AMSOIL Power Rankings: Into the great wide open

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — OK Tire Labour Day Weekend delivered on a number of fronts. Those results are scattered through this week’s edition of the CFL Power Rankings presented by AMSOIL.

Nathan Rourke showed us the kind of play that took the league by storm in 2022 and helped the Lions get back to their winning ways; the Roughriders and Blue Bombers gave us a dramatic game loaded with twists and turns; the Tiger-Cats shocked the Argonauts to keep things in the East interesting and the Elks gave us all kinds of questions on just how good they could be and what they could be capable of.

It’s almost fitting that the Montreal Alouettes sat back on their bye week and watched all of this unfold. General manager Danny Maciocia’s team is the only one in the league that has separated itself from the pack, with its 10-1 record. While the other eight teams spent another week fighting their way up and pulling each other back down in the standings, the Als got some rest and slightly later than anticipated, were rewarded for it.

Check the standings and you’ll see that the Als have indeed clinched a playoff spot. We’ll have more information this week on who’s next in line to clinch. The Als will continue to try to pad their league-leading record, with their eyes on locking up the East Division and hosting the Eastern Final on Sat. Nov. 9.

For the other eight teams in the league, the neck-and-neck battling continues.

Let’s get into this week’s rankings.

1. Montreal Alouettes (10-1)

Last Week: 1
Last Game: 21-17 win over Edmonton
Next Game: Vs. BC, Fri. Sept. 6

Worth noting: The Als emerge from their bye week and step into a potential Grey Cup preview when they host the Lions on Friday night. Count on William Stanback to come into this one with plenty of motivation. The now Lions’ running back was unhappy with how things ended for him in Montreal, where he spent five seasons and earned a ring as part of last year’s championship squad. We also have the homecoming of freshly re-inked Lion Mathieu Betts to look forward to, AND, the QB duel of Nathan Rourke and Cody Fajardo. There’s only one game on TSN on Friday night, but we think there’ll be enough in it to satisfy your football-loving souls.

2. Ottawa REDBLACKS (7-3-1)

Last Week: 2
Last Game: 38-12 loss to BC
Next game: Vs. Toronto, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: The REDBLACKS’ six-game undefeated streak came to an end in Victoria, thanks to a first half showing that had them trailing 31-6 at halftime. It was oddly reminiscent of the team’s Week 3 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, where they trailed 30-1 at halftime. They’ll look to put just their third loss of the season behind them as they shift their focus to an important game on Saturday against the Argos. The loss in Victoria may have been jarring, but the REDBLACKS head back to TD Place this week, where they’re 5-0-1. They’ll need that home cooking to build a bit of a cushion on the three-point lead they have in the standings over the Argos, as the REDBLACKS will continue to work to lock up their first home playoff date since 2018.

3. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6)

Last Week: 3
Last Game: 35-33 win over Saskatchewan
Next game: Vs. Saskatchewan, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: It took 13 weeks of regular season play and a roller coaster of a ride, but the Bombers are back on even ground and have put their 0-4 start behind them. Most important to them, they’ve climbed back into a familiar spot, at the top of the West Division standings. All eyes will be on Zach Collaros this week, as we wait to see his status ahead of the Labour Day rematch at Princess Auto Stadium. Should we see Chris Steveler under centre this week, and given a quiet Labour Day game by Brady Oliveira‘s standards, will we see a more run-focused Bombers in the rematch game with the Riders?

4. Edmonton Elks (4-8)

Last Week: 5
Last Game: 35-20 win over Calgary
Next game: Vs. Calgary, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: Don’t let the 4-8 record fool you. The Elks you’re seeing have won four of their last five and are in position to leapfrog rival Calgary for fourth place in the West if they can top them on Saturday in their Labour Day rematch. With McLeod Bethel-Thompson coming off of a career game against the Stamps, it’s a safe assumption that he’ll be getting the start this week. Still brand-new team owner Larry Thompson will get to enjoy his first home game this week and for the first time in a long time, there should be very positive vibes at Commonwealth Stadium for him and this rejuvenated team.

5. BC Lions (6-6)

Last Week: 7
Last Game: 38-12 win over Ottawa
Next game: At Montreal, Fri. Sept. 6

Worth noting: It understandably took him a couple of games, but Nathan Rourke looked like Nathan Rourke this past week. That’s a hugely positive sign for a Lions team that desperately needed a win. The record isn’t where they’d want it to be, given their 5-1 start, but the Lions are in about as good a mental place as they could be as they head into Montreal for a showdown with the defending champs and the one club immune to the parity that’s wrapped itself around the other eight teams in the league. We’ll have our popcorn ready for Friday night.

6. Toronto Argonauts (6-5)

Last Week: 4
Last Game: 31-28 loss to Hamilton
Next game: Vs. Ottawa, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: Labour Day will feel like one that got away for the Argos for a couple of reasons. A win over the Tiger-Cats would have pushed their rivals down into the East’s basement, dampening their playoff hopes. It also would have left the Argos just a point behind the second-place REDBLACKS, with a chance to move up to second in the East with a win this week at TD Place. Instead, Ottawa has a three-point cushion going into the first game of Saturday’s triple header. They can’t catch them this week, but if the Argos can hand the REDBLACKS their first loss at home this year, it’d be a nice consolation prize that might take the sting out of that Labour Day loss.

7. Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-6-1)

Last Week: 6
Last Game: 35-33 loss to Winnipeg
Next game: At Winnipeg, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: The Riders are providing the full range of emotions for their fans this season. Their 5-1 start had to have the fans feeling like they were watching Grey Cup champs in the making. This recent slide, which now stands at six games (counting their Week 10 tie with Ottawa) is a journey laced with exquisitely painful paths to defeat. Through all of that, the Riders have been at the doorstep of victory throughout this process. Their last three losses have been by a combined six points and only their Week 9 loss to Edmonton (an 11-point difference) has been by double digits. Sitting at third in the West, anything is still possible for this group, but the wins obviously need to start coming in, both to stay in the playoff race and to climb back up these rankings.

8. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-9)

Last Week: 9
Last game: 31-28 win over Toronto
Next game: Vs. Ottawa, Sat. Sept. 14

Worth noting: The talk around the Labour Day game is always that you could have a terrible record but if you won on Labour Day that was all that mattered. To be fair, we never hear players or coaches say this, but this is the line the Ticats are straddling right now. To make a run at the playoffs they’ll need to channel more of the version of the team that fans saw on holiday Monday. The disciplined team (three penalties for 25 yards) that takes care of the ball (zero turnovers) and creates turnovers paired with a ton of firepower on offence is a dangerous one, if they can consistently stay that way.

9. Calgary Stampeders (4-7)

Last Week: 8
Last game: 35-20 loss to Edmonton
Next game: At Edmonton, Sat. Sept. 7

Worth noting: That once perfect home record has taken back-to-back hits now, with Monday’s loss to the Elks coming at a terrible time. Stamps GM and head coach Dave Dickenson called his team’s defensive showing embarrassing, after they gave up 586 yards of net offence to Bethel-Thompson and the Elks. Saturday’s rematch with Edmonton feels like a must-win, as a loss would feed an Elks team on the rise and would push the Stamps down into the cellar of the West Division. That said, the difference between fourth-in-the-West Calgary and first-place Winnipeg is just four points. Everyone is still in the race at this point.

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