# 2022 U Sports football season

The 2022 U Sports football season began on August 27, 2022, with four Atlantic University Sport teams, four RSEQ teams, and ten Ontario University Athletics teams opening their schedules that day. The six Canada West teams began their schedules one week later with two games on September 2 and one on September 3.
The conference championships were played on the weekend of November 12, 2022, and the season concluded on November 26, 2022, with the 57th Vanier Cup championship, which returned to the pre-pandemic scheduling used in 2019. The championship game was played at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ontario for the first time in the game's history. 27 university teams in Canada played U Sports football, the highest level of amateur Canadian football.

## Schedule changes

On April 7, 2022, the OUA released their schedule which featured a return to an eight-game format and no divisions or geographical restrictions. With the season starting in August and ending in October, this was more in line with the pre-pandemic 2019 U Sports football season as opposed to the truncated 2021 season. The 114th Yates Cup game was played on November 12, 2022.
The AUS released their schedule on April 13, 2022, as the conference also returned to pre-pandemic scheduling with eight games played by each team and two bye weeks. The Loney Bowl was played on November 12, 2022. Canada West also returned to eight regular season games and the Hardy Cup was played on the weekend of November 12, 2022. The RSEQ announced their schedule last which featured eight games over ten weeks and a Dunsmore Cup championship date of November 12, 2022.

## Regular season
### Standings

2022 AUS standings vte :
| Team | W | | L | PF | | PA | Pts | Ply |
| #6 St. FX | 8 | – | 0 | 261 | – | 83 | 16 | † |
| Bishop's | 4 | – | 3 | 137 | – | 105 | 10 | X |
| #10 Mount Allison | 4 | – | 4 | 98 | – | 144 | 8 | X |
| Saint Mary's | 3 | – | 4 | 116 | – | 159 | 6 | |
| Acadia | 0 | – | 8 | 88 | – | 209 | 0 | |
| *The Sept 24 Bishop's at Saint Mary's game was cancelled and the Oct 29 Saint Mary's at Bishop's game is worth four points. † – Conference Champion Rankings: U Sports Top 10 |||||||||||
2022 RSEQ standings vte :
| Team | W | | L | PF | | PA | Pts | Ply |
| #2 Laval | 7 | – | 1 | 274 | – | 112 | 14 | † |
| #5 Montréal | 6 | – | 2 | 163 | – | 124 | 12 | X |
| Sherbrooke | 4 | – | 4 | 164 | – | 193 | 8 | X |
| Concordia | 2 | – | 6 | 185 | – | 262 | 4 | X |
| McGill | 1 | – | 7 | 167 | – | 262 | 2 | |
| † – Conference Champion Rankings: U Sports Top 10 |||||||||||
2022 OUA standingsvte :
| Team | W | | L | PF | | PA | Pts | Ply |
| #1 Western | 8 | – | 0 | 360 | – | 115 | 16 | † |
| #3 Queen's | 7 | – | 1 | 300 | – | 127 | 14 | X |
| #7 Ottawa | 6 | – | 2 | 243 | – | 129 | 12 | X |
| #8 Laurier | 5 | – | 3 | 235 | – | 164 | 10 | X |
| Carleton | 5 | – | 3 | 201 | – | 195 | 10 | X |
| Windsor | 4 | – | 4 | 189 | – | 194 | 8 | X |
| Toronto | 4 | – | 4 | 185 | – | 219 | 8 | X |
| McMaster | 2 | – | 6 | 140 | – | 118 | 4 | |
| Guelph | 1 | – | 7 | 158 | – | 319 | 2 | |
| Waterloo | 1 | – | 7 | 154 | – | 308 | 2 | |
| York | 1 | – | 7 | 43 | – | 317 | 2 | |
| *McMaster forfeited one win vs York due to use of an ineligible player † – Conference Champion Rankings: U Sports Top 10 |||||||||||
2022 Canada West standingsvte :
| Team | W | | L | PF | | PA | Pts | Ply |
| #4 Saskatchewan | 7 | – | 1 | 241 | – | 119 | 14 | † |
| Regina | 5 | – | 3 | 195 | – | 159 | 10 | X |
| Manitoba | 4 | – | 4 | 232 | – | 217 | 8 | X |
| #9 British Columbia | 4 | – | 4 | 182 | – | 186 | 8 | X |
| Alberta | 3 | – | 5 | 175 | – | 201 | 6 | |
| Calgary | 1 | – | 7 | 117 | – | 260 | 2 | |
| † – Conference Champion Rankings: U Sports Top 10 |||||||||||

## Post-season awards
### Award-winners

| | Quebec | Ontario | Atlantic | Canada West | National |
| Hec Crighton Trophy | Kevin Mital (Laval) | Keon Edwards (Western) | Malcolm Bussey (St. Francis Xavier) | Mason Nyhus (Saskatchewan) | Kevin Mital (Laval) |
| Presidents' Trophy | Nicky Farinaccio (Montreal) | Daniel Valente Jr. (Western) | Gabriel Royer (Bishop’s) | Ryder Varga (Regina) | Nicky Farinaccio (Montreal) |
| J. P. Metras Trophy | Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) | Silas Hubert (Queen’s) | Alex Fedchun (St. Francis Xavier) | Theo Benedet (UBC) | Theo Benedet (UBC) |
| Peter Gorman Trophy | Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald (McGill) | Isaiah Smith (Guelph) | Zachary Houde (St. Francis Xavier) | Jack Warrack (Saskatchewan) | Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald (McGill) |
| Russ Jackson Award | N/A | Alex Cheng (McMaster) | Duncan Patterson (Saint Mary’s) | Ryker Frank (Saskatchewan) | Duncan Patterson (Saint Mary’s) |
| Frank Tindall Trophy | Glen Constantin (Laval) | Greg Marshall (Western) | Gary Waterman (St. Francis Xavier) | Mark McConkey (Regina) | Gary Waterman (St. Francis Xavier) |
| Gino Fracas Award | Luc Sylvain (Sherbrooke) | Mike Circelli (Windsor) | Tyler Wilson (St. Francis Xavier) | Vaughan Mitchell (Manitoba) | Mike Circelli (Windsor) |

### All-Canadian Team

Offence :
| | First Team | Second Team |
| Quarterback | Arnaud Desjardins (Laval) | Mason Nyhus (Saskatchewan) |
| Running Back | Keon Edwards (Western) Malcolm Bussey (St. Francis Xavier) | Isaiah Knight (UBC) J-P Cimankinda (Ottawa) |
| Receiver | Kevin Mital (Laval) Jeremy Murphy (Concordia) Savaughn Magnaye-Jones (Western) Daniel Perry (Saskatchewan) | A. K. Gassama (Manitoba) Darius Simmons (McGill) Richard Burton (Queen’s) Ethan Jordan (Laurier) |
| Centre | Elliot Beamer (Western) | Daniel Shin (Alberta) |
| Guard | Nicolas Guay (Laval) Phillip Grohovac (Western) | Evan Floren (Queen's) Giovanni Manu (UBC) |
| Tackle | Theo Benedet (UBC) Nathan Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) | Zack Fry (Western) Anthony Vandal (Sherbrooke) |
Defence :
| | First Team | Second Team |
| Defensive Tackle | Tanner Schmekel (Regina) Jean-William Rouleau (Laval) | Darien Newell (Queen's) Kyle Samson (UBC) |
| Defensive End | Anthony Bennett (Regina) Silas Hubert (Queen's) | Scott Murray (Guelph) Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal (Montréal) |
| Linebacker | Nicky Farinaccio (Montréal) Ryder Varga (Regina) James Peter (Ottawa) | Emmanuel Aboagye-Gyan (Ottawa) Ryan Baker (UBC) Alec Poirier (Laval) |
| Free Safety | Daniel Valente (Western) | Jaxon Ford (Regina) |
| Defensive Halfback | Ashton Miller-Melancon (Queen's) Cristophe Beaulieu (Laval) | Charlie Ringland (Saskatchewan) Rob Panabaker (Western) |
| Cornerback | Benjamin Labrosse (McGill) Siriman-Harrison Bagayogo (Guelph) | Kevin Victome (Ottawa) Kaylyn St-Cyr (Montréal) |
Special Teams :
| | First Team | Second Team |
| Kicker | Tyler Mullan (Queen's) | David Solie (Saskatchewan) |
| Punter | Chris MacLean (Calgary) | Dawson Hodge (Wilfrid Laurier) |
| Returner | Alfred Olay (York) | Santino Sparagna (Concordia) |

## Post-season

The Vanier Cup was played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2022, according to the rotating schedule, the Québec conference Dunsmore Cup championship team visited the Yates Cup Ontario championship team for the Mitchell Bowl. The winners of the Canada West Hardy Trophy visited the Atlantic conference's Loney Bowl championship team for the Uteck Bowl. These games were played on November 19, 2022, while the 57th Vanier Cup was played on November 26, 2022.

### Atlantic University Sport

| November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 12 31st Loney Bowl | November 12 31st Loney Bowl | November 12 31st Loney Bowl |
| | | | 1 | St. Francis Xavier | 21 |
| 2 | Bishop's | 12 | 3 | Mount Allison | 14 |
| 3 | Mount Allison | 15 | | | |

### Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec

| November 5 Demi-finales | November 5 Demi-finales | November 5 Demi-finales | November 12 41re Coupe Dunsmore | November 12 41re Coupe Dunsmore | November 12 41re Coupe Dunsmore |
| 1 | Laval | 38 | | | |
| 4 | Concordia | 27 | | | |
| 4 | Concordia | 27 | 1 | Laval | 25 |
| | | | 2 | Montreal | 24 |
| 2 | Montreal | 23 | 2 | Montreal | 24 |
| 3 | Sherbrooke | 15 | | | |

### Ontario University Athletics

| October 29 Quarter-finals | October 29 Quarter-finals | October 29 Quarter-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 12 114th Yates Cup | November 12 114th Yates Cup | November 12 114th Yates Cup |
| | | | 1 | Western | 45 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Wilfrid Laurier | 9 | | | |
| 4 | Wilfrid Laurier | 41 | 4 | Wilfrid Laurier | 9 | | | |
| 5 | Carleton | 13 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Carleton | 13 | | | | 1 | Western | 44 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Queen's | 14 |
| 2 | Queen's | 41 | | | | | | | 2 | Queen's | 14 |
| 7 | Toronto | 13 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Toronto | 13 | 2 | Queen's | 35 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Ottawa | 13 | | | |
| 3 | Ottawa | 43 | 3 | Ottawa | 13 | | | |
| 6 | Windsor | 40 | | | | | | |

### Canada West Universities Athletic Association

| November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 5 Semi-finals | November 12 85th Hardy Trophy | November 12 85th Hardy Trophy | November 12 85th Hardy Trophy |
| 1 | Saskatchewan | 37 | | | |
| 4 | Manitoba | 9 | | | |
| 4 | Manitoba | 9 | 1 | Saskatchewan | 23 |
| | | | 3 | UBC | 8 |
| 2 | Regina | 14 | 3 | UBC | 8 |
| 3 | UBC | 28 | | | |

### U Sports finals

| November 19 Semi-finals 19th Uteck Bowl 20th Mitchell Bowl | November 19 Semi-finals 19th Uteck Bowl 20th Mitchell Bowl | November 26 57th Vanier Cup | November 26 57th Vanier Cup |
| St. Francis Xavier | 19 | | |
| Saskatchewan | 36 | | |
| Saskatchewan | 36 | Saskatchewan | 24 |
| | | Laval | 30 |
| Western | 20 | Laval | 30 |
| Laval | 27 | | |

### National Semifinals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Saskatchewan | 3 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 36 |
| St. Francis Xavier | 0 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
at Oland Stadium, Antigonish, Nova Scotia
* Date: November 19
* Game time: 1:00pm EST
* Game weather: Clear, 3 °C (37 °F)
* Game attendance: 2,173
* Referee: Greg Maclean
* TV: CBC Sports
* Boxscore
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Laval | 0 | 4 | 14 | 9 | 27 |
| Western | 17 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
at Western Alumni Stadium, London, Ontario
* Date: November 19
* Game time: 4:00pm EST
* Game weather: Cloudy, −3 °C (27 °F)
* Referee: K.Baird
* TV: CBC Sports
* Boxscore