Weekly Predictor: Keeping things going with BC

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

OK Tire Labour Day weekend did not disappoint!

The official kickoff to the stretch drive to the playoffs was a coming out party for Nathan Rourke and the BC Lions, a Blue Bomber take over in Regina, the Tiger-Cats sending a message, and the Elks proving they belong in the playoff conversation in the West Division!

Now we look ahead for what is to come in the final eight weeks of the regular season.

Can the Elks manage to come all the way back to end up in the playoffs? Are the Riders going to have another second half swoon to knock them out of the post-season? Is a QB change coming in Calgary? Will Chad Kelly be able to get the Argonauts a home playoff date? Or are the Tiger-Cats going to get hot down the stretch to threaten Toronto for a final playoff spot in the East?

Some of the answers might seem obvious. But the twists and turns of the season so far has me thinking you can’t predict what’s ahead.

This week has even more intrigue!

BC at Montreal
Friday, September 6
7:30 p.m. ET

Is this a Grey Cup preview?

Now that Nathan Rourke has broken off the rust, I think it can be fair to ask that question. You may have the best two quarterbacks squaring off as Cody Fajardo might be the front runner for Most Outstanding Player, and Rourke looked as good as ever in last week’s win at Touchdown Pacific.

The added boost the struggling Lions defence got with a pass rusher like Mathieu Betts was evident.

Montreal is coming off a bye week to rest a bunch of banged up players. They’ll be coming in fresh with a bit of a shorter week for the Lions to travel all the way across the country.

Rick Campbell’s Lions, however, have been able to win two of the last three road trips to Montreal. Their only loss was just after losing Nathan Rourke to injury in 2022.

While I always go with the East team to win when a West Division team has a shorter week with travel, I think what we saw in Victoria was the launch point for the Lions to stake their claim as a Grey Cup favourite. And they further cement it this week.

PICK: BC

Toronto at Ottawa
Saturday, September 7
1:00 p.m. ET

The Ottawa REDBLACKS were the team to get that launch started for the Lions. What a completely different look from the previous week when Ottawa pulled out the win against the Lions.

Now Ottawa gets Chad Kelly after playing in two games since his return. They’ll be hoping he doesn’t have the same kind of air show Rourke had in store for them.

Dru Brown couldn’t get the ball moving as the Lions swarmed them.

It was one of Ottawa’s toughest games of the season. I’ll be surprised if we don’t see a punch back from Ottawa at home against the Argonauts.

But Toronto will be also looking to have a response after getting clipped by the Tiger-Cats in the Labour Day Classic. That’s a game the Argonauts have to be frustrated that they allowed Hamilton to jump on them as quickly as they did and almost have the game be over before the second quarter even started.

I was going to pick Toronto, but after the physical toll a Labour Day Classic can have on a team and they have to play Monday to Saturday. It’s not going to be ideal to take on a hungry Ottawa team.

PICK: OTTAWA

Saskatchewan at Winnipeg
Saturday, September 6
3:00 p.m. ET

The Bombers and the Riders didn’t disappoint this past Sunday!

While the Riders fell asleep for the second quarter to allow Winnipeg to take control, the feisty Riders nearly pulled off a miracle.

Nearly, however, doesn’t cut it in Rider Nation right now.

Saskatchewan is winless in six straight games, while the previously 0-4 Bombers are now in first place in the West.

The Bombers offence was clicking until the injury to Zach Collaros, which will be a storyline to follow all week. Chris Streveler isn’t the same passer as Collaros but if they do have to turn to Streveler, he was the starting quarterback who kick-started the Bombers with their first win of the season.

Winnipeg will have a game plan ready, though the Riders looked sharp against Streveler’s athleticism.

Saskatchewan needs something to go there way. They were making those big plays late in games to swing the tide to victory and now they can’t find a way to win. Or they can’t get out of their own way with one or two major mistakes. We saw those again with a botched punt return and botched coverages to lead to big plays for Winnipeg in the second quarter.

The Riders will have some fight in them but the Bombers have blown out the Riders in four-straight Labour Day rematches.

PICK: WINNIPEG

Calgary at Edmonton
Saturday, September 7
7:00 p.m. ET

The Labour Day Classic/Battle of Alberta has Dave Dickenson pondering a quarterback change after Jake Maier threw four interceptions.

Meanwhile, in Edmonton, look out! The Elks have won four of their last five and now it doesn’t seem to matter who they have at quarterback as McLeod Bethel-Thompson was on fire against Calgary and the defence was overwhelming for the Stampeders.

MBT’s nearly 500-yard passing performance will definitely get him player of the week honours, and you also have to be fearful of the Elks run game as Javon Leake and Kevin Brown could serve as a tough 1-2 punch to contend with.

Meanwhile, Calgary had zero run game to help Maier out as the game slipped further and further out of reach.

There will be a story to watch in Winnipeg about quarterbacks because of injury. In Calgary it’ll be a story to watch due to the Stamps falling into the West basement if they lose this one.

For me, this comes down to momentum. The Elks are rolling. The Stamps are up against the ropes and I don’t think it’ll matter who plays quarterback this week for Calgary.

PICK: EDMONTON

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