Queen's Football will travel to Waterloo, Ont. Saturday to take on the defending champion Laurier Golden Hawks in the 117^th Yates Cup. And while nothing beats the friendly confines of Richardson Stadium for the Tricolour, this year's team has made a habit of finding success on the road.

Queen's Football is a perfect 5-0 on the road, with four victories coming in the regular season before last Saturday's 35-26 win over the Windsor Lancers in Windsor, Ont.

"It's a business trip mentality, that's how we always take it," said Queen's Football Head Coach Steve Snyder. "When we travel, it definitely demands an extra level of focus that our program embraces. It's something we have great familiarity with this year. We'll just take the way we do things, our systems, and we'll apply them to this week, and it won't be much different."

"It's a challenge we embrace," echoed receiver Cedric Smith. "When you're on the field and you're locked in to what you're supposed to be doing, you don't really hear much of it. It's definitely a different challenge than playing at home but it's something we embrace and we've embraced all year."

Defensive back Jared Siewe said the team is used to hostile environments, with the team just last week 'drowning out the noise' to emerge victorious in Windsor. He said it's nothing the team can't handle.

"The mindset of the team is pretty good," echoed defensive back Jared Siewe. "We obviously know the gravity of the game we're going into; I don't think anyone has any fear or hesitancy about that. We have plenty of experience going into hostile environments, especially going back to last week, so we're looking forward to it."

Queen's Football's biggest win of the year so far was the team's Round 2 victory over the Lancers just last week, defeating an opponent that topped them just two weeks earlier at Richardson Stadium. The team will have to repeat that rematch performance against a Laurier team that topped them earlier this year if they're going to hoist the Yates Cup.

"Obviously they're an explosive team. They're good in all three phases of the game. Just taking lessons from that, things we need to improve on offensively, defensively, and special teams-wise, and taking that into the game this week," Siewe said when asked what the team can take from their earlier match against the Golden Hawks.

Queen's Football has had a knack for finding a way to best their opponent the second time around, something they'll hope repeats against the Golden Hawks on Saturday, who defeated them 47-32 earlier in the season. Coach Snyder credited Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Ryan Bechmanis for his gameplans in rematches.

"He's a great coach. He's deeply committed to our program and to the process of getting a football team ready. The defensive staff has their system, and I wouldn't trade those guys for the world. I have the ultimate respect for them."

Regardless of past performances, metrics, and superstitions, Snyder said the team knows they will enter Saturday's contest as the underdogs. It's not something they are hiding from.

"The reality is we live in the truth. We embrace the harsh realities of the truth, and we have unwavering confidence and belief that we're going to be successful. We are the underdog. This is the defending Yates Cup champion, they're undefeated for the second year in a row. Anybody outside of the program – and we don't listen to that stuff – probably has Laurier to win. Inside our program, we have Queen's to win. Now we have to go play 60 minutes in what will be a great environment, and play the best football that've played all year.

"Being underdog is nice," Siewe echoed. "You want to prove that you belong to be in the fight and we're not just happy to be here, and we're prepared to compete on Saturday.

After two years of falling short of making the Yates Cup, Queen's Football is back in the OUA Championship Game for the third time in five years. Snyder said this is what the team is ultimately built for.

"The program that we run here is built around getting into November and going through November. We just stay steady and re-set and take it one step at a time.

"It's excellent. This is what guys come to Queen's for, it's what they look forward to, it's what the program is built around, being ready to be at our best when it matters most."