Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
TORONTO — It all comes down to this. Win and you move on to the 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw. Lose and you go home.
It all starts on in Toronto for the Eastern Final between the Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders stayed east after their Semi-Final win over the REDBLACKS last weekend and are hoping that a week of team bonding will help them on Sunday.
Kevin Glenn stayed under centre for Saskatchewan for the entire game last weekend – something that hasn’t happened in the last few weeks. Will he stay in control at BMO Field or will Chris Jones swap him out for Brandon Bridge?
Marcus Thigpen had another breakout performance last weekend against the REDBLACKS but will he be in the back field once again? The Riders are rolling with an abundance of running backs including Trent Richardson, Cameron Marshall, Thigpen and Shakir Bel.
The Argos, on the other hand had a week of rest last week and will be looking for a win in front of their home crowd.
Ricky Ray and his offence have been firing on all cylinders over the last few weeks of the regular season. James Wilder Jr. has exploded onto the scene out of the back field while S.J. Green has been a steady hand for Ray to toss to.
The second half of the Division Final doubleheader features the Battle of Alberta between the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos.
The Esks are riding a six-game winning streak – including the win over the Bombers last week in the Western Semi-Final. Mike Reilly has been efficient over that the streak but so has C.J. Gable. He had two touchdowns and over 100 all-purpose yards in last weekend’s win in Winnipeg. Edmonton will hope that Gable continues to contribute and that Reilly can make use of his weapons down field including Brandon Zylstra, Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker.
Calgary, on the other hand, finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak and will be looking to snap the skid this weekend at home.
The Stampedes defence has been the star of the show over the last few weeks of the regular season with Alex Singleton leading the way. But don’t count out Calgary’s offence. With Bo Levi Mitchell at the controls, a win is never out of reach.
Who moves on to the 105th Grey Cup?
Buy Division Final Tickets
» Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET: Saskatchewan at Toronto
» Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET: Edmonton at Calgary
DIVISION SEMI-FINAL GAME NOTES
East Division Matchup & Key Factors in the 2017 season series
- Since 1961 (when inter-Division play began) Saskatchewan actually holds an edge playing in Toronto – 26 wins to 21.
(By comparison in Eastern road games, the Riders are 14-24 at Montreal and 18-26 at Hamilton) - This game pits the CFL’s two best first down teams – Toronto averaged 7.00 yards per play and Saskatchewan was at 6.96.
- One key 2017 difference was in QB Sacks Made – Toronto is tied at #1 with 50, Saskatchewan ranked #8 with 27.
- Saskatchewan swept Toronto in their two-game series in 2017 and have now won the last three times they have played the Argos.
- Saskatchewan won both 2017 meetings despite trailing by deficits of 10 points (Jul 29/17) and 13 points (Oct 7/17).(Saskatchewan outscored Toronto by a combined 38 to 18 in the second half and won after trailing each game at half-time)
- The second half comebacks were led first by Kevin Glenn (Jul 29th) and then on Oct 7th by Brandon Bridge. (Oct 7th: Bridge threw for 292 yards and two TDs off the bench leading five scoring drives in his seven possessions at QB)
- Ricky Ray threw for 300+ yards in both games with five TD passes and 74 per cent completion mark.
- James Wilder was held to 107 yards rushing on 24 carries; the Riders are the last team to keep him under 100 yards.
- Duron Carter had games of 131 & 71 yards with two TD catches and five going for clutch second down conversions.
- S.J. Green had games of 68 & 76 yards with two TD catches and five second down conversions on just 14 total targets.
- FG perfection: Tyler Crapigna made all seven of his FG attempts while Lirim Hajrullahu went five-for-five on his tries.
- Bakari Grant added 200 receiving yards on 12 catches – the most yards he had against any opponent in 2017.
West Division Matchup & Key Factors in the 2017 season series
- Calgary wrapped up the 2017 season series with their second-straight Labour Day home-and-home set sweep from Edmonton.
- Edmonton scored only three points in the first quarter against Calgary this year; the Stamps outscored them 44-23 in the first half.
- Edmonton dominated offensively 408 yards to 353 with 33:14 of time of possession, 354 passing yards per game, and a 56% per cent conversion rate.
- Calgary’s edges were on defence with nine Sacks to three, 32 pressures to 16 by the Esks, and seven takeaways to just three by Edmonton.
- Red Zone: Calgary cashed in seven of their 10 red zone chances (70 per cent); Edmonton went just four-of-10 (40 per cent)
- Punting: Calgary averaged 36.2 yards to Edmonton’s 31.9 mainly due to a 90-yard TD return by Roy Finch.
- FGs: Rene Paredes made six-of-seven field goal attempts vs. Edmonton this year; Sean Whyte missed all three games vs. the Stampeders.
- Alex Singleton had tackle totals of 13, 11 and six for 30 defensive stops vs. Edmonton. He had a tackle for loss in each game.
- Big Plays: Edmonton created seven “big plays” to Calgary’s nine.
- Kenny Ladler made 14 tackles in the two games he played against Calgary; Aaron Grymes made eight defensive tackles in his one game.
Other Notes
- Calgary comes into this game with a three-game losing streak, their longest in advance of a playoff game since 1957.
- Calgary’s last win: The Stamps enter this game with a two-game home losing streak after winning 17-straight at McMahon Stadium. They last won at home 50 days ago (Sep 29/17 to Nov 18/17: 0 days). Their last win at all was on Oct 13/17, 36 days ago.
- C.J. Gable has rushed for at least 70 yards in all five games he has started for Edmonton including 107 in the Semi-Final win at Winnipeg. Gable has 473 yards on 89 carries over his five Edmonton games for a 5.3 yard average with four rushing touchdowns.
- Johnny Adams has shifted to kick cover duty in recent games and has nine special teams tackles in the last four contests.
