TORONTO (November 18, 2009) - TSN has Canadian football fans covered this weekend with a CIS football playoff doubleheader as two trips to the XLV Desjardins Vanier Cup hang in the balance.
TSN's coverage on Saturday begins with the Mitchell Bowl featuring Laval @ Queen's at 1 p.m. ET followed by the Uteck Bowl featuring Calgary @ Saint Mary's 4 p.m. ET. Both games are also available on-demand at TSN.ca following the conclusion of the broadcasts.
In the first game of TSN's CIS playoff doubleheader, the defending VANIER CUP champion Laval Rouge et Or make the trip to Kingston, ON to do battle with the Queen's Gaels for the Mitchell Bowl at Richardson Stadium.
The action gets underway at 1 p.m. ET on TSN with Rod Smith handling play-by-play duties alongside analyst Mike Morreale.
CIS top-ranked Laval won its seventh-consecutive Dunsmore Cup last weekend by easily defeating Montreal 31-7 in the QUFL championship game to once again earn a berth in the CIS football semifinal. Laval is looking for its second-consecutive trip in the VANIER CUP, and if successful, would have home field advantage as this year's host. Before the Rouge et Or can start thinking about playing at home, they'll have to will have to win on the road as they visit the Queen's Gaels in this Saturday's Mitchell Bowl.
Queen's, the #4-ranked team in the CIS, earned its first Yates Cup title since 1978 by defeating the University of Western Ontario Mustangs 43-39 in the OUA championship game to earn the right to host Saturday's CIS semifinal. Queen's quarterback Dan Brannagan, the second-leading passer in CIS history, looked impressive as he threw for 515 yards and five touchdowns in the Yates Cup game.
In the second game of the day on TSN, the Calgary Dinos travel to Halifax to take on the Saint Mary's Huskies in the Uteck Bowl at Huskies Stadium. TSN's coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET with Rod Black and Duane Forde in the broadcast booth taking care of the play-by-play and analysis, respectively.
It is a homecoming of sorts for Calgary's head coach Blake Nill and quarterback Erik Glavic. Nill coached the Huskies from 1998 to 2005, winning back-to-back Vanier Cup titles in 2001 and 2002, while Glavic led the Huskies to a Uteck Bowl championship in 2007. Glavic transferred to Calgary in January, 2009 after missing the 2008 season due to injury. The #2-ranked Dinos enter the game having narrowly defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 39-38 in last weekend's Canada West final. The win gave the Dinos a second-consecutive Hardy Cup. Meanwhile, perennial AUS football powerhouse Saint Mary's, earned its place in the Uteck Bowl by winning its third consecutive Loney Cup title 31-22 over rival St. Francis Xavier. The win gave Saint Mary's its ninth AUS championship in the last 11 seasons.
TSN has live coverage of the XLV Desjardins Vanier Cup from Quebec City on Saturday, November 28 at 12 noon ET.
