The Carleton Ravens will look to bounce back from a difficult 0-3 start when they head to Toronto on Saturday night to face the Varsity Blues. The Ravens will face a 1-2 Varsity Blues team coming off back-to-back lopsided losses to Guelph and McMaster.
Something will have to give as the Ravens and Varsity Blues enter the game tied at 8th in the OUA for points allowed per game. The biggest difference between the two teams comes on the offensive side of the ball where Carleton is fourth in the OUA at 401 yards of offense per game compared to Toronto's 334.
Ravens quarterback Elijah Barnes has established himself as a legitimate passing threat in the OUA. With just under three full games played, Barnes is third in the OUA with 661 yards passing. The second-year, who appeared in only 1 game in 2023, has quickly brought stability to the Ravens' offence after the injury to Tristan Lefebvre. On Saturday afternoon, Barnes connected with veteran Tristan Ready eight times for 121 yards.
The Ravens will look to establish their running game, having averaged only 144.3 yards per game, against a Toronto defence in the bottom fifth of the league in rushing yards and last in the OUA in offensive yards allowed.
Garrett Ellis leads the Varsity Blues with 139 yards rushing while quarterback Kaleb O'Donaghue is 46-79 passing for 604 yards. Former quarterback Kinsale Philip leads Toronto in tackles with 16.5.
