108th Yates Cup Championship By The Numbers

BURLINGTON, Ont. – The No. 5 nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons travel to London, Ont. on Saturday to take on the No. 2 Western Mustangs in the 108^th Yates Cup, presented by Investors Group. Here is a look at Yates Cup stats and figures from around Ontario University Athletics (OUA).

1898 - The first year the Yates Cup was awarded. The Toronto Varsity Blues were the first team to ever win the trophy.

33 - Combined Yates Cups won by the Western Mustangs and Guelph Gryphons. The Mustangs have won 30, most recently in 2013, and the most by any school. The Gryphons have three, with the last one coming in 1996. That number will increase to 34 on Saturday when the teams meet in the 108^th Yates Cup.

3-2 - Western's record over Guelph in Yates Cup appearances. The Mustangs took home the Cup in 1981, 1986, and 2007 against the Gryphons, while Guelph knocked off Western in 1984 and 1992, which accounts for two thirds of the Gryphs championship wins.

25 - Combined touchdowns from Western running backs Yannick Harou (13) and Alex Taylor (12). Harou ranks first in CIS, while Taylor is tied for second with none other than Guelph's Johnny Augustine.

88 - The most combined points scored in a Yates Cup game. The record was set in 1998 when the Western Mustangs defeated the Waterloo Warriors 47-41.

1 & 2 - Where Western and Guelph rank respectively on defence in OUA. Western has allowed a league-low 13.8 points per game while Guelph has allowed 19.9. Both teams also led the conference in takeaways.  The Mustangs had 15 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries, five of which went back for touchdowns. Guelph had 13 picks and scooped up eight fumbles, while collecting 25 sacks.

60 - Tackles this season from Guelph linebacker John Rush, leading the nation. Rush has put together a career season, collecting three sacks, 8.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

846 - Punt return yards for Guelph's Ryan Nieuwesteeg, which puts him a stunning 292 yards ahead of the country's next-best returner, Carleton's Tunde Adeleke.  Nieuwesteeg also punched in two of those returns for touchdowns this year.

494 -  Points scored by Western this year, a CIS record, breaking the previous single-season mark of 481 set by Laval in 2003. This year's Mustangs are the most potent offence in CIS history, averaging 729.5 yards a game to go along with 64 touchdowns, another CIS record. Led by Taylor and Harou, the 'Stangs also lead the country in rushing yards with a stunning 368.4 per game, over 100 more than the second place Calgary Dinos.

17-1 - Combined records for Western and Guelph coming into their Yates Cup matchup. Guelph lost a shocker in Kingston, Ont. when they fell to the Queen's Gaels 23-15.  Aside from that game, these two teams ran through the rest of the conference, before they will meet for the first time this season on Saturday.

2 - Yates Cups games that have gone into overtime.  In 1937, Queen's and Toronto played the first ever overtime game, with Queen's coming out with a 7-6 wins. The game would not go to overtime again until 1994 when the Mustangs downed the Laurier Golden Hawks 38-36.

10 - Different schools to win at least one Yates Cup, including the McGill Redmen who no longer compete in OUA football. Of the current 11 OUA football schools, only two – York and Carleton – have not won a Yates Cup.

48.6 - The weight in pounds of the Yates Cup. The trophy is 28 ¼ inches tall and features a wood base with seven levels, with name plates recognizing the champions of the 107 previous Yates Cups, with a bowl on top commemorating the donation of cup in 1898 by H.B. Yates.

12447 - The number of the asteroid named after the Yates Cup. 12447 was discovered in 1996 and named "Yatescup" by brothers Robert and Peter Jedicke. Robert was a member of the Western Mustangs football team that won the Yates Cup in 1981 and 1982.