The University of Toronto Varsity Blues football team heads into the final week of the regular season with an opportunity to make the playoffs when they face the Ottawa Gee-Gees this Saturday, October 24 in the nation's capital.
 
U of T marches in with a 3-4 record and is tied for the sixth and final playoff spot with the Laurier Golden Hawks. As per OUA tiebreaking procedures, the Blues will need to secure a victory Saturday afternoon and they also need Queen's to beat Laurier in order to advance to the postseason.
 
Both games will be streamed live on OUA.tv with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
The Blues rushing attack, which has eclipsed 300 yards rushing in two of the team's last three games, will be a necessary weapon when taking on the high-powered Gee-Gees. U of T has displayed a trio of backfield weapons this season in Alex Malone, Lukas Gavac, and Divante Smith. Last week in a 34-0 victory over the Waterloo Warriors, it was Malone who shined, tallying 169 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 19 carries. Yet, with the Blues misdirection offence, any of the three backs could prove to be the game-changer in the pivotal match-up.
 
The running game will be imperative this weekend in keeping the explosive Ottawa offence off the field for long stretches of time. Ottawa quarterback Derek Wendel has proven to be the best in the province this season, averaging an astounding 367 passing yards per game. Wendel also leads the CIS in passing yards with 2572, which currently stands 200 yards more than his nearest counterpart. A host of Gee-Gees receivers have benefitted from the strong quarterback play, including veteran pass catchers Ian Stewart, Mitchell Baines and Ben Fisher.
 
Wendel and the Gee-Gees receivers will be running into a red hot Varsity Blues defence though. Last week, the fast-paced unit pressured the Warriors offence into three interceptions, four sacks, and nine total tackles for loss in the shut-out effort. The squad has been led in the middle by a pair of newcomers to the Blues with Susquehanna University transfer Adrian Bernard and first-year linebacker Matthew Renaud. The duo has combined for 69.5 tackles, four sacks, and two forced fumbles so far this season.
 
Behind them, fourth-year safety Jaiden McBride quarterbacks a ball-hawking secondary that has seen five different players record an interception on six total picks this year. McBride also currently leads the team in tackles for the second consecutive season, amassing 40 through seven games.
 
If the Blues are victorious this Saturday afternoon (Oct. 24) it will be the first time they have defeated the Ottawa since 2010 when the Blues downed the then nationally-ranked Gee-Gees (No. 2).

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