Montreal Carabins end Laval's 70-game home win streak with Dunsmore Cup overtime triumph

Quarterback Gabriel Cousineau and the Montreal Carabins, in their moment of truth, found a way to finally win at Laval.

In fact, the No. 2-ranked Carabins essentially did it twice. Bridesmaids no more, Montreal overcame a nearly disastrous fumble in their own zone with 90 seconds left to pull out the 12-9 overtime win that ended the No. 1 Rouge et Or's 70-game win streak, its 11-year Dunsmore Cup reign and ensures Canadian Interuniversity Sport of a new football champion.

Montreal, a Quebec conference champion for the first time in its 13-season history, will host the Manitoba Bisons in the Uteck Bowl on Saturday (12:30 ET, Sportsnet 360/Radio-Canada). The reversal of fortune also creates the possibility of a hometown team playing in Vanier Cup on Nov. 29 at Montreal's Molson Stadium.

A team that goes a decade without losing at home is never out of the game. The Rouge et Or seemed to prove that after Vincent Chabot recovered a fumble at the 39-yard line when Montreal was trying to run out the clock. That disaster might have buckled the Carabins teams that lost five past conference finals to Laval, especially after quarterback Hugo Richard quickly drove his team inside the 20 amid peels of screams from the crowd of more than 15,000. However, two end-zone pass breakups, including one by defensive back, Nicolas Gauthier forced Laval to kick a tying field goal to send the game to overtime.

On the first series of OT, Cousineau converted a second-and-16 with a pass to Philip Enchill in tight coverage. That set up Louis-Philippe Simoneau to kick his fourth field goal of the day. The Rouge et Or's  possession, linebacker Byron Archambault sacked Laval quarterback Hugo Richard, forcing Laval to try to 48-yard field goal. Boris Bede's kick, on a cold day, came up short to end the game.

The Carabins have steadily closed the gap on eight-time Vanier Cup champion Laval since former Edmonton Eskimos coach Danny Maciocia took over the program,. They ended the Rouge et Or's CIS-record 25-game win streak with a 13-9 home win in the regular-season finale after Laval had essentially assured itself of home-field advantage in the playoffs, and earned 12-of-30 first-place votes in the final CIS/University Football Reporters of Canada top 10 poll. Laval received the other 18.

The rivalry game seemed to following a familiar script in the second half at a raucous Stade Telus, with Laval and a defence led by Chabot and Ottawa Redblacks-drafted defensive end Vincent Desloges playing a bend-but-don't-break game. An acrobatic 48-yard catch by wide receiver Tyrone Pierre gave the Rouge et Or a chance to take the lead, but Montreal held and forced Laval to kick a field goal to tie the game 6-6.

An interception by Gauthier and a 37-yard catch by wide receiver Maxime Fournier-Rioux that set up the field goal enabled the Carabins to take the lead. They also stopped Laval on third-and-2 with 1:34 left before the fumble let Laval get back in the game.

Richard, who threw 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions in the regular season, had two freshman mistakes that blunted Laval's momentum. The young QB lost a fumble at his own 36-yard line in the first half and also threw into double coverage on Gauthier's fourth-quarter interception.

Make no mistake, this was no aberration. On top of the fact Montreal split the regular-season derby with Laval, it also left 10-14 points on the field in the opening 30 minutes. Led by Cousineau, who completed a league-record 71.9 per cent of his passes in the regular season, the Carabins crossed the Laval 35 five times in the opening 30 minutes. However, they came away with only two Simoneau field goals for a 6-0 lead. They were also stopped on a third-down gamble from just outside the one-yard line after Chabot broke up a pass in the corner of the end zone.

Laval, which has won eight Vanier Cups since 1999, controlled the third quarter. A goal-line pass break-up by Montreal's Maïko Zepeda prevented the Rouge et Or from scoring a touchdown that might have swung the game.

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