Box Score If the old adage of a loss being a learning opportunity is true, the McMaster football team has a lot to learn, after being taken to school on Saturday by the Ottawa Gees-Gees, who dominated in every aspect and beat the Marauders 30-8.

A fired up Ottawa crew gave a large home-opening crowd a lot to cheer about, and while McMaster took an early 3-0 lead in the first-quarter, it was all Gee-Gees from that point.  The halftime lead was 10-6 for the home team in what was a defensive battle.

Two major scores in the third quarter put Ottawa in front 24-6 and the Marauder offense was completely out of sync and ended up being shut out in the second half; the Gee-Gees conceded a safety with 12 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.

The defeat marks the first time McMaster has failed to score an offensive touchdown in a game, since a 32-3 loss at the hands of the Western Mustangs in the OUA semifinals on November 2, 2013.

The Marauders committed too many penalties, turned the ball over at crucial times, and gave up too many big plays.  Coming into the game, McMaster was ranked 5^th in the CIS top-ten and Ottawa was unranked.  The Gee-Gees seemed to use that for motivation and made a statement that they are a serious OUA contender.

The Marauders will have to regroup and head out on the road next week to play the Waterloo Warriors.