Ontario University Athletics (OUA) has unveiled the 2017 football schedule, detailing the path the Western Mustangs need to take as they attempt to win the 31st Yates Cup championship and seventh Vanier Cup in program history.
The Mustangs regular season schedule kicks off on the road on Sunday, August 29, against the York Lions. It will be the first matchup between Western and York since 2015, when the purple and white defeated the Lions by a 74-10 score. It will also be the second time in four years that Western has opened its season against York, with Western handing the Lions a 61-0 loss in Toronto back in 2014.
Week two sees the Mustangs return home on Labour Day for a showdown with the Guelph Gryphons. The two teams have engaged in one of the OUA’s most intense rivalries over the past few seasons, with Western breaking out of their recent slump against the Gryphons with a 50-16 win in 2016.
Western heads back on the road for week three for another matchup against a heated rival, when the purple and white will square off against McMaster. The Mustangs have gotten the better of the Marauders over the past two seasons, a trend that McMaster will be looking to break on home turf on Saturday, September 9.
It’s another road contest in week four with Western heading down the 401 to take on the Windsor Lancers on Saturday, September 16, before returning home to add another chapter in one of Canada’s most heated rivalries as the Queen’s Gaels will make their way to TD Stadium on Saturday, September 23.
Always a highly-anticipated matchup, the Mustangs will be aiming for their fifth consecutive win over Queen’s, while the Gaels will be eager to try and avenge last season’s loss to Western in the first ever game at the new Richardson Stadium.
All eyes will be on University Stadium on Saturday, September 30, when the Mustangs head on the road to face the Laurier Golden Hawks in a rematch of the 109th Yates Cup. There’s no question that both teams will be fired up as Western looks to remedy last year’s loss in the OUA final.
Thanksgiving means a rare Friday contest for the Mustangs, with the Carleton Ravens coming to town on Friday, October 6. The two teams split their games last year, with Carleton coming out on top in Ottawa during the regular season, while Western defeated the Ravens, 51-24, in an OUA semifinal matchup in London.
Following their contest with Carleton, the Mustangs will get some well-deserved time off with a bye during week eight before the team wraps up the regular season with a Homecoming showdown against Ottawa on Saturday, October 21, at TD Stadium.
Western Mustangs 2017 Regular Season Schedule
Week 1
Sunday, August 27
Western at York
Week 2
Monday, September 4
Guelph at Western
Week 3
Saturday, September 9
Western at McMaster
Week 4
Saturday, September 16
Western at Windsor
Week 5
Saturday, September 23
Queen’s at Western
Week 6
Saturday, September 30
Western at Laurier
Week 7
Friday, October 6
Carleton at Western
Week 8
Bye Week
Week 9
Saturday, October 21 (Homecoming)
Ottawa at Western
Submitted by Western Mustangs Athletics
