For the second time in three years - and the 10th time over the past 15 seasons - the Laval Rouge et Or top the inaugural national rankings of the U SPORTS football season.

2019 U SPORTS Football Schedule & Results

2019 U SPORTS Football Standings

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The Rouge et Or (1-0), who last November captured their record-extending 10th Vanier Cup title thanks to a 34-20 triumph over the Western Mustangs at Quebec City, received 18 out of a possible 19 first-place votes and 569 total points in the inaugural top 10 of 2019. Once again this year, the weekly rankings are the result of voting from a Football Reporters of Canada panel combined with statistical calculation by the ELO Rating System.

The Mustangs (1-0), who earned the remaining first-place nod, sit comfortably in second place with 532 points. Western dominated all 11 national polls last fall after defeating Laval in the 2017 Vanier Cup final at Hamilton.

Rounding out the inaugural top 10 are the No. 3 Montreal Carabins (1-0 / 465 points), No. 4 Saskatchewan Huskies (0-0 / 416), No. 5 Calgary Dinos (0-0 / 387), No. 6 McMaster Marauders (1-0 / 359), No. 7 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (1-0 / 272), No. 8 Carleton Ravens (1-0 / 263), No. 9 Ottawa Gee-Gees (0-0 / 230) and No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds (0-0 / 221).

Following a remarkable 2018 campaign that saw them post an unblemished record for the fourth time in program history, the Rouge et Or opened their 25th anniversary season on Sunday with a solid 41-10 home win over Sherbrooke.

Featuring a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2014 and four new starters on the defensive line, the reigning champions got off to a slow start and trailed 9-0 late in the first half. The sleeping giant finally awoke with a pair of touchdowns in a span of 71 seconds before the break, and never looked back.

Laval now heads into an early bye week and will be back in action on Sept. 7 for a road test against the Concordia Stingers.

Western and Montreal were also tested in their conference openers.

On Sunday, the Mustangs were dominated by Laurier in first downs, total offence and time of possession but still came away with a 32-19 road victory, extending their winning streak against OUA opponents to 21 straight games dating back to the 2016 Yates Cup final.

On Friday evening, the Carabins, who last fall set an RSEQ conference record by allowing only 46 points in eight league contests, once again relied on their stingy defensive unit in a close-fought 10-3 win at Concordia.

Other Week 1 results from top-10 squads included McMaster 25, Guelph 10 (at Guelph); StFX 16, Mount Allison 6 (at StFX); Carleton 18, Queen’s 12 (at Queen’s).

The Week 2 schedule is highlighted by a top-10 matchup Sunday in Hamilton, where No. 6 McMaster is set to host No. 9 Ottawa at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT (OUA.TV & Cable 14).

The upcoming weekend also marks the start of the Canada West regular schedule, including No. 4 Saskatchewan at Manitoba and No. 5 Calgary at Alberta, both on Friday evening, as well as Regina at No. 10 UBC on Friday night.