Panda Game between Carleton Ravens, Ottawa Gee-Gees at TD Place could be 'groundbreaking' — and vital for CIS

In terms of keeping friends close and enemies — just for three hours at TD Place on Saturday and on the recruiting trail — closer, the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton Ravens have the rest of the CIS beat.

Other rivalries in Canadian university football are fierce and have regularly have conference championship and, ultimately, Vanier Cup implications — Montreal-Laval, Queen's-Western and so forth. What is unique about the Panda Game, which will be played in downtown Ottawa on Saturday for the first time since 1998, is that it's like a U.S. college rivalry in that it matters because the public at large has bought in that it matters.

A conservative estimate suggests the game will draw at least 10,000, which should make it the highest-attended regular-season contest this fall anywhere this side of Laval. (Ottawa is also a big walk-up ticket town and temperatures are expected to top 20C, so there could be a late surge.) Playing at refurbished TD Place with coach Jamie Barresi's Gee-Gees (2-1 in OUA play) showing potential and coach Steve Sumarah's second-year Ravens (1-1) seemingly right on schedule to be in "position to win a championship" in due time, means the game is back on the map.

"I think it's going to be a groundbreaking year, with the Redblacks coming back," Gee-Gees running back Mack Tommy told CTV Ottawa this week. "It's definitely got football more involved in the city. With us being just down the river and not many streets away from Carleton, it builds the rivalry in a way that's unique to the city."

As Tommy alluded to, the circumstances are tough to replicate in a country with one more man on the field, one fewer down and too much geography and not enough history. Only four cities in Canada have multiple university football teams. Toronto and York's annual Red and Blue Bowl is often a matchup of sub-.500 teams. The Montreal Carabins have more of a rivalry with Laval than either of their city's two Anglophone programs, Concordia and McGill. As far as the Battle of Waterloo goes, last weekend Laurier eked out a 44-0 win over the hard-working Waterloo Warriors.

Yet getting people — and sponsors — to buy in, even if only once a year, is what university football needs as it faces mounting pressure to become more self-sustaining. There is probably more acknowledgement of that sober reality in Ottawa, where Carleton cutting bait on football in March 1999 was sandwiched in between the pro Rough Riders and Renegades folding,

Having two OUA  teams and a CFL team work together to give university football a big platform — forever a well-kept sporting secret in this country — qualifies as profess in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. (Similarly, the Montreal Alouettes have thrown some marketing muscle behind promoting the Vanier Cup, set for Nov. 29 at Molson Stadium.)

Prelude to a future Vanier?

That might lead to bigger and brighter things in the nation's capital. Back in 2008, when Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president of sports Jeff Hunt was lobbying municipal government to revitalize the Lansdowne Park site, he wrote of bidding to host the Vanier Cup along with the Grey Cup. The OSEG-ers are interested in bidding for the 2015 game. Having a turnout in the five figures for a midseason game wouldn't be lost on the CIS decision-makers, who no doubt would love to find a way to make bank like it does when it stages the game at Laval University (host in 2009, '10 and '13) without giving the Rouge et Or the unfair advantage of being home in November.

So there is that. Whether the Carletons or Ottawas, teams separated by about a brisk five-kilometre jog along the Rideau Canal, are at a national championship level will be immaterial come Saturday (OUA.tv, webcast, 1 p.m. ET). Last weekend, the Ravens were ebullient to have hung in on the road against No. 4 McMaster for three-plus quarters before succumbing 37-17 after quarterback Nick Gorgichuk relieved Jesse Mills and kept the baby birds in the hunt  The Ravens are still very young and have impressive talent at the skill position, with breakaway back Jahvari Bennett and pass catchers Nathaniel Behar and Dexter Brown (an OUA player of the week runner-up).

Coming off losses to ranked teams

Ottawa and first-year starting quarterback Derek Wendel faces the question of how fast it shakes off a 42-7 home loss to No. 7 Guelph. Its biggest home-run hitter, slotback and return ace Vincent Campbell, did not return after suffering a leg injury after slipping on a kickoff return in the second quarter.

Western, McMaster and Guelph are clearly enconsced as the OUA's big three. Queen's (0-3) dropping off has helped make for an exciting race for a home playoff date between the Ottawa rivals, along with Laurier and Windsor.

The Gee-Gees prevailed 35-10 on their home field in the 2013 matchup. Going to the "East's prettiest stadium," with Carleton steadily burning off the shed the expansion baby fat, kicks it up a notch.

"We've been thinking about it since we won last year," Gee-Gees defensive tackle Ettore Lattanzio, who is chasing the CIS single-season sack record, also told CTV Ottawa. "When they said the venue was going to be TD Place, we were all pumped — 'let's get this going.'

"This year, they have more veterans. They know their system. Their coaching staff is more fluid."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.