GUELPH, Ont. - On Saturday afternoon (September 9, 2023), one of the marquee games in OUA football will be taking place at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium, as the Guelph Gryphons (1-1) host the U SPORTS No. 6-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (2-0) in the University of Guelph's annual 'O-Week' football game.
Location: Alumni Stadium
Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
Time: 1pm
How to Watch: oua.tv and
RogerTV Cable 20
The Gryphons (1-1) come into Saturday's game coming off a tough 41-18 road loss to the now No. 10-ranked Windsor Lancers (2-0). It was a game that saw the Gryphons unable to overcome a strong defence and rushing attack from the Lancers with the Gryphon offence being held to 246 yards while the Windsor offence ran the ball for 488 yards.
The Gryphons will look to return to their Week 1 form where they defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 33-10 back on August 26 and produced 414 yards while holding Toronto to 190 yards. The Golden Hawks will walk into Alumni Stadium Saturday afternoon with a perfect 2-0 record after defeating the 2022 Yates Cup finalist Queen's Gaels, 11-10, in their season opener, followed by a 20-15 home win over the Carleton Ravens in Week 2.
Last season, the Gryphons and Golden Hawks met in Week 8 of the 2022 regular season in Waterloo, with Laurier coming out on top of a tightly-contested 38-25 score line. Despite the loss, the game was one of the Gryphons better performances of the season, with the U of G defence holding the then No. 9-ranked Hawks to a single touchdown in the first half. It was the Wilfrid Laurier rushing attack, however, that returned to form in the second half, scoring 17 fourth-quarter points to take the win. Laurier leads the all-time head-to-head 25-12 but the Gryphons have the better record in recent matchups, with a 6-4 win-loss record over the past 10 meetings. The two teams have also met on five occasions in the post season with the Golden Hawks taking three of the meetings.
Following Saturday's game, the Gryphons will head back on the road for Week 4 when they make the short trip down Highway 6 to take on the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, September 16 at Ron Joyce Stadium. After that, the Gryphons return home for the 2023 University of Guelph Homecoming football game versus York on Saturday, September 23 at 1pm. Tickets for all Gryphon football games are on sale now at gryphons.ca/tickets.
