LONDON, Ont. - This Saturday evening will see the Mustangs football team travel down to Waterloo to take on the 3-1 Waterloo Warriors in what will be their first and only meeting of the regular season. Western will be kicking off what will be a two-game road trip following their blowout win over the York Lions in TD Stadium last Saturday afternoon. The win ultimately gave Western a perfect 3-0 record and sole possession of first place in the OUA. The game also marked the second runaway win in a row for the Mustangs, as Chris Merchant had yet another field day with the opposing defence, throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns in limited minutes.

However, this week will no doubt prove more of a test for the purple and white, as Waterloo will be entering this weekend's matchup following a come-from-behind victory over their rival, the Laurier Golden Hawks. Waterloo's victory came in large part from the play of quarterback Tre Ford. Ford carried the Warriors with an incredible 472 passing yards with no interceptions on the day. Ford also proved his versatility out of the pocket, tallying 86 rushing yards along the way. 

Ford will be a new test for the purple and white defence this weekend. In his second season in the OUA, Ford and the Warriors did not face Western during the Mustangs' perfect season last year, but with defensive backs such as Bleska Kambamba lining the backfield, there is little doubt that Jones will face unprecedented resistance from Western this season.

However, despite the promise of the Waterloo offence, the defence will no doubt be a struggle against a Western team fielding Merchant and a pair of superstar running backs in Cedric Joseph and Alex Taylor. Waterloo has managed to hold opponents to under 20 points just once this season, holding the Toronto Varsity Blues to 18 points in their second win of the year. The Warriors have been consistently picked apart by their opponents' passing game, while Western boasts some of the OUA's most skilled receivers and an elite quarterback manning the offence. But despite the statistics in Western's favour, much of this upcoming weekend will be an unknown to both teams, as the two programs have not faced off since the Mustangs' 75-14 victory over the Warriors back in 2016.

Saturday's meeting between the Warriors and Mustangs will be a clash of the OUA's top teams at this point in the season. With a 3-1 record and a second-place position in the OUA, Waterloo will be looking to make a statement with a win over the 3-0 Western Mustangs, who currently sit atop the OUA and will be looking to maintain their position as well as their undefeated record. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.