#TotalPickEm Preview: Week 13
Following a thrilling slate of games during Mark’s Labour Day Weekend, we get another exciting quartet of contests in Week 13. The 16th edition of the Banjo Bowl and the Battle of Alberta will be the two games that highlight the action.
This #TotalPickEm column is intended to give you some insight into the matchups, but for full breakdowns be sure to visit the main page of CFL.ca for comprehensive resources.
Friday | BC at Montreal
A showdown between a pair of teams coming off byes opens Week 13 action.
Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks said that the goal is to keep Mike Reilly upright — and their personnel changes over the last week reflect that. Their best chance to win comes if No. 13 can get the ball to the likes of Bryan Burnham and Lemar Durant.
Vernon Adams Jr. has been slinging the ball as of late and there’s no reason to think that will stop in this matchup. William Stanback getting full-time reps again should also make it very difficult for the BC defence to slow Montreal down.
Saturday | Toronto at Ottawa
It was another heartbreaker for Corey Chamblin’s squad, who scored just three points in the second half after going into the locker rooms with a 13-point lead.
The Argos’ passing offence, led by McLeod Bethel-Thompson, is on a roll over the last handful of games. They’ll go up against Ottawa, who made a change under centre for this week, naming Jonathon Jennings the starter.
Toronto has lost three straight while Ottawa has dropped seven of its last eight games. Something has to give on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday | Saskatchewan at Winnipeg
Following the first half of their back-to-back series taking place during Mark’s Labour Day Weekend, the Bombers and Riders do it all over again at IG Field on Saturday.
Saskatchewan took home its sixth straight win on the strength of a 300-yard passing game from Cody Fajardo — it was the fourth time he tossed for 300-plus yards in a game this year.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg nearly walked away with a win in their first week without both Matt Nichols and Andrew Harris. Backup Chris Streveler had over 60 yards on the ground for the second straight game, but he also had a season-high 161 yards through the air and Johnny Augustine nearly rushed for 100 yards.
Now that they know what to expect from the Saskatchewan defence, expect the Bombers to come out and have a better outing offensively.
Saturday | Calgary at Edmonton
The second rematch of the week will see The Battle of Alberta move to Commonwealth Stadium.
Bo Levi Mitchell’s return highlighted Calgary’s victory on Labour Day, but Ka’Deem Carey and Reggie Begelton’s outings can’t be discounted either.
Edmonton will need something to click in this game. Luckily for them, they’re 4-1 at home this year. Trevor Harris had his worst game of the year in terms of passing yards, so he’ll be hell-bent on getting back to form in this matchup.
