Prediction Time: CFL.ca writers make their Division Final picks

TORONTO — The picks are in and the decision is almost unanimous: The CFL.ca writers are heavily favouring a Battle of Alberta in the Grey Cup.

It’ll be Sunday evening when the stage is set for the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw as the Lions, Stampeders, REDBLACKS and Eskimos vie for a chance to play for the league’s most prestigious honour on Nov. 27.

The writers have submitted their picks and four out of six are picking both Edmonton and Calgary to win this weekend, an outcome that would make CFL history with the first ever all-West matchup in the season’s defining game.

Last week, the writers came through after their general consensus that BC and Edmonton would walk away winners — although both results were in doubt right up until the score clocks hit zero on both games.

Who will prevail this week?

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While the writers seem convinced yet again, this weekend’s games appear simply too close to call.

No team put up a better fight against Calgary than the BC Lions, who look to prove they’ve taken the next step in what’s been a remarkable turnaround season in a road visit to the league-leading Stampeders.

To the east, meanwhile, Henry Burris looks to defy the laws of age and regression among quarterbacks by guiding the REDBLACKS to a second straight appearance in the Grey Cup — in a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup vs. Edmonton, no less.

Do you agree with our writers? We break down their picks:

CFL.ca Pick ‘Em Leaders: #GCPlayoffs

EF: EDMONTON @ OTTAWA

The REDBLACKS find themselves defending not just home field or two straight East Division titles in Sunday’s Eastern Final but also the fate of their entire division.

Yes, a win by Edmonton at TD Place this weekend would mark the first time in CFL history that no team from the East will be represented in the Grey Cup Championship.

Crossover storyline aside, all eyes this time around will be on Mike Reilly and Henry Burris — two of the league’s elderstatesmen at quarterback that boast proven track records and winning resumes.

Burris will never stop answering critics and at 41 he’s throwing the ball as well as he ever has.

Reilly brings the same competitive nature and intensity every play, no matter what the situation, and will try and pivot the Eskimos to victory despite coming off an injury last week that sidelined him late in the Eastern Semi-Final.

There’s so much more to Sunday’s matchup than just those two guys but how can we not focus on the battle between last year’s Most Outstanding Player and last year’s Grey Cup Most Valuable Player? The better of the two probably ends up playing on Nov. 27.

PICK TREND

WRITER PICKS

Cauz	Morris	Steinberg	Landry

Ferguson	Nye

WF: BC @ CALGARY

Of the four remaining starting quarterbacks in the playoffs, 24-year-old Jonathon Jennings is the only one that hasn’t won a Grey Cup Championship. Has Jennings’ time arrived?

That’s just one of the many intriguing storylines on Sunday as Jennings looks to continue his emergence among an elite club of CFL quarterbacks while the Calgary Stampeders hope to continue what’s been a dream season under rookie head coach Dave Dickenson.

Few teams challenged the Stampeders at all in 2016 but no team challenged Calgary like the Lions, the only team to hand Bo Levi Mitchell a loss this season before later taking the Stampeders to overtime in a heartbreaking loss.

While a quick peak at the standings reveals a significant edge for Calgary, these two Western foes are about as close as it gets on paper.

By roughly 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday evening, one of them will have booked a ticket to Toronto for the 104th Grey Cup.

PICK TREND

WRITER PICKS

Landry	Ferguson	Cauz	Morris	Steinberg	Nye

No Picks