GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons enter the final day of the 2026 OUA football regular season with a 4-3 record as they look to officially punch their ticket into the postseason with a win when they host the Windsor Lancers (5-2) in the regular season finale on Saturday (Oct. 24) at 1pm in Guelph. We get you set for this pivotal Week 8 matchup with our preview below.
Location: Guelph, ON | Alumni Stadium
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time: 1pm
Tickets: gryphons.ca/tickets
How to watch: oua.tv | RogersTV Cable 20
The Gryphons (4-3) enter the final week of the regular season fresh off a thriller in Kingston a week ago, where they pushed the reigning Yates Cup champions Queen's Gaels to the brink but ultimately fell just short in a 42-41 lossn to the Gaels. Now, the Gryphons return home to host a tough Windsor Lancers team, who will arrive in Guelph with a 5-2 record and as the No. 6-ranked team in the country. If the Gryphons win on Saturday, they would finish as the No. 4-seed in the conference and would host the Windsor Lancers once again next week (Oct. 31) in an OUA quarterfinal game at U of G's Alumni Stadium. However, a loss on Saturday for the Gryphons, and they will be on the road for the quarterfinals. The same can be said for the Lancers, who will arrive in Guelph desperate for a win to guarantee they will be hosting a playoff game next week in Windsor, while a Lancers this Saturday would mean back-to-back weeks in Guelph for Windsor.
The Gryphon defence will be in tough when they face one of the top performers in the entire country in Windsor Lancers QB, Kareame Cotton. Cotton, who converted from receiver to quarterback this season, has made an immediate impact for the Lancers. Cotton leads the conference with 25 touchdowns thrown and, on the season, has thrown for 2,113 yards (5th in OUA), 67.1% completion percentage (3rd in OUA) and has been picked off only three times. Cotton's dual-threat ability has been on display as the former receiver has rushed for 441 yards (5th in OUA) on 50 attempts and has found the end zone three times. The Lancers offence is as explosive as they come in the OUA averaging a 40.7 points per game (2nd in OUA), leading the conference with 563.4 yards per game and 2nd in the conference with 216.9 rush yards per game. Alongside Cotton, Tyson Noel Charles at running back provides the Lancers with a dangerous rushing attack. Noel Charles is 3rd in the conference with 503 rushing yards on the season. At receiver, Colby Ginn has been one of the biggest deep threats in the entire conference, averaging 19.4 yards per catch. He has 621 receiving yards (6th in OUA) on the season and is second in the OUA averaging 103.5 yards per game. The Gryphon offensive line will be tested here after doing a great job in pass protection the last several weeks, facing a Lancers defence that is the second-best in the conference with 20 sacks with Ahmad Taylor leading the team with 7.5 sacks. A red hot Gryphon offence will face a stiff test in the Windsor defence that allows the fewest yards per game in the conference (256.9) and has allowed the third-fewest points per game (22.0).
The Gryphon offence in a losing effort in Kingston had one of their best games of the season with
Tristan Aboud leading the way. The fourth-year quarterback completed 24 of his 32 passes for a single-game, career-high 490 yards. Aboud threw for 2 touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards including a 54-yard touchdown run. Aboud has been rolling of late, throwing for 2,212 yards (3rd in OUA), completing 64.4% of his passes and has thrown from 17 touchdowns (2nd in OUA) and 3 interceptions.
Monroe Corniffe stepped up in a big way last week against Queen's, making 5 receptions for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. Corniffe leads the team with 4 touchdown receptions on the season is second on the team with 402 receiving yards.
Willem Arseneau also had a big game catching a game-high 7 balls for 141 yards and in the process, moving into second place in school history with 2,079 receiving yards and passing the century mark with 103 career receptions. The fourth-year receiver from Calgary has been on a heater these last few weeks as he ranks in the top 5 in the OUA in receptions (38), receiving yards (693), yards per game (99.0) and yards per catch (22.23). The Gryphons have been lighting up the scoreboard of late as well, averaging 37.7 points on the season and have gained the third-most yards in the province (516.6). The defence has allowed the fourth fewest yards (355.9) and points (22.9) this season as they are led by their dual threat defensive lineman
Andre Thompson. The second-year arts major leads the team with 31 total tackles, 4.0 tackles for losses and 2 sacks. On the offensive side of the football, Thompson has gone from defensive tackle, to short-yardage QB, rushing for 130 yards on 14 carries and leads the team with 5 rushing touchdowns.
Anakin Guthrie can become the school's all-time leader in career punt return yards on Saturday against Windsor. Guthrie currently sits at 1,742 punt return yards and needs 81 return yards to pass Ryan Nieuwesteeg's school record of 1,822 punt return yards in a career.
The Gryphons and Lancers met last season on September 6, 2025 as a huge second half surge saw the Gryphons come through with the 31-17 win.
Kickoff of the Gryphons regular season finale against the Windsor Lancers is set for 1pm on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, with the pre-game show, featuring former Gryphon quarterback and Canadian football insider, Justin Dunk, set to get underway at 12:50pm. The action from Alumni Stadium can be seen live online on
oua.tv and locally on RogersTV Cable 20.
