47th Vanier Cup

The 2011 Vanier Cup, the 47th edition of the Canadian university football championship, took place on Friday, November 25, 2011, at BC Place in Vancouver. The McMaster Marauders defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 41–38 in only the second ever Vanier Cup to go into overtime. The Marauders won their first ever national championship while the Rouge et Or lost a Vanier Cup game for the first time. BC Place underwent a renovation, including a retractable roof, and hosted the Vanier Cup on the same weekend it hosted the Grey Cup. This marked the first time the two games were played at the same venue on the same weekend since 2007. This Vanier Cup is notable for being considered one of the best Canadian football games ever played.

McMaster quarterback Kyle Quinlan was named the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy winner after completing 36 of 55 passes for 482 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries, accounting for 588 of the team's 675 total offensive yards. His 36 completions and 482 passing yards were both the second best totals ever recorded in a Vanier Cup game. McMaster linebacker Aram Eisho was named the top defensive player and awarded the Bruce Coulter Award after recording 11.5 tackles and one forced fumble.

Game summary
Laval Rouge et Or (38) – TDs, Guillaume Rioux, Frédéric Plesius, Sébastien Lévesque, Julian Feoli-Gudino, Adam Thibault; FGs Boris Bede ; cons., Bede (5).

McMaster Marauders (41) – TDs, James Hill, Chris Pezzetta, Matthew Peressini, Brad Fochesato; FGs Tyler Crapigna (4); cons., Crapigna (3); two-point cons., Peressini.

Scoring summary

 * First Quarter
 * MAC – FG Crapigna 26 (7:55) 3 – 0 MAC
 * MAC – FG Crapigna 37 (12:57) 6 – 0 MAC


 * Second Quarter
 * MAC – TD Hill 3 pass from Quinlan (Crapigna convert) (1:22) 13 – 0 MAC
 * MAC – TD Pezzetta 13 run (Crapigna convert) (5:25) 20 – 0 MAC
 * MAC – FG Crapigna 24 (13:37) 23 – 0 MAC


 * Third Quarter
 * LAV – TD Rioux 62 punt return (Bede convert) (3:03) 23 – 7 MAC
 * LAV – TD Plesius 37 interception return (Bede convert) (4:17) 23 – 14 MAC
 * LAV – FG Bede 18 (11:49) 23 – 17 MAC


 * Fourth Quarter
 * LAV – TD Lévesque 44 run (Bede convert) (1:57) 24 – 23 LAV
 * MAC – TD Peressini 9 run (Peressini pass from Quinlan) (9:07) 31 – 24 MAC
 * LAV – TD Feoli-Gudino 5 pass from Prud'homme (Bede convert) (12:47) 31 – 31


 * Overtime
 * MAC – TD Fochesato 26 pass from Quinlan (Crapigna convert) 38 – 31 MAC
 * LAV – TD Thibault 33 pass from Prud'homme (Bede convert) 38 – 38
 * MAC – FG Crapigna 20 41 – 38 MAC

Notable game facts

 * It was only the second time in Vanier Cup history the national championship game was decided in overtime, with the first coming in 1994; and the first time a Vanier Cup championship was decided in double overtime.
 * McMaster won their first Vanier Cup championship in their second ever appearance, with the first being a 1967 loss to the Alberta Golden Bears.
 * Laval lost their first ever Vanier Cup game and it was the most points the Rouge et Or surrendered all season.
 * This was the first Vanier Cup to be played in Vancouver and just the second in Western Canada after Saskatoon hosted the game in 2006.
 * With the Laval loss, the Guelph Gryphons are now the only team with an undefeated record in Vanier Cup games.
 * Only two teams in Vanier Cup history have had no points at the half and came back to win, with Saskatchewan in 1996 and Laval in 2004.
 * The game was broadcast using the same facilities TSN employed for the Grey Cup, including 36 cameras plus cablecam.
 * This was the first Vanier Cup to be broadcast on a national radio network (TSN Radio) with the flagship station TEAM 1410.

Championships
The Vanier Cup is played between the champions of the Mitchell Bowl and the Uteck Bowl, the national semi-final games. In 2011, according to the rotating schedule, the Atlantic conference Loney Bowl champion Acadia Axemen met the Ontario conference's Yates Cup champion McMaster Marauders for the Uteck Bowl. The winners of the Canada West conference Hardy Trophy, the Calgary Dinos, hosted the Dunsmore Cup Quebec champion Laval Rouge et Or for the Mitchell Bowl.