Football | 10/9/2026 2:00:00 PM

The York University Lions football team will attempt to get back in the win column this Saturday as they return home to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees at York Lions Stadium. York has suffered some devastating injuries recently. During last week's game against the Lancers, the Lions found themselves down eight starters due to injuries, forcing the Lions to play shorthanded and not to their potential capabilities. York would go on to lose to Windsor in their last contest as a result.

Now, the Lions look ahead to their next matchup against the visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees. Ottawa had a great start to the season, starting 3-0 and announcing themselves as a threat for the rest of the season. However, they have gone 1-2 since with a close loss to Guelph followed up by another loss to Queen's. Ottawa got back on track last week with a win over the Carleton Ravens, who the Lions also beat earlier this season.

As mentioned, York has been battling some brutal injuries and has not caught a break this season since their win against Carleton. Gaining some of their starters and depth back from injury would certainly help a severely undermanned Lions team in their game this weekend.

The Lions defense will be tested this weekend as they will be tasked with slowing down the current rushing leader in the OUA. Souleymane Camara is currently leading the OUA in rush attempts, rushing yards, and rush yards per game. Camara has run the ball 32 more times than the next on the leader board. Camara is the only back on the leader board also rushing for 100+ yards per game, as he has been an absolute workhorse for the Gee-Gees this season.

Thankfully for the Lions, one of their bright spots this season has been their ability to stop the run, as they are allowing less rush yards per game than the Gee-Gees. Given that the Lions have been relying on a heavy run game due to injuries on the offense, these numbers should bode well for their attack this weekend. The game also should not see a lot of stoppages either, as both of these teams are quite disciplined. Both teams give up the fewest penalty yards per game, Ottawa the least with 43.3 on average while York gives up the second fewest with 53.4.

Last season when these two teams played, Ottawa emerged victorious with a 33-17 victory. York will look to avenge that loss this weekend and sweep the Ottawa teams on the season.

The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 PM EST at York Lions Stadium on Saturday, October 9^th. Tickets are available at yorkulions.ca/tickets. The game will also be available for streaming on OUA.tv.