This Golden Hawks National Rankings Update is presented by Westpoint Sports 

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. - The Golden Hawks have ranked #1 for seven straight weeks.  

The purple and gold came off their bye week well rested and did not skip a beat, defeating the Carleton Ravens 55-12 on Senior Night.  

There was some movement in week eight's rankings. Western stayed put at number two, but Queen's, previously seventh, dropped to eighth, and previously unranked Windsor cracked the list at number 10. 

McMaster, Ottawa, and Carleton were the other conference schools to receive votes.  

With the OUA playoffs approaching and set to begin on October 25, the Golden Hawks are preparing for their most important game of the season when they head to London to face the #2 Western Mustangs.  

The game holds playoff implications as the winner receives the first-round bye and home field advantage in the semifinals.  

U SPORTS uses the Elo rating system to calculate its weekly national rankings. Elo calculates team rankings on a game-by-game basis, using an algorithm that generates a statistical calculation based on certain customized variables adapted across the range of U SPORTS team sports.  

The Top 10 in football is generated by a combination of Elo rankings and a media poll, each component worth 50 percent of the final total. 

Also receiving votes: Manitoba (10), StFX (2), Sherbrooke (2), McGill (2), McMaster (1), Ottawa (1), Carleton (1)