AUFC still lagging in football interlock

A lot has been made of late about the lack of success enjoyed by AUFC teams in interlocking play against the Quebec conference (QSSF).

It's hard to dispute.

With five years’ worth of interlocking play now in the books, Quebec conference teams hold a 27-12 edge in regular season play, and have won both head-to-head playoff matchups since the start of interlocking play in 2002.

Only in the first year of interlocking play did the AUFC have a slight edge: five wins to three. Since then, it has been 5-3 Quebec in 2003, 7-1 Quebec in 2004, 6-2 Quebec in 2005 and 6-1 Quebec (with one game not played) this past season.

Why the lack of success for the AUFC? There's probably little doubt they're playing better football in Quebec these days than we are here in the AUFC - but arguably not that much better.

Laval is a national powerhouse, with three Vanier Cup wins in the past four years. Concordia has a strong program, and Montreal handed Laval its only loss of the season. Sherbrooke, McGill and Bishop's aren't as strong as the top three, but the fact remains Sherbrooke beat Acadia this season in Wolfville, and McGill still hasn't lost to an AUFC opponent in six games over five years of interlocking play.

The reality is, top to bottom, the Quebec conference is arguably stronger than the AUFC - at least for now. While Mount A ended the 2006 season on a high, St. F.X was heading in the opposite direction, with six straight losses after a 2-0 start.

At the same time, it's probably true the interlocking schedule has something to do with the overall inequality. From the start, every effort was made by both conferences to avoid blowouts by not letting Mount Allison, for example, play Laval time after time.

That's not a bad thing, but one probably shouldn't be that surprised the overall results are - well - a bit skewed.

While Mount A's schedule has been getting progressively more difficult - and they were the only AUFC team to win an interlocking game this season - the Mounties have still never played Laval, not once in five years.

During that same period, SMU and Laval have met four times in the regular season, plus once in the playoffs, with Laval winning all but one. Acadia and Laval have played three regular season games plus the 2006 Uteck Bowl, with Laval winning all.

For the record, St. F.X. has the best record to date of any AUFC team against QSSF competition over the first five years of the interlock: four wins and five losses. (Acadia and SMU are both 3-7 during the same period, and Mount A is 2-8.) However, the X-men, while their overall schedule has been somewhat tougher than Mount A's, haven't had to play Laval in five years either, not even at home. While the X-men have been competitive, their four interlocking wins have come over Bishop's (twice) and Sherbrooke (twice), neither of which is a real power - even despite Sherbrooke's win over Acadia this season, which would have to be classed as an upset.

More notably, St. F.X. has lost three of its last four interlocking games, and didn't get to play McGill this season (which has still not lost against AUFC opposition).

No doubt Acadia and SMU might have been able to pad their records with more games against lesser teams, but I haven't heard the Axemen or Huskies complaining. There are positives to playing teams like Laval that can't be measured on the scoreboard.

To my mind, there are certainly other reasons for the disparity between the two conferences, and the fact the QSSF has managed to widen the gap in recent years.

From all accounts, QSSF teams tend to be better supported at the school level than AUFC teams - Laval, in fact, benefits from a significant investment from the private sector that is fairly unique among university programs across the country.

Despite the lack of success overall, though, I'm not sure I'd be pushing any panic buttons just yet.

After all, success in university sport by definition runs in cycles, with both highs and lows along the way. As recently as the mid-1990s, Mount A was playing for - and winning - conference titles - and might soon be again if they continue to improve.

From the mid-'70s to the early '80s, Acadia played in the Vanier Cup final five times in six years and had three different Hec Crichton Award winners. SMU had similar runs in the late '80s and early '90s and again in the early part of this decade.

Over the past 25 years, the Axemen and Huskies have usually always been competitive, and that continues to be the case. Mount A is on the way back up to respectability, and I'm sure St. F.X.'s current downtrend will prove to be temporary.

The biggest problem - and it has been a problem in other sports - is there will end up being so much parity in the AUFC, anyone could literally beat anyone on any given day.

At the same time, I wouldn't expect the overall level of play in the Quebec conference to get any worse, given how seriously they take their football in that province, at all levels.