November 18, 2016

CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at the Division Finals

Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca

TORONTO — Just one game separates all four teams left in the Division Finals from the 104th Grey Cup Championship.

A win and you’re in. A loss and you’re headed home.

It all starts in Ottawa, when the Edmonton Eskimos come to town to battle the REDBLACKS. These two teams met last year in the 103rd Grey Cup, where the Esks defeated the REDBLACKS for the final trophy. Ottawa will be looking for redemption against the Green and Gold when they hit the field at TD Place Stadium. The REDBLACKS will also be looking to stop Edmonton’s ground attack – John White rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns against the Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Semi-Final. Henry Burris will be leading the charge for the REDBLACKS, as the Esks defence will have to contain Greg Ellingson, Ernest Jackson and Brad Sinopoli – all of which had 1000+ yard seasons this year. A win for the Esks means they will become the first crossover team in CFL history to make it to the Grey Cup. A win for Ottawa sees the team make the final showdown for the second time in the three years.

The action then heads to Calgary as the Stampeders host the BC Lions for the Western Division Final. The BC Lions will be riding some momentum coming into the contest after coming back from a 13 point deficit at the half to defeat the Blue Bombers 32-31 in the Western Semi. It was quarterback Jon Jennings who ran in the game-winning touchdown with under two minutes left in the contest to take the Lions to the Western Final. BC reciever Emmanuel Arceneaux is questionable to play on Sunday, as he left last week’s contest after taking a hard hit from Taylor Loffler in the end zone. If he isn’t available to play, Jennings will be relying on Bryan Burnham, Terrell Sinkfield, and Shawn Gore, who is likely going to be making his return to the field this week. The Stamps, meanwhile, are looking to cap off their stellar 2016 season with a trip to the Grey Cup. It’ll be up to the Lions defence, led by Team 100 – Adam Bighill and Solomon Elimimian – to shut down the powerhouse that is Bo Levi Mitchell and co. DaVaris Daniels continues to be Mitchell’s favourite target through the air, while Jerome Messam is almost unstoppable on the ground. In a battle of the league’s two top defences and two savvy quarterbacks, who will come out on top?


BUY DIVISION FINAL TICKETSJohn_White_2016_ESF_2

» Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET: Edmonton at Ottawa
» Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET: BC at Calgary


DIVISION FINAL HISTORY LESSON

Western Division Final: Since 1972 and the change to a single-game format for the Western Division Final there have been 43 games (average margin: 11.8 pts). Of those 43 single game Western Finals, 19 of have been won by the visiting team (44 per cent), the team with the lower regular season finish.

First place clubs are just 24-19 (.558) since 1972 in Western Division Final games and are just 3-3 since 2010.

Edmonton has won 18 Western Division Finals since 1972; BC, Calgary & Saskatchewan are all tied for second with eight wins.

The last two Western Finals have been dominated by the home team with wins by +14 (CGY in 2014) and +25 points (EDM in 2015). BC will be trying to make it four different Western Finals winners in the last four years.

Eastern Division Final: The East adopted the single-game format in 1973, one year later than the West; there have been 41 single-game Eastern Finals. The home (higher-ranked) team in Eastern Finals has dominated much more than in the West winning 28 of the 41 games. The home team has won six of the last eight Eastern Finals and overall are 11-5 .688 since the 2000 game.

Edmonton is looking to be the first team from the West Division to make it to the Grey Cup; this is their fifth game as a crossover team. (2008: 1-1, defeated WPG, lost to MTL; 2012: 0-1, lost to TOR; 2016: 1-0, defeated Hamilton).

West Division clubs to reach the Eastern Final: Edmonton 2008 (10-8) at Montreal (11-7) BC 2009 (8-10) at Montreal (15-3) Edmonton 2016 (10-8) at Ottawa (8-9-1). (Edmonton in 2016 is the FIRST crossover club to play in an Eastern Final with a better W-L record than the host team)


» PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE DIVISION SEMI-FINALS


DIVISION FINAL GAME NOTES

Making history: This year’s Eastern Division Final will be the first ever playoff meeting between any Ottawa club and Edmonton. (Note: They have met in the Grey Cups of 2015, 1981, 1973, and 1960)

Redemption story: After losing their first four games to Edmonton, the REDBLACKS swept the 2016 season series but by margins of just three and eight points.

Home not-so-sweet home?: The REDBLACKS bring a three-game losing streak at TD Place into this game, the opposite of 2015 when they won their final home prior to the Eastern Final. In 2016, they ranked eighth in the CFL at home with a 2-6-1 record (7-2 at home in 2015).

Ground game strong: In the first 13 games of 2016, Ottawa rushed for 100+ yards just twice; they have 100+ yards rushing in each of their last five games. Running back Mossis Madu started six games down the stretch and averaged 81.7 rushing yards per game; that is 1470-yard pace for a full year. Madu’s six-game rushing totals: 92 carries for 490 yards, a 5.3 yard average, three TDs and 11 runs of 10+ yards.

Hank being Hank: Henry Burris threw for 300+ yards in each of his last three starts, with 1,149 yards, four TD passes, nine TD drives led and a 2-1 record.

Old friends: BC and Calgary have met in the playoffs in 12 different years covering 14 games. Calgary leads the rivalry with 10 wins to four overall and their six Division Finals meetings have been split at three wins each.

McMahon Stadium: The Lions have lost their last three regular season trips to Calgary and their record at McMahon Stadium is 1-6 since Oct 26/12. The Stampeders last home loss was on October 15, 2015 – a span of 402 days from then up to this year’s Western Final with BC.

Comeback kids: The Lions staged a comeback from 19 points down (25-6) vs Winnipeg winning 32-31 on a nine-yard run by Jonathon Jennings with 1:06 left. It was the largest comeback to win a playoff game in the last 56 years and was just one point short of the all-time single-game CFL playoff record set by Ottawa in 1960. Ottawa trailed at Toronto 20-0 on Nov 20/60 and won 21-20.

Fast starts: No opponent scored more than nine points in the first quarter this season vs. Calgary and the Stamps edge was 138-58. They led after the first quarter this season 15 times in 18 games and are 46-8 since 2012 when leading after 15:00 of play.

Offence on offence: The Lions’ 545 points scored was their highest season total since 2008 (559 points); their 12 wins the most since 2012 (13-5).

He’s still got it: Paul McCallum has made all four of his FG attempts since returning two games ago; his playoff career record is 45-of-50 and he not missed a FG attempt since 2004. He has made his last 36 FG attempts, a CFL playoff record.