Coming off arguably their biggest win since the 1993 Vanier Cup championship, the Varsity Blues football team heads to Kingston, Ont., this Saturday to battle the defending Vanier Cup champion Queen’s Gaels in a fight to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Blues (2-3) were the talk of the CIS last week as they upset the No. 2 Ottawa Gee-Gees, and did so in a convincing 40-35 victory last Saturday at Varsity Centre.

Toronto, who leads the head-to-head series with Queen’s with an 88-81-4 record, will need to carry that momentum into this weekend as they look for their first regular season win over a struggling Gaels squad since 1975.

Fourth-year quarterback Andrew Gillis earned OUA athlete of the week status and was also named both the OUA and CIS offensive player of the week. The Markham, Ont., native was 28-of-45 for a career-high 343 yards and two touchdowns to lead Toronto to their first win over Ottawa since the 1974 Yates Cup final and its first victory over a ranked opponent since 1997.

Gillis wasn’t the only Varsity Blue to stand out on Saturday – running back Aaron Milton continued his stellar rookie campaign, rushing nine times for 147 yards, including a 105-yard touchdown run that ties the U of T record and ranks fourth in the CIS for longest rush. Veteran Michael Prempeh of Toronto had his biggest game of 2010 with 138 receiving yards, while defensive back Derek Batchelor (Mississauga, Ont.) added two interceptions to his seven tackles on the day.

“Gillis had a great day for us against Ottawa,” said Varsity Blues head coach Greg DeLaval. “The whole team rose to the occasion. The test now is whether we can build on it. Now that we know we can play that way, we need to repeat that performance and continue to show that we can play with the best in the country.”

The 2009 national champs (1-4) come into this weekend having lost three consecutive games to nationally ranked squads. Queen’s dropped close decisions to the Guelph Gryphons, ranked tenth at the time, the then No. 2 Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Western Mustangs, who were ranked fifth.

Queen’s pivot Justin Capedelaine of Abbotsford, B.C., is ranked second among OUA quarterbacks with 1392 passing yards in five games, while veteran running back Jimmy Therrien of Montreal also sits among Ontario’s best, averaging 81.5 rushing yards per game. The are a dangerous duo that Toronto’s defence will have to contain.

Meanwhile, the Blues offence will a close watch on first-year linebacker Sam Sabourin of Stittsville, Ont., who sits second in the OUA with 42.5 tackles.

Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Richardson Stadium. Live stats are available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/queensu/football/index.htm.