Watson’s Wrapup: The Week in CIS Football (Sept. 19)

The cream is starting to rise to the top as we are approaching the midway point of the 2013 CIS football season.

There are four games this weekend that will have a significant bearing on the final standings and could be conference semifinal previews - or in the case of the Montreal-Laval game, a conference final preview. Time to separate the contenders from the pretenders...

Laval is still the team to beat - check out their official promo video, one of the best I've seen in CIS sport:

CIS Games of the Week - Week 5

• Quebec (RSEQ): Sunday Sept. 22 - No. 4 Montreal (3-0) at No. 1 Laval (3-0), 1:30 p.m. EST - Andy Picks Laval by 6

• Canada West: Friday Sept. 20 - No. 8 Manitoba (2-1) at No. 5 Calgary (3-0) (SHAW TV & video webcast), 6 p.m. MST - Andy Picks Calgary by 7

• OUA: Saturday Sept. 21 - No. 9 McMaster (2-2) at No. 6 Guelph (3-0) (Sportsnet 360), 1 p.m. EST - Andy Picks Guelph by 14

• AUS: Friday Sept. 20 - Acadia (0-2) at StFX (2-0) (video webcast), 7 p.m. - Andy Picks Acadia by 10

There's one other game of significance this weekend - and it probably won't be a very close contest. The No. 2 nationally ranked Western Mustangs drive to Kitchener-Waterloo to face the 1-3 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. It's Greg Marshall's offensively lethal Mustangs, led by pivot Will Finch, against a Hawks team coached by former Western star and Hec Crighton and BLG Award candidate Michael Faulds. If anyone knows Marshall's tendancies well, it's Faulds. It's the professor and mentor against the student and pupil. Tough for Faulds in his rookie season as head coach, but his Hawks are entering must-win territory already.

So far, my weekly rankings that I've been posting on Twitter seem to be checking out. Laval continues to be the cream of the crop with Western moving into second spot in my eyes given their dominant offensive performances and consistency. Montreal, Queen's and Calgary are neck-and-neck for spots three through five in my Top 10.

Watch for Laval, Calgary and Guelph to win their games as six of the CIS's Top 10 square off head to head this weekend.

Here's a look at the CIS's best teams as they enter Week 5 - listed in order of my weekly ranking along with twitter handles, regular-season records and official CIS ranking:

• 1. Laval Rouge et Or @rougeetor (3-0) (Official CIS Ranking #1) - They might be beatable this year - the fact that's even a story speaks to the dominance of Glen Constantin's crew. But they have it tough this Sunday hosting Montreal. Expect a narrow Rouge et Or victory which could have impact on playoff hosting rights. The rematch is Oct. 26 in Montreal.

• 2. Western Mustangs @WesternMustangs (4-0) (Official CIS Ranking #2) - A stronger strength of schedule thus far gives the Mustangs the No. 2 spot in my rankings. A week before their Homecoming Classic against Queen's the following weekend, this is an opportunity to fine-tune and correct some defensive issues. Expect Western's running game to explode on the Hawks - it's a Mustangs tradition to have a strong ground game (at times record-setting) against Laurier on the road. The Mustangs are on-pace to set a single-season conference record for points.

• 3. Montreal Carabins @Carabins (3-0) (Official CIS Ranking #4) - Perhaps one of the games of the year on the CIS schedule, the Carabins go into hostile territory at Laval's PEPS Stadium on Sunday. The game is live on national TV (Radio-Canada) at 1:30 EST. A good barometer to see how good Laval really is.

• T4. Calgary Dinos @UCDinos (3-0) (Official CIS Ranking #5) - The Canada West is a grind. Another tough test for the Dinos this Friday hosting No. 8 Manitoba, but I expect the Dinos to hold off the Bisons.

• T4. Queen's Gaels @queensgaels 's (3-0) (Official CIS Ranking #3) - Like the Mustangs, the Gaels will be in dress rehearsal form this weekend but they've got a tough road matchup. They can't simply look past Ottawa to their crucial Week 6 game Sept. 29 in London, Ont. Coming of the bye week, they face a hungry Gee-Gees (2-2) team that is gunning to catch the Gaels off guard. Their defence needs to play well to avoid an upset on the road.

• 6. Guelph Gryphons @guelph_gryphons (3-0) (Official CIS Ranking #6) - The last of the undefeated teams in my rankings (sorry, St. FX, you need to beat a playoff-bound team to get into my Top 10), they're in tough against nationally ranked McMaster at home this week.

• 7. Saskatchewan Huskies @HuskieAthletics (2-1) (Official CIS Ranking #7) - Maybe the Huskies are flying under the radar a bit, but their 12-point home loss to Calgary last week might humble them. Expect them to rebound with dominant performances against Alberta and then UBC in the next two weeks before a crucial rematch at Calgary on Oct. 4.

• 8. Saint Mary's Huskies @SMUHuskies (1-1) (Official CIS Ranking NR) - With a win over a strong Acadia squad and a road loss against Montreal last weekend, the Huskies will be hungry and should dominate Mount Allison this Saturday.

• 9. Manitoba Bisons @umbisons (2-1) (Official CIS Ranking #8) - Coming off a heartbreaking two-point loss at Saskatchewan two weeks ago, the Bisons rebounded to win in Vancouver against UBC. Now they have another tough road trip facing the Dinos in Calgary. It is their toughest test of the season.

• 10. McGill Redmen @redmenfootball (2-1) (Official CIS Ranking NR) - A real test comes this Saturday when they host winless Sherbrooke (a Sherbrooke team with two one-point losses to Bishop's and a 20-point loss against Laval). A healthy win would legitimize their presence in the official CIS Top 10.

• Andy's Honourable Mention: Acadia (0-2, NR) - while they have not won a game, they stayed with No. 1 Laval throughout their meeting and lost a heartbreaker to Saint Mary's in Halifax in the season opener. I expect they could even go undefeated the rest of the regular season.

• Other teams in CIS rankings: McMaster (2-2, Official CIS Ranking #9) and Bishop's (2-1, Official CIS Ranking #10) - Bishop's was close to cracking my Top 10 but both wins are one-point wins over Sherbrooke and they were hammered by Montreal. And I believe McGill has a better coaching and scouting staff and that gives them the slight edge. How McMaster, a team banged up with a lot to prove that barely got by York, is still in the Top 10 is beyond me.

2013 Week 5 Schedule (all times local, webcast schedule)

Friday Sept. 20

• No. 8 Manitoba (2-1) at No. 5 Calgary (3-0) (SHAW TV & video webcast), 6 p.m.

• Saint Mary’s (1-1) at Mount Allison (0-2) (video webcast), 7 p.m.

• Acadia (0-2) at StFX (2-0) (video webcast), 7 p.m.

• Sherbrooke (0-3) at McGill (2-1) (video webcast), 7 p.m.

• Alberta (0-3) at No. 7 Saskatchewan (2-1) (video webcast), 7 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 21

• York (1-2) at Carleton (0-3), 1 p.m.

• No. 2 Western (4-0) at Laurier (1-3) (video webcast), 1 p.m.

• Concordia (0-3) at No. 10 Bishop’s (2-1) (video webcast), 1 p.m.

• No. 9 McMaster (2-2) at No. 6 Guelph (3-0) (Sportsnet 360), 1 p.m.

• No. 3 Queen’s (3-0) at Ottawa (2-2) (video webcast), 1 p.m.

• UBC (1-2) at Regina (1-2) (video webcast), 1 p.m.

• Toronto (1-3) at Windsor (2-2) (video webcast), 7 p.m.

Sunday Sept. 22

• No. 4 Montreal (3-0) at No. 1 Laval (3-0) (Radio-Canada TV & video webcast) 1:30 p.m.