Montreal Carabins game MVP Sean Thomas Erlington raises a football to salute the crowd after his team won the Dunsmore Cup November 14, 2015 in Quebec City.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
Home field was sweet for the University of Montreal Carabins when they took their first CIS football championship last year, but this time they'll have to win on the road.
The fourth-ranked Carabins (8-2) visit the fifth-ranked Guelph Gryphons (9-1) in the Mitchell Bowl game on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Vanier Cup final Nov. 28 in Quebec City.
"I don't know if it's good or bad," Carabins coach Danny Maciocia said. "It'll be an experience for some of our guys to take a trip together.
"We have an idea of the [Ontario] conference, but it's always hard when you play people you don't know. Both teams will have 60 minutes to figure it out."
It may be a good year for visitors. Last week, away teams won the final of all four CIS conferences, with Montreal edging powerhouse Laval 18-16 in Quebec City to take the Quebec Conference and Guelph knocking off Western 23-17 in London, Ont., for the OUA championship.
The UBC Thunderbirds and St. Francis Xavier X-Men, who meet Saturday in Antigonish, N.S., in the other semi-final, the Uteck Bowl, also won on the road.
The last time all four visitors won was 1984, when Guelph went on to claim its only national title.
A year ago, Montreal upset Laval and then played the national semi-final at home, edging the Manitoba Bisons 29-26. The Vanier Cup game was at Percival Molson Stadium, where 22,000 partisan fans saw them nip McMaster 20-19, thanks to a blocked Marauders' field goal attempt in the final minute.
The Carabins' goal now is to get back to Quebec City and repeat as Vanier Cup champions .
Both Montreal and Guelph feature strong running games. Sean Thomas-Erlington rushed for 199 yards last week against a talented Laval defence, while the Gryphons' Johnny Augustine has 353 yards on the ground in two post-season games.
The Carabins had the best run defence in the country this season, while Guelph boasts one of the top linebackers in John Rush, who had 12 tackles and three sacks against Western.
The teams have not met in an official game since 1967, but they played in the pre-season this summer, with the Carabins winning 38-10 in Montreal.