss to the Huskies very impressed.
“They’re very physical and they execute very well. They’re not the most complicated team but they execute to perfection. Defensively, they’re as stingy as you can get, we didn’t even try to run. If they have a weakness on defence, it’s their secondary, which is a bit younger than the team overall, and we tried to attack it.”
Constantin emphasized that the two teams facing off in this year’s Vanier run two very contrasting styles of offences. “From what I saw last year, Laurier is very contrary to Saskatchewan. They try to fool you with a very complicated offence. They’re based on skill, speed, athleticism and a lot of motion.”
But, as Campanaro said, Constantin’s Laval squad played a simple zone against Laurier and he expects Saskatchewan to do the same. “We used zone against all their motion, so it didn’t really affect us, and I don’t expect it to bother Saskatchewan either.”
Constantin says it will be tough for anyone to beat Saskatchewan this year, but says there is an x-factor that exists for Laurier that could play a pivotal role on Saturday. “The specialists for Laurier are very good (Laurier’s Brian Devlin was an OUA all-star as both a place kicker and punter this season), and if Saskatchewan has a weakness, it would be on their special teams and in their kicking game.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 10
Blake Nill, Saint Mary’s University
Prior to 2005, Nill led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to six straight AUS conference championships, which translated to four appearances in the Vanier Cup, winning twice. Nill says the most impressive attribute about both of this year’s Vanier participants is their experience and maturity.
“The biggest thing that Saskatchewan had over Laval last week was their experience. They weren’t in awe of the Laval program. They’ve got players who have been in a couple Vanier Cups, and you can’t put a value on that type of experience.
“But I was also impressed at how focused Laurier was against Acadia. They didn’t have the greatest athletes, but their execution was near perfect. With 12 fifth-year seniors on the team, they seem to understand that it’s not winning an Ontario championship or getting to the Vanier that’s important, it’s about winning it all.”
While Campanaro believed the key matchup would take place in the trenches when Saskatchewan had the ball, Nill believes the opposite to be true.
“I think the Laurier offensive line will be the key, whether it can hold against Saskatchewan’s front four. Just as Laval did last year against Laurier, Saskatchewan will rush four and play in a cover-3 zone. If Laurier can hold off the Huskies and force them to play some cover-1, they may have a chance to do some damage on offence.”
Nill says that not much has changed for Saskatchewan over the years. “We played Saskatchewan in 1996 and 2002 in the Vanier, and last year in the Mitchell Bowl and they’re running the same stuff, but they run a great system. I’m sure it will be a great game but ultimately the experience of Saskatchewan playing in the big game will give them an advantage.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 7
So, the coaches have spoken, and they believe the Saskatchewan Huskies will win their fourth Vanier Cup, and their first since 1998. However, with two ‘x-factors’ in the kicking game and the home crowd both seemingly on the side of Laurier, Canada’s top university coaches expect a closely fought contest and wouldn’t be surprised to see Laurier sneak away with a win. Nevertheless, each coach expects Saturday’s game to be another Vanier Cup classic.
(Source: Chris Black, Special to the DVC)
Leading up to this Saturday’s contest, four coaches from across Canada – Jerry Friesen from the University of Alberta, Marcello Campanaro from McMaster University, Glen Constantin from Laval University, and Blake Nill from Saint Mary’s University – offered up their thoughts on the two teams competing in this year’s game.
Jerry Friesen, University of Alberta
Friesen’s Alberta squad finished 7-1 this past season, losing to Saskatchewan 30-17 in the CanWest final. He says that if Laurier has hopes of defeating the Huskies, they better be ready to go right at the opening gun.
“Saskatchewan always has a really strong start, they’re very methodical right from the get-go, and usually by the second quarter, everyone is trying to play catch up.”
In Alberta’s two losses to the Huskies, Saskatchewan opened up leads of 14 and 17 points before Alberta erased the zero on their side of the scoreboard. In their two other playoff games, Saskatchewan took a 15-3 lead against Laval, and scored 19 unanswered points to start the game against UBC.
“If you’re close to them after the first few minutes, then you’ve got a good shot,” Friesen says.
When asked to predict a winner, Friesen says that despite his respect for Laurier, it will be tough to beat the representatives from CanWest. But he believes the Hawks can make a game of it. “The key to beating Saskatchewan is getting to second and short. If Laurier can do that, they’ve got a shot.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 10
Marcello Campanaro, McMaster University
McMaster’s Campanaro, who fell to Laurier in the OUA semi-finals, watched both national semi-finals, and came away impressed by both victors.
“Saskatchewan did a great job moving the ball on the ground, which opened things up on the play-action. Anytime you run the ball on Laval, you’re doing a good job. Their offensive line is tough – they’re big, they’re strong, and they handled (Miguel) Robede (1st overall 2005 CFL draft pick) all day,” Campanaro says. “I thought Laurier played well too. Against us and Western and Acadia, they’ve executed so well, you can just tell they’re very confident right now. Sure they didn’t have to play Laval or Saskatchewan but they’ve handed it to the past three teams they’ve played in the playoffs so far.”
Campanaro believes that the key matchup to watch on Saturday will be the battle between Saskatchewan’s big offensive line, and Laurier’s quick, athletic defensive line. “It’s the match-up for Laurier; if they can’t shut down the run, they’re in trouble. But then there’s a dilemma, because the guy who throws the ball over there for Saskatchewan is pretty good too,” he says.
Campanaro also highlighted what many coaches say is a contrast in styles between the Huskies and Golden Hawks. While Saskatchewan keeps things fairly simple on both sides of the ball, Laurier employs motion on almost every offensive play, and runs very complicated schemes.
“I think what Laval did to Laurier (in last year’s Uteck Bowl victory) is the blueprint to beat them, which is to play a ‘vanilla’ defence. Laval just sat back and said come and try to beat us. They didn’t change their philosophies based on down or distance. The more base defence you play – as long as you play it well – the more successful you’ll be against Laurier.”
Similar to coach Friesen from Alberta, Campanaro believes that the first quarter will be the determining factor for Laurier, especially with an anxious, Ontario crowd in attendance at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. “The difference will be in the first quarter. If you can get the crowd into it in the first quarter, then it will give Laurier confidence and it will shake the Saskatchewan players a bit. As experienced as the Huskies are, they’re still just college guys out there, they’re not pros so the crowd will have an effect. But Laurier has to get it going early if they want to have a chance and I think they can do it.”
Prediction: Laurier by 3
Glen Constantin, Laval University
Constantin is the head coach of arguably, the top program in Canadian university football. His Laval Rouge et Or teams have won back-to-back Vanier Cups and finished this season with an 8-0 record before falling to Saskatchewan 29-27 in the Mitchell Bowl. Constantin has the unique experience of having faced both of this year’s Vanier Cup participants in the past year. He came away from this year’s loss to the Huskies very impressed.
“They’re very physical and they execute very well. They’re not the most complicated team but they execute to perfection. Defensively, they’re as stingy as you can get, we didn’t even try to run. If they have a weakness on defence, it’s their secondary, which is a bit younger than the team overall, and we tried to attack it.”
Constantin emphasized that the two teams facing off in this year’s Vanier run two very contrasting styles of offences. “From what I saw last year, Laurier is very contrary to Saskatchewan. They try to fool you with a very complicated offence. They’re based on skill, speed, athleticism and a lot of motion.”
But, as Campanaro said, Constantin’s Laval squad played a simple zone against Laurier and he expects Saskatchewan to do the same. “We used zone against all their motion, so it didn’t really affect us, and I don’t expect it to bother Saskatchewan either.”
Constantin says it will be tough for anyone to beat Saskatchewan this year, but says there is an x-factor that exists for Laurier that could play a pivotal role on Saturday. “The specialists for Laurier are very good (Laurier’s Brian Devlin was an OUA all-star as both a place kicker and punter this season), and if Saskatchewan has a weakness, it would be on their special teams and in their kicking game.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 10
Blake Nill, Saint Mary’s University
Prior to 2005, Nill led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to six straight AUS conference championships, which translated to four appearances in the Vanier Cup, winning twice. Nill says the most impressive attribute about both of this year’s Vanier participants is their experience and maturity.
“The biggest thing that Saskatchewan had over Laval last week was their experience. They weren’t in awe of the Laval program. They’ve got players who have been in a couple Vanier Cups, and you can’t put a value on that type of experience.
“But I was also impressed at how focused Laurier was against Acadia. They didn’t have the greatest athletes, but their execution was near perfect. With 12 fifth-year seniors on the team, they seem to understand that it’s not winning an Ontario championship or getting to the Vanier that’s important, it’s about winning it all.”
While Campanaro believed the key matchup would take place in the trenches when Saskatchewan had the ball, Nill believes the opposite to be true.
“I think the Laurier offensive line will be the key, whether it can hold against Saskatchewan’s front four. Just as Laval did last year against Laurier, Saskatchewan will rush four and play in a cover-3 zone. If Laurier can hold off the Huskies and force them to play some cover-1, they may have a chance to do some damage on offence.”
Nill says that not much has changed for Saskatchewan over the years. “We played Saskatchewan in 1996 and 2002 in the Vanier, and last year in the Mitchell Bowl and they’re running the same stuff, but they run a great system. I’m sure it will be a great game but ultimately the experience of Saskatchewan playing in the big game will give them an advantage.”
Prediction: Saskatchewan by 7
So, the coaches have spoken, and they believe the Saskatchewan Huskies will win their fourth Vanier Cup, and their first since 1998. However, with two ‘x-factors’ in the kicking game and the home crowd both seemingly on the side of Laurier, Canada’s top university coaches expect a closely fought contest and wouldn’t be surprised to see Laurier sneak away with a win. Nevertheless, each coach expects Saturday’s game to be another Vanier Cup classic.
(Source: Chris Black, Special to the DVC)
