It's another week on the road for the Western Mustangs as they prepare to head down the 401 to take on the Windsor Lancers this Saturday at Alumni Field.
 
The Mustangs enter the week coming off their toughest test of the season so far, a 29-14 win over the McMaster Marauders this past weekend in Hamilton. Western spread the ball around in the victory with both Chris Merchant and Stevenson Bone seeing time behind centre, while Alex Taylor and Cedric Joseph led the Mustangs rushing attack with 105 and 45 yards respectively.
 
One of the questions entering this season was who would fill the void left by the departure of receivers George Johnson, Jamal Kett, and Justin Sanvido, and it looks like the Mustangs may have found the answer in Malik Besseghieur.
 
The Nanaimo, B.C., native currently leads the nation with 22 receptions and 349 yards receiving, and has demonstrated his explosiveness each week, including scoring on a 75-yard catch and run during the Mustangs season opener against York. Besseghieur isn't the only Western receiver off to a strong start though, as both Brett Ellerman (13 catches, 241 yards, two touchdowns) and Harry McMaster (11 catches, 222 yards) have proven to be big parts of the Mustangs passing attack as well.
 
Besseghieur, Ellerman, and McMaster will be aiming to increase those numbers this week when they face a Windsor squad that's gone 0-3 to start the season.
 
Through three games the Lancers have been outscored by nearly 100 points (154-55) in losses to Waterloo, Toronto, and most recently Guelph. The loss against the Gryphons came just last Saturday and saw the Lancers give up 81 points and 580 yards of offence on only 58 plays.
 
Despite being 0-3 the Lancers possess one of the strongest running attacks in the OUA, ranking third with 547 total yards and fourth with 182.3 yards-per-game. The duo of Marvin Gaynor and Marcus Kentner powers the Windsor ground game with Gaynor leading the league with 387 yards rushing, and is second with 6.8 yards-per-carry.
 
Defensively, the Lancers have given up the most points in the OUA this season, however they also have one of the strongest pass defences so far this year. The Lancers are giving up just 218 yards through the air, third-fewest in the OUA, and have picked off the fourth-most passes with three interceptions so far.  
 
Coach Marshall on the Lancers
 
"The last two weeks they've basically played with their third quarterback, and they now have Ben Bergamin back. He [played here at Western] is now eligible to play and we expect that we will see him on Saturday.
 
"They've got a couple talented receivers that did not play the last two weeks and they could very well be back too. They're a team that will be competitive if they can throw the football. They certainly can run it, they've got two outstanding running backs and a big offensive line. I would expect that Windsor will rebound, it's a home game, their backs are against the wall and they have to start playing better football.
 
"We can't look too far down the road. This will be an opportunity for us to do some of the things well that we haven't been doing. To build on what we're doing defensively, but also improve our special teams play and be more consistent on offence."
 
By the Numbers
 
9 sacks so far for the Mustangs, the fifth-most among all U SPORTS teams
 
14 consecutive wins for the Mustangs over the Lancers, with Western's last loss coming back on October 25, 2003
 
22 receptions for Malik Besseghieur to lead the nation. He also leads the league with 349 yards receiving
 
45.3 points-per-game by the Mustangs, tying them for first in the OUA and second in the country
 
 
Last Meeting – Windsor 6 at Western 78 – August 28, 2016 

Western was nothing short of dominant the last time they met up with Windsor, defeating Lancers 78-6 to open the 2016 regular season.
 
Chris Merchant made his U SPORTS debut in impressive fashion with two passing and two rushing touchdowns in the win, along the way to helping the Mustangs put up 564 yards of total offence.
 
Although the offensive put up big numbers, it was the special teams unit that provided the highlights of the day, blocking three punts and taking two back for touchdowns. The three blocked punts contributed to the eight turnovers recovered by Western in the win, as they recovered five fumbles and picked off three passes.