GUELPH, Ont. – After a key win on the road last week, the Guelph Gryphons football team (2-2) is back at home as they will take the field from the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium to host the Waterloo Warriors (1-3) in the 2026 edition of the University of Guelph's annual homecoming football game. We get you set for our homecoming game with our preview below.
Location: Guelph, ON | Alumni Stadium
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Time: 1pm
Tickets: gryphons.ca/tickets
How to watch: oua.tv | RogersTV Cable 20
The Gryphons (2-2) are coming off a huge road win a week ago, over the previously undefeated Ottawa Gee-Gees, and now return to Alumni Stadium for homecoming riding a two-game winning streak. The Waterloo Warriors head into this Week 5 matchup with a 1-3 record following back-to-back defeats to Queen's and Windsor. Waterloo is led at quarterback by Nick Orr who on the season has thrown for 1,099 yards, completing 58% of his passes and has thrown for 5 touchdowns but has thrown the second-most interceptions in the OUA with 4. The Warriors have put the ball in the air consistently, with Orr having thrown the third-most passes in the conference with 143. Waterloo's leading receiver is Evan Basalyga from his H-Back position. Basalyga currently has the 4th-most receiving yards in the conference with 342 and is one of the most targeted with 22 receptions (5th in OUA). The Waterloo passing game was kept in check last week against Windsor with Orr only throwing for 178 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions while Basalyga was held to 27 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Warriors quarterback Nick Orr is also a threat on the ground, leading Waterloo with 225 rushing yards on the season and leads the conference with 4 rushing touchdowns. Orr last week ran for 64 yards against the Lancers. Waterloo as a team average 127.3 rushing yards per game as they face a Gryphon defence that has limited opposition on the ground, with Guelph opponents averaging just 104 rushing yards per game. The Waterloo defence is led by their linebacking pair of Michael Omoseni and Arden Martinez who both lead the conference in total tackles with Omoseni leading the OUA with 33 total tackles.
After putting up 483 total yards of offence in the win against Ottawa, the Gryphons offence looks to continue to build off the momentum from their last two games as they face a Waterloo defence that's given up the third-most yards per game in the conference (543.8) and the second-most passing yards per game (373.8).
Tristan Aboud leads the Gryphon passing attack as he has thrown for 1,034 yards on the season, completing 57.5% of his passes and has thrown for 9 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Aboud last week had a big second half, accounting for three touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) in the win over the Gee-Gees.
Willem Arseneau and
Ethan Garwe have proven to be a dynamic duo at receiver for the Gryphons. Arseneau has 290 receiving yards on 16 receptions on the season including the touchdown in the 4th quarter last week that helped seal the win. Garwe currently leads the team with 305 receiving yards and has emerged as a key piece in the offence in his second season with the team. The Gryphon defence has been excellent throughout the season and last week was no different, limiting the Gee-Gees offence to 411 total offensive yards. The Guelph secondary continues to shine led by
Nathaniel Slawter,
Gianni Green and
Kyle Simon-Guerin. Defensive lineman
Andre Thompson has been a force on defence in the front seven, leading the team with 22 total tackles and has a sack on the season. Thompson is also seen some time in the Gryphons offensive backfield, rushing 8 times for 117 yards as he leads the team with 3 rushing touchdowns. The Gryphons and Warriors did not play one another last season, with their most recent meeting coming on September 28, 2024 at the Gryphons 2024 Homecoming game with the Gryphons winning, 42-25.
Kickoff for U of G's annual homecoming game is set for 1pm on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, 1pm, with the pre-game show (featuring former Gryphon quarterback and Canadian football insider, Justin Dunk, and GryphVision host, Scott Fraser) 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.
