MARAUDERS

It’s a snapshot of how the world of Ontario university football has changed. The last time Ottawa hosted a playoff game was 2010. Which is nothing compared to Waterloo’s 15-year wait for a return to the post-season. It’s been eight years since one of Mac, Laurier or Guelph didn’t have a first-round bye.

This parity is terrific for this league. Admittedly, it’s a little less wondrous for the Marauders. Fans of the team might not like being just one of the pack, instead of one of the superpowers — winning big is a lot more fun — and its less-than-dominating 17-5 victory over one-win Windsor in a series of challenging and changing weather conditions on Saturday doesn’t imbue anyone with a sense of overwhelming confidence for the playoffs.

Mac just hasn’t looked great over the last three games of the regular season. A paper-thin victory over Queen’s followed by a big loss to Waterloo and Saturday’s way-closer-than-it-should’ve-been win over a Windsor team whose only victory had been over winless Toronto doesn’t suggest big things are looming. Add to that the disruption and instability that continues to swirl around having their head coach on indefinite administrative leave. Then throw in an injury to their starting quarterback Andreas Dueck, who appeared to do something to his shoulder on Saturday.

On top of everything is the daunting path they’ll have to take to get anywhere. In each of the past eight seasons, the teams that have finished first and second — those receiving first-round byes — ended up being the two teams in the Yates Cup final. It’s become all but a guaranteed path to the title game. Mac doesn’t have that. This could change this year for the reasons mentioned above. There’s no longer the massive drop-off from those top teams to everyone else. Perhaps that’ll cause the streak to end. But until it does, it remains a big deal. Without that advantage, Mac is facing an uphill battle.

But at least they’re in the playoffs. Laurier played in the championship game the past two years, yet it didn’t even make the tournament this time. So Mac will surely take what it’s got and see if the unpredictability of Ontario university football in 2018 can extend for another week. Or four.