The McMaster football team usually needs little motivation when facing the Guelph Gryphons, so expect a fired-up band of Marauders to take the field for the University's 80th Homecoming Celebration on Saturday afternoon at Ron Joyce Stadium.

The Marauders enter the Homecoming clash with a 3 and 1 record in the OUA, while the defending league champions from Guelph are just 2 and 3, and will be trying to break a two-game losing skid.

There is always some bad blood between McMaster and Guelph, going back to the days of the old Ontario Intercollegiate Football Conference (OIFC) when the two schools were bitter rivals, and extending to recent times when McMaster knocked off Guelph in 2012 and 2014 to capture Yates Cup titles.

A McMaster victory would position the Marauders to make a strong run at a top-two finish in the OUA standings, which would secure the always-coveted first-round playoff bye.  Guelph will be fighting for its playoff life, and another loss could make it difficult for the Gryphons to advance to the post-season.

After two consecutive road games and a bye week, the Marauders will welcome the chance to get back in front of the home fans and being Homecoming guarantees a capacity crowd of over 5,000 will fill the Ron Joyce Stadium stands.  Kick-off for the game is set for 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES

• LAST WEEK:  The Marauders were on their bye week and remain 3 and 1 in the OUA.  Guelph dropped a 50-16 contest to Western and enters play with a 2 and 3 record in the OUA.
• LAST MATCH-UP:  The Marauders travelled to Guelph in 2015 for the Gryphon Homecoming game and  came out on the losing side of the 32-23 score. 
• HISTORY: Since the OUA started in 1971, McMaster leads the head to head match-up with Guelph, having won 27 games and losing 19.  McMaster and Guelph have met five times in the post-season with the Marauders holding a 3-2 edge in victories.  The Marauders and Gryphons have met in two of the last four Yates Cup games with McMaster winning in 2014 by 20-15 and in 2012 by a margin of 30-13.
• TOP-TEN:  Despite not playing last week, the Marauders slipped from No. 7 to the No. 8 spot in the weekly CIS top-ten.    McMaster remains one of five OUA teams that make up the top-ten, including: Western (#3), Laurier (#6), Ottawa (#7), and Carleton (#10).
• HOMECOMING:  McMaster has been a frequent guest for the Guelph Homecoming in recent seasons, having made the trip in 2011, 2013, and 2015. This is the first time Guelph has played at McMaster's Homecoming since Ron Joyce Stadium opened in 2008.
• HEAD COACH CLASH:  The 2016 clash between McMaster and Guelph sees the OUA's two newest coaches face off, as Gryphon Coach Kevin MacNeill and McMaster's Greg Knox are both in their first season running their respective programs.  MacNeill was the Guelph defensive coordinator under former coach Stu Lang, while Knox served in the Marauder DC role for eight seasons beside Stef Ptaszek. 
• COMMON HERITAGE:  Both Greg Knox and Kevin MacNeill played their university ball at Wilfrid Laurier, and both can be considered to be branches of the Gary Jeffries coaching tree.  Jeffries was the long-time coach at Laurier, and after leaving WLU he spent time on the McMaster staff in 2013 and 2014.  He is serving as a part-time coach with the Gryphons in 2016.
• GRYPHON REBUILD:  After winning the 2015 Yates Cup, the Gryphons suffered some significant graduation losses.   A model of consistency between 2012 and 2015, Guelph recorded win-loss records of 7 and 1 in each of those four seasons.   The three losses suffered in 2016 are the most since the Gryphons finished 2 and 6 in 2011.
• RECORD PACE: Receiver Danny Vandervoort (Barrie, ON) has played in 28 OUA games and has caught 27 touchdown passes over that span. Vandervoort continues to add to the McMaster career record for TD catches that he broke in 2015, and he sits 4th on the CIS list for career touchdown receptions.  His 28th TD reception will tie him with his former coach Stef Ptaszek for 3rd on that list.