The Gaels football team (3-4) will look to keep their win streak and playoff hopes alive as they head to Toronto to take Varsity Blues (1-6) for their last regular season fixture on Saturday. Game time is set for 1pm.
 
The Gaels enter the Toronto match-up with a 3-4 record on the season, but have clinched three consecutive victories in their push for playoff contention. Queen's picked up their first road victory with a 54-10 win at Windsor and continued to roll when they returned to Richardson Stadium with back-to-back wins over Waterloo and York.
 
Last weekend, the Gaels defeated the York Lions 52-34 in front of a Homecoming crowd of 7,542 fans. Running back Jake Puskas (Thunder Bay, Ont.) had another standout performance for the Gaels. The OUA Football Offensive Football Player of the Week going into the match-up, Puskas ran his fourth consecutive 100+ yard game on the ground with 160 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Matteo Del Brocco (Kingsville, Ont.) also notched two touchdowns and 102 receiving yards during the Homecoming victory last weekend.
 
On a three-game win streak, the Gaels offence has seemed to have found a rhythm with Nate Hobbs leading the charge. Named the Queen's University Male Athlete of the Week, veteran quarterback Hobbs (Mississauga, Ont) threw for 362 yards and four touchdowns during the Gaels win over the Lions.
 
Last weekend's game moved Hobbs to the top spot on the OUA leaderboard with 16 passing touchdowns to rule the conference. The Gaels quarterback has thrown for 1,227 yards in the consecutive victories against Windsor, Waterloo and York.
 
Unlike the Gaels who have momentum on their side, the Toronto Varsity Blues come into play on a 5-game losing streak. The Blues are currently sitting at 1-6, with their lone victory of the season on September 4 over Windsor 19-12.
 
The regular season finale game marks the 177^th meeting between these two teams. The Gaels trail the all-time series by just three results, with an 85-88-4 record. 
 
The last time Queen's and Toronto met was during the regular season last year when the Gaels came away with a 20-5 victory. On the day, it was a battle of brothers with Nate Hobbs starting at quarterback for Queen's and Marcus Hobbs doing the same for Toronto.
 
Fortunately for the Gaels, it was Nate who had a better day on the field, notching 351 yards and a touchdown. The Queen's offence was led by Jonah Pataki (Williamsburg, Ont.) who had 105 yards rushing, while Gaels kicker Nick Liberatore was a perfect 2/2 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points. Chris Osei-Kusi (Brampton, Ont.) recorded a career high with a 64 yard reception.
 
Looking forward and heading into the final weekend of the regular season, there are eight teams including Queen's who have a chance to keep their Yates Cup hopes alive, while the remaining three – Toronto, York, and Windsor – have all been eliminated from postseason contention.
  
The final weekend will see the No. 1 Western Mustangs (7-0) host the No. 4 the Ottawa Gee-Gees (5-2); a battle between the No. 2 McMaster Marauders (6-1) and No. 3 Laurier Golden Hawks (5-2); the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (4-3) hitting the road to take on the No. 7 Carleton Ravens (3-4); and the No. 8 Queen's Gaels (3-4) visiting the Toronto Varsity Blues (1-6). The No. 6 ranked Waterloo Warriors have the bye week and will close out the season with a 4-4 record.
 
Western, McMaster, Laurier, Ottawa, and Guelph have all clinched a postseason berth heading into the final weekend, while Carleton, Queen's, and Waterloo will battle for the final playoff spot.
 
Despite having five teams already confirmed, there is still much to be decided in terms of their seeding beyond the Mustangs, who secured the top ranking earlier in the season.

For the Gaels, conference results will either make or break playoff hopes. The game against Toronto is a must-win for Queen's, but even with the result they would still need help from another team to secure the final playoff spot – the Guelph Gryphons.
 
Some of the potential outcomes coming from this weekend's schedule of play are as follows:
 
The winner of the McMaster v. Laurier game will finish as the second playoff seed, unless there is a combination of a Laurier win and Ottawa win over Western. This scenario would leave three teams – McMaster, Laurier, and Ottawa – with a 6-2 record, and would give McMaster the No. 2 ranking.
 
The Gryphons could finish anywhere from No. 3 with a win over Carleton, to No. 6 with a loss against Carleton.
 
Laurier, currently at No. 3, can still secure a bye in the quarterfinal action with a win against the Marauders this weekend. A win against McMaster plus a win from Ottawa, however, means that the Golden Hawks could slip to the No. 4 seed based on the tiebreaker - common opponents.
 
Ottawa, currently in the No. 4 position, are most likely to finish the season in that position given the potential scenarios. Even with a win over the Mustangs, the only way the team can move to the No. 3 seed is with a win from McMaster over Laurier as well. A Gee-Gees loss coupled with a Guelph win, however, and the team will fall to the fifth seed as Guelph holds the tiebreaker over Ottawa.
 
Waterloo has played out their schedule and will finish with a .500 record. Currently holding the No. 6 seed, the Warriors will need losses from both Queen's and Carleton to maintain that position; otherwise they will fall out of the playoff picture.
 
Coming back to the Gaels, Queen's must win their final game to have a shot at making the playoffs, but even a victory doesn't guarantee them a postseason berth. In addition to their own win, the Gaels will also need a loss from Carleton against Guelph. This would give Queen's the sixth seed, as they hold the tiebreaker over Waterloo.
 
However, a loss from Carleton against Guelph effectively ends their season, bringing their record to 3-5.
 
The Ravens will need to win against the Gryphons on Saturday to secure their spot, but heading into this final weekend, the team faces a win-and-you're-in situation, as they would hold the tiebreaker over both Queens – should the Gaels win – and Waterloo.
 
For now, the focus for the Gaels is securing a victory at Toronto to be considered in the mix.
 
Watch the Toronto game live on OUA.tv Saturday at 1pm.