Canuck U: Elad, Benefield to fight for conference title; Djabome tackles Canadian milestone

The two best Canadian safeties in American college football will play each other in a Mountain West conference championship rematch between No. 10 Boise State and No. 20 UNLV on Friday.

Boise State’s Ty Benefield, who hails from Vancouver, British Columbia and played for Vancouver College, has a chance to win his second straight title. He’ll have to beat UNLV’s Jett Elad, from Mississauga, Ontario, who didn’t play in last year’s championship loss to the Broncos due to injury. Both Benefield and Elad were named All-Mountain West honorable mentions on Tuesday.

These two have already met this season: Boise State handed UNLV one of its two losses in 2024 at UNLV’s nail-biting Homecoming game in October, 29-24.

Boise State, who had already clinched a title berth, beat Oregon State 34-18 last Friday. Benefield made two solo tackles and had a quarterback hurry in the contest.

UNLV had to win its game against Nevada this past Saturday to make it to the championship, which it did, handily, 38-14. Elad had a career-high nine solo tackles on top of a nine-yard sack in the Rebels’ victory.

Boise State moved up from last week’s No. 11 spot to No. 10 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings. Friday’s win over Oregon State kept the Broncos as the projected No. 4 seed as the fourth-highest-ranking potential conference champions. A second consecutive Mountain West championship would solidify Boise State’s jump to the No. 4 seed and earn a first-round bye.

UNLV went up two spots in the CFP rankings from No. 22 to No. 20, but is still on the outside of the 12-team bracket looking in.

Dariel Djabome’s tackling milestone, Antwan Raymond’s 2 touchdowns lead Rutgers to victory

Rutgers linebacker Dariel Djabome, from Longueuil, Quebec, made history in Saturday’s 41-14 blowout win against Michigan State.

It had not been since Amen Ogbongbemiga’s 2019 Oklahoma State season, where the Alberta native made 100 tackles, that a Canadian eclipsed triple-digit tackles in one year. That changed this weekend when Djabome made it to 102, good enough for fifth in the Big Ten. The Quebec product came into the game with 95 tackles, making seven — on top of a sack — in the 2024 season finale to break 100.

Djabome was named a 2024 third-team All-Big Ten linebacker on Tuesday, as selected by conference media.

Freshman running back Antwan Raymond, from Montreal, Quebec, also had a big day in the Michigan snow. He found the endzone twice, rushing for 71 yards on nine carries and averaging almost eight yards every time he got the rock.

Raymond was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance.

Rutgers will cap off 2024 with a bowl game later in December.

Kurtis Rourke, No. 9 Indiana rebound against Purdue

After dropping its first game of the season against Ohio State last week, Indiana and its star quarterback from Oakville, Ontario, Kurtis Rourke, dogwalked Purdue, 66-0, in the Old Oaken Bucket game on Saturday.

The Canadian gunslinger tied a school single-game touchdown record by throwing six to the endzone and logging 349 passing yards. The shutout brought Rourke up to 2,827 yards and a career-high 27 touchdowns in 2024 despite missing one full game and part of another earlier this season due to a thumb injury on his throwing hand.

Similar to Benefield’s Boise State, Indiana jumped up a spot in Tuesday’s CFP rankings from No. 10 to No. 9. The Hoosiers are projected to stay in the 12-team bracket at the No. 10 seed.

Rourke was named the second-team All-Big Ten QB — behind Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, who was named to the first team — as selected by both conference coaches and media on Tuesday. Pro Football Focus graded Rourke 2.1 points higher (92.3) than Gabriel in total offense, and 3.9 points higher (92.9) in pass grades. Rourke also threw more touchdowns, less interceptions and had a higher passer rating, but finished with less yards and wins than Gabriel.

Akheem Mesidor, No. 12 Miami fall short of ACC championship

After falling behind 21-0 early in the second quarter, No. 22 Syracuse decided to wake up.

And break Miami’s heart.

The Orange came back and beat the Hurricanes, 42-38. Canadian defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, from Ottawa, Ontario, tallied three solo tackles and a sack in Miami’s loss. Mesidor missed the All-ACC team but was named an honorable mention on Tuesday.

The defeat means Miami won’t play in the ACC championship this week; it’ll be No. 8 SMU vs. No. 17 Clemson.

It also means Miami is the first team out of the CFP despite being ranked No. 12. The Big 12 champion will eventually kick the Hurricanes out by this coming Sunday’s seeding announcement — being the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion gets you a reserved spot in the CFP 12-team bracket.

Several Canadians in second round of FCS playoffs

There are 10 Canadians still alive in the FCS playoffs. Two of the best are on two teams in Montana.

FCS No. 1 Montana State tight end and first-team All-Big Sky selection Rohan Jones, from Montreal, Quebec, is arguably the best Canadian player still playing in the postseason. He led the undefeated Bobcats with eight receiving touchdowns and 451 receiving yards this year while playing for a team that boasts the best FCS scoring offense (40.7 points per game). Jones is also one of the best in his position, having PFF’s 11th-highest offensive grade (81.8) among all NCAA tight ends.

This play from a few weeks back will show you why:

Jones’ Montana State will play unranked UT Martin and fellow Canadian offensive lineman Dolapo Egunjobi, a former Manitoba Bisons (U Sports) transfer, on Saturday.

Another Canadian on top of his FCS team’s stat charts is No. 14 Montana wide receiver and second-team All-Big Sky selection Keelan White, from Vancouver, British Columbia. White also led his team in receiving yards (560) this season and has PFF’s sixth-highest offensive grade (73.2) among Big Sky WRs.

White is up against stiff competition on Saturday in No. 3 South Dakota State, which allowed the fewest touchdowns (15) and points per game (12.42) in the FCS this season. South Dakota State also has a Canadian: offensive lineman Ethan Vibert, from Regina, Saskatchewan. Vibert has helped the Jackrabbits’ offensive line maintain the lowest-allowed sacks in the FCS, with just six all year.

More Canadian storylines

Jaylen Smith almost doubled his previous seasons’ combined tackling stats following North Texas’ 24-17 win against Temple on Saturday. The 2024 third-team All-AAC LB from Hamilton, Ontario made 97 tackles this year, 44 more than 2021 through 2023 combined (53), and fourth-most in the AAC.

Elic Ayomanor had a triple-digit-yard game to end Stanford’s 2024 campaign. The Medicine Hat, Alberta WR recorded 109 receiving yards on 10 catches in a 34-31 loss to San Jose State. Ayomanor was named a second-team All-ACC WR on Tuesday.

Nick Cenacle finished his Hawaii season first in the team’s major stat categories in 2024 after a 38-30 win over New Mexico on Saturday. The Montreal, Quebec WR got up to 721 yards and six touchdowns on 63 catches for the year after recording 93 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions over the weekend.

Isaiah Bagnah’s No. 18 BYU beat Houston to finish the season. The Lethbridge, Alberta DL had two tackles to bring his total for the year up to 25.