The Canadian Press
TORONTO — The weather may be getting cooler, but things are only heating up across the country.
The week starts with a Friday night doubleheader. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a chance to clinch a home playoff date with a win (or a Calgary loss) and will hope to do so at IG Field against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders, on the other hand, are looking to get back in the win column after three-straight losses.
Then things head to BC as the Lions welcome the Ottawa REDBLACKS to BC Place. The Lions lost the back half of a home-and-home against the Stamps in Week 16 and look to keep pace at the top of the West with a win this weekend. Ottawa dropped back-to-back games to the Toronto Argonauts and will look to tame the Lions to get their fourth win of the season.
Saturday’s doubleheader begins in Edmonton as the Elks host the Montreal Alouettes. If Edmonton loses, and the Roughriders win, the Elks will be eliminated from playoff contention so this game is a must-win for those who are wearing the green and gold. Montreal sits second in the East Division and will hope to bring momentum west after their big win against Hamilton last week.
And finally, the week ends in Calgary as the Toronto Argonauts visit the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. The Argos have won four-straight games and have clinched a home playoff date in the process. With a win over the BC Lions last week, the Stamps are tied in points with the Leos for second in the West and will hope to move ahead of them this weekend with a win.
Buy Tickets
» Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET: Roughriders at Blue Bombers
» Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET: REDBLACKS at Lions
» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: Alouettes at Elks
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Argonauts at Stampeders
DOWN THE STRETCH
(Team | Remaining opponents | Combined record)
West Division
- Winnipeg | SSK, EDM, @BC, Bye, BC | 28-26 (.519)
- BC |OTT, @TOR, WPG, @EDM, @WPG | 39-29 (.574)
- Calgary | TOR, Bye, HAM, @SSK, SSK | 24-31 (.436)
- Saskatchewan | @WPG, @HAM, CGY, @CGY | 34-22 (.607)
- Edmonton | MTL, @WPG, TOR, BC | 35-18 (.660)
East Division
- Toronto | @CGY, BC, @EDM, @MTL, MTL | 34-33 (.507)
- Montreal | @EDM, OTT, @OTT, TOR, @TOR | 26-40 (.394)
- Hamilton | Bye, SSK, @CGY, OTT, @OTT | 21-33 (.389)
- Ottawa | @BC, @MTL, MTL, @HAM, HAM | 29-38 (.433)
OLD STOMPIN’ GROUNDS
- Danny Maciocia will return to Edmonton for the first-time as a head coach since 2010.
- Maciocia helmed Edmonton from 2005-08, compiling a regular season record of 33-38-1 and a playoff mark of 3-1.
- With Edmonton, Maciocia had a record of 22-13-1 (.625) at Commonwealth Stadium. Of those 36 home games, 18 were decided by five points or less.
- In 2005, he led Edmonton to a 38-35 overtime victory to capture the 93rdGrey Cup.
- Montreal is 5-4 since Maciocia’s return to the sidelines in Week 6, including his current stretch of 4-1.
QUICK SLANTS
- The CFL leader in receiving yards in three of the past five weeks has been a Canadian:
- Week 12 | Kian Schaffer-Baker (170)
- Week 14 | Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (161)
- Week 16 | Nate Behar (119)
- Saskatchewan is in the hunt for its 17th playoff berth in the past 20 years.
- Winnipeg has started the same five offensive lineman in its last 12 games.
- Nic Demski is five short of 3,000 career receiving yards.
- Last week, Ottawa’s Nate Behar established personal bests in catches (nine) and receiving yards (119) – which was also a league-high for Week 16.
- The REDBLACKS’ Ryan Davis collected a career-high 10 receptions last week against Toronto.
- BC is on pace to have three 1,000+ yard receivers with Keon Hatcher (820) and Lucky Whitehead (879) looking to join Dominique Rhymes (1,062).
- Rick Campbell is 3-0 in his career against Ottawa.
- Sean Whyte is a perfect 13-for-13 on field goal attempts since the beginning of August.
- The Alouettes have one win in their last seven visits to Edmonton.
- Trevor Harris’s next touchdown pass will be the 150th of his career. His 149 are the second-most among active players, trailing only Bo Levi Mitchell’s 188.
- As a franchise, Edmonton holds a 49-31-2 advantage over the Alouettes.
- Duron Carter will play his 100th game this week.
- Toronto’s Ryan Dinwiddie is 1-1 as a head coach against Calgary, with his lone victory coming at McMahon Stadium.
- McLeod Bethel-Thompson (3,672) needs 328 yards to record the second 4,000+ passing yard season of his five-year career. His personal-best is 4,024, set in 2019.
- In their past three games, the Stampeders have registered 13 sacks, while yielding none. Calgary has allowed zero sacks on seven occasions this season, with a record of 5-2 in those contests.
- Shawn Lemon recorded his 11th sack of the season last week, moving into the Top-15 all-time and tying Brent Jonson and Brett Williams (89). Hall of Famer Mike Walker sits 14th with 95.5.
- Dave Dickenson is 70-28-2 (.710) in his first 100 games as Calgary’s head coach. He enters game 101 with a career regular season mark of 9-1 against Toronto.
