GUELPH, Ont. - Coming off of one of the most memorable regular season wins in program history, the No. 5-nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons football team now hits the road for the first time in their 2021 campaign looking to improve to 2-0.
After thrilling their hometown crowd to a 23-21 season opening win over the then-No. 1 ranked Western Mustangs, the Gryphons (1-0) now head to Windsor to face the Lancers (0-1).
The Gryphons impressed on offence, defence and special teams in their season-opening win over Western and will to continue that momentum as they prepare to face a Windsor Lancers team that suffered a 42-14 defeat two weeks ago (Sept. 18) at the hands of a talented Waterloo Warriors team. 
One of Guelph's biggest reasons for success against Western last Saturday was the ability of their defence to stymie the Mustang's attack. Whether it was sacking Western quarterback Jackson White, forcing punts or coming up with a timely interception, the Gryphon defence showed that they have the potential to be every bit as strong as they were in what was a dominating defensive season back in 2019. Heading into Windsor, the Gryphons will look to use that defensive pressure to try and create turnovers and opportunities for their offence. In their lone game of the season so far, the Lancers had trouble with turnovers when they faced the Waterloo Warriors, losing three fumbles, throwing an interception and finishing 2- for-5 on third downs. Much like it did on Saturday against Western, winning the turnover battle would go a long way towards the Gryphons picking up their second win of the 2021 season.
On offence, Guelph will look to continue to build off the momentum of their second-half against the Mustangs. Using the first 30 minutes to get settled into a new season with plenty of new starters, including a new signal-caller, the Gryphons put together several strong drives after halftime and showed plenty of promise.
With his first career OUA contest now in the books, Gryphon quarterback Shawn Lal will now try to further improve on what was already a very impressive start to his U SPORTS career. Already starting to establish a strong connection with veteran receiver Kiondre Smith, Guelph's passing game appears to be just getting started and looks full of potential. 
One area that could make Lal's life easier in the early stages of his OUA career would be establishing the run game, which a stout Western defence was able to force the Gryphons away from at times on Saturday. However, establishing a run game on Saturday versus Windsor could be an area for the Gryphons to take advantage of, with Windsor surrendering 164 rushing yards versus Waterloo in Week One. With an experienced Gryphon running back group featuring the likes of Kaine Stevenson, Kwame Osei and Juwan Jeffrey, the Gryphs certainly have the capability of once again being one of the top rushing teams in the conference.
Also helpful for the Gryphons offence is the idea that just about as soon as they cross midfield, they are essentially in field goal range, thanks to the leg of last week's OUA Special Team Player of the Week, Eric Stranz. Dialing it in from distance, the Ayr, Ontario product connected from 45 and 47 yards out on Saturday, along with a 25-yarder. Stranz also put through a 54-yard attempt, however, it was called back on a Guelph penalty. The rest of the Gryphon special teams also had a great showing in their 2021 debut with tremendous punt and kick-off coverage, while also forcing and recovering a fumble.
The last time the Gryphons made the trip to Windsor was in 2018, when Guelph picked up a 26-20 road win over the Lancers. Saturday's game marks the first of back-to-back road games for the No. 5-ranked Gryphons, who will also head to Kingston next week for a Friday night (Oct. 8) matchup versus the Queen's Gaels.
Kickoff between the Gryphons and Lancers is set for 2pm on Saturday afternoon from the University of Windsor's Alumni Field and can be seen live online at OUA.tv.
Guelph's Preliminary 55-man Depth Chart (Oct. 2 @ Windsor)
Windsor's Preliminary 55-man Depth Chart (Oct. 2 vs Guelph)
