Training camps opened up yesterday for all of Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec football teams (RSEQ), which means that university football season is right around the corner. Last season was an incredible year for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s best conference.
The Université de Montréal Carabins, for the second straight year, beat the Laval Rouge et Or to win the Dunsmore Cup and made another Vanier Cup appearance. The Concordia Stingers American- born quarterback, Trenton Miller, put on air show last year. Sherbrooke Vert et Or quarterback, Jérémi Roch had a record setting fifth-year. He became the CIS career passing yard leader, with the most completions and most passing attempts in a career. He threw for 1, 1477 passing yards in five years and completed 866 out of his 1,470 passes.
There are a lot questions to be answered heading into the 2016 RSEQ season. which starts on August 20th.
The six major questions heading into the RSEQ season
Is Sean Thomas-Erlington the man to lead the Carabins to a three-peat of RSEQ Champions and Vanier Cup appearances?
Universite de Montreal Carabins runing back, Sean Thomas-Erlington has been a work-horse over the past two seasons. This season, he will be the main attraction on the offence with wide out Philip Enchill and quarterback Gabriel Cousineau gone. Erlington rushed 517 yards and scored five touchdowns in eight games last year. Erlington is entering his CFL draft year, he has already impressed the league’s scouts after his outstanding East-West Bowl performance in May. He rushed for 93 yards and had one touchdown in the game. Erlington will need to put this Carabins team on his back to make it a three-peat and another Vanier Cup appearance.
Can the Laval Rouge et Or finally get back to winning a Dunsmore Cup?
The past two seasons, the Laval Rouge et Or have been denied a RSEQ championship at the hands of the Carabins. This season, expectations are high in Quebec City especially since their stud quarterback, Hugo Richard is healthy. Richard threw for 1,216 yards and tossed six touchdown passes in six games last year. The Rouge et Or this season will also rely on its strong running game with Christopher Amoah. Amoah is the feature back this year after he shared the running duties with Maxime Boutin last year. He rushed for 358 yards and scored four touchdowns in just five games a year ago.
On the defensive side of the ball, last season’s CIS rookie of the year, Mathieu Betts returns after an incredible year in 2015, as he led the country in sacks with 12.
If Richard stays healthy and Betts dominates, there is a great chance that the Rouge et Or will be crowned RSEQ Champions again.
Will Sherbrooke Vert et Or be successful without Jérémi Roch?
It will be an unfamiliar sight for Sherbrooke Vert et Or in their first game of 2016 because for the first time in five years, as Roch will not be behind center. Fifth-year quarterback Mathieu Loranger is ready to take the reins. The Vert et Or last season finished with a 5-3 record and made the playoffs. Loranger’s favourite targets in the passing game will be a pair of fourth-year receivers in Oumar Touré and Frédérick Caron. Toure had 211 yards and one touchdowns while Caron had 439 yards and three touchdowns in 2015.
It is expected that the team will count on its running game more this season. They only averaged 125.5 rushing yards per a game in 2015. Leading the running game will be fifth-year player, Simon Benoit. Benoit had 341 yards and scored one touchdown last year. The Vert et Or have the potential to make the playoffs again with Loranger and Benoit leading the way.
Will Trenton Miller be able to prove that last year was no fluke?
All eyes will be on Miller this season as he enters training camp as the number one guy. Miller put up big numbers last year in his first CIS season, as he threw for 2,384 yards along with 20 touchdowns in eight games. Miller was rewarded for his outstanding year with the Jeff Russel Trophée as the RESQ Most Valuable Player. Miller is consider to be one of the most elite quarterbacks in the Canada. He will look to prove doubters wrong in 2016 and lead the Stingers to their first Dunsmore Cup victory in 18 years.
Is 2016 the year that McGill Redmen finally make the playoffs?
The McGill Redmen are on the way up after they were one win away from the playoffs in 2015. They finished with a record of 3-5. They have all the right pieces on offence to make a run at the playoffs in 2016, as quarterback, Nicolas English is back along with his favorite receivers, Louis Brouillette and Remi Bertellin. English threw for 1,399 yards along with ten touchdowns in 2015. Brouillete had 495 yards and three touchdowns while Bertellin had 354 yards and one touchdown. On defence, linebacker, Dane Wagner looks to hold the fort down in 2016, as he had 28 tackles last year. The Redmen have the talent on paper to make the playoffs in 2016, but they have to prove it on the field.
Can the Bishop’s Gaiters get more than one win this year?
The Bishop’s Gaiters have not had a winning season since 2013 when they finished second in the conference with six wins and two losses. That year, they were led by their Hec Creighton winner, Jordan Heather. Flash-forward to 2016 where the team is in rebuilding mode. The team used four quarterbacks in 2015 who combined for three touchdown passes for 1,283 yards and 16 interceptions in eight games. They will need to focus their playbook in 2016 on their running game with Jamall Hyman-Hamilton. Hamilton had 180 yards and two touchdowns in six games last year. The Gaiters have potential to win two or three games this season as long as they hand the ball off to Hamilton on a majority of plays.
Main Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press.
