Vanier Cup Post-Game Thoughts

I attended the Vanier Cup at Dead Ted's Dome (TM) and had a good time at least for the first half. I sat in row 5 of section 509 of the upper bowl, which is actually good for sight lines of the field and a lot better than many seats in the lower bowl. The seats in the upper bowl were also cheaper too at $40. It was good to see over 37,000 fans for a Vanier as well.

I think overall the Laval Rouge et Or were the better team and would probably win most games if they played in alternate universes. Their running game was too strong for the Mac defence, especially on first down. I was really impressed by Boutin, Laval's running back. That said, the Laval quarterback wasn't particularly good passing, especially considering his offensive line was impressive. Maybe he had an off day.

One thing that hurt the Marauders was in the battle of field position, the Laval punter regularly out booted Mac's. In the first half, Mac would gain a good number of yards and then when they punted, their net ended up pretty sad. Unfortunately Mac never got opportunities for field goals, as the Marauders field goal kicking was far superior during the season.

Also I thought the Marauders were a bit unlucky with the first half interception call, where the Mac player looked like he should have kept possession based on down by contact. Maybe that would have changed the game.

At least for Ticat fans, Laval defensive draft picks from last year Plesius and Gascon-Nadon looked good against the Mac run. They may snag a look from the NFL, which would complicate things for the Ticats, but I'm doubting that a Samuel Giguere multiyear practice roster will happen.

I'm not sure what will happen with Mac quarterback Kyle Quinlan in the CFL next year, although he has the size and speed to be a receiver too.

With Quinlan gone, and potentially a lot of other players leaving, Mac will be in tough next year. They still have a lot of talent and an excellent head coach Stefan Ptaszek. I'm not sure that will be enough to win the OUA next year, but I'm sure they have a reasonable chance.