Laval Rouge et Or coach Glen Constantin is nit-picking.

Sure his team is 6-0 in what is quickly becoming Canadian university football's strongest conference, just a win away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Yes, they've held the country's No. 1 ranking for eight weeks running.

He should be content. He's not.

``We're sloppy, we're young on defence,'' Constantin said Wednesday. ``We're doing pretty good on offence. Defensively we're not putting up the numbers we're used to but we're getting it done anyway.''

Other coaches around the country would love to have his problems.

The only constant in this CIS football season has been Laval's dominance. While other anointed contenders have been up and down, and in some cases in and out of, the top-10 rankings, no one has been able to knock the Rouge et Or off their perch.

They'll host Atlantic conference leading Acadia (4-2) on Saturday at PEPS Stadium in Quebec. The Axemen began the year at No. 7 but fell out of the rankings after Week 3.

``We beat a couple of top-10 opponents plus Saskatchewan in the pre-season, for what that's worth,'' said Constantin. ``If we win a tough game this weekend, we clinch home field in the playoffs and if we do that, we'll be in a good situation.''

Coming down the home stretch, only the No. 2 Manitoba Bisons are in similarly strong shape. Manitoba opened the year ninth in the rankings and has climbed steadily to the top, using a stunning 35-16 win two weeks ago over perennial power Saskatchewan to take over first place in Canada West.

They host a 3-3 Regina team fighting for its playoff life Saturday.

No. 6 Saskatchewan (5-2), losers of two straight, visit No. 8 Alberta (4-2) in a match that could determine second in the conference. The Huskies, trying to reach the Vanier Cup game their school hosts Nov. 25, desperately need to get on track before the playoffs start.

Regina and No. 9 UBC are fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Things are more unsettled in Ontario, where no one is entrenched in any of the six playoff spots. No. 3 Ottawa is the closest, needing to beat lowly Toronto (0-7) on Saturday to finish first and earn one of the two first-round byes.

Defending Vanier Cup-champion Laurier is also 6-1 but can't finish better than second without an Ottawa loss. The No. 5 Golden Hawks have been hot lately and need a road win at Windsor (5-2) to earn the second bye.

No. 10 Western and McMaster, which reached No. 3 in the rankings before falling off the chart, are also 5-2 and in the mix for third, fourth or fifth place.

Guelph (2-5) needs to beat McMaster and hope Queen's (3-4) loses to Western to claim the sixth and final playoff spot. Otherwise the Golden Gaels move on.

Whoever does make it is in for a tough post-season, as any of the top-five teams is a legitimate contender.

``I agree totally,'' said Laurier coach Gary Jeffries. ``The top five teams, on any given day any of them can win. I think it's going to be a terrific playoffs.''

It will be three versus six and four against five in the first round of Ontario playoffs, with the winners advancing to play the top two clubs in the semifinals.

In the Atlantic, Acadia looks set to coast to first place and a bye while Saint Mary's (2-3) and St. Francis Xavier fight for home-field advantage in the semifinal.

The Huskies are in very tough with a trip to No. 4 Concordia (5-1) while St. F.X. hosts McGill (2-4).

The only real race left in the Quebec conference is between McGill and Sherbrooke (2-4) for the fourth and final playoff spot. Essentially, it's a competition for the right to lose in the first round to Laval.

The Rouge et Or came close to losing last weekend, when they had to rally from eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Concordia 21-18 in overtime. It was one of the few times Constantin has seen his team tested this year.

``When you come down to adversity, that's when you see the true character of your team and how they're going to respond,'' he said. ``I was very pleased with the poise of our team.

``But as I told my team Monday in our meetings, you can't come from behind all the time.''

Few other teams have been able to put them in that position.