With just three weeks left in the regular season, it’s fairly quiet on the news front around the CFL; only a few transactions to report on. All the excitement is on the field – where it rightfully should be at this time of year.

• With Jimmy Camacho performing inconsistently, the BC Lions signed American kicker Nick Vogel to push him for the starters’ job; he’ll clear his COVID protocol by the middle of next week and should be prepared to play for Week 15 if the Lions decide they want to make a change. Vogel kicked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham between 2017 and 2019, going 41-47 on field goals and 128-131 on convert kicks.
• Toronto signed 2019 Most Outstanding Rookie LB Nate Holley on Wednesday; he spent 2020 with the NFL Miami Dolphins, playing three games and making three tackles. Holley was cut at the end of the Dolphins’ 2021 training camp this year, paving his way for a return to the CFL. In his award-winning 2019 season with Calgary, Holley played in all 18 regular-season games, recording 78 defensive tackles, 22 special-teams tackles, a sack, and an interception; he’s likely to be a key player for Toronto’s playoff run this year.
• The Argos also claimed Canadian OL Jonathan Zamora off of Calgary’s practise roster; he’ll be on their active roster this week in order to adhere to CFL waiver protocols (players claimed off a practise roster must be on their new team’s active roster in the following week). Toronto has faced some OL injuries this year, and Zamora’s status as a National player will help with the roster ratios of National to American players for the rest of the season.

Onto the games!

WEEK 13 RECAPS

Calgary 26 vs. Ottawa 13: Another week, another disappointing Ottawa loss. We’ve known for weeks that the talent just simply isn’t there on the roster. Ka’Deem Carey led the way for Calgary’s offence with 103 rush yards and a TD on 16 carries, while Bo Levi Mitchell surpassed 30,000 passing yards in his career, becoming just the 18th man in CFL history to hit the mark. Ottawa’s Caleb Evans went 15-29 for 173 yards, a TD, and 68 rushing yards on eight carries; more importantly, however, he didn’t the ball over, for once. That said… just simply not enough going on offensively for Ottawa to hang with the Stamps in the second half of this game; the REDBLACKS scored only a single field goal in the second half of the game.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Hamilton 39 vs. Edmonton 23: The reports of Jeremiah Masoli’s demise as the Ti-Cats’ starting QB were greatly exaggerated, it appears. True, a strong performance against the sad-sack Elks may not necessarily be a perfect indicator, but Masoli was extremely impressive in this contest all the same. With 3 TDs and 357 passing yards on 17-24 attempts, Masoli led the way for Hamilton to lay another beating on Edmonton. RB Don Jackson also had a really impressive night for the Tabbies, with 120 yards and a major on 16 carries. Taylor Cornelius failed to throw a passing TD for Edmonton, though Greg Ellingson led the way for the Elks with 7 catches for 101 yards; backup Dakota Prukop scored twice on the ground on QB sneaks, and Sean Whyte kicked two field goals as well.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BC 29 vs. Toronto 31 (OT): With a wet and windy second half, this game was back-and-forth all afternoon. Toronto had a narrow 16-14 lead going into the third quarter, and with conditions worsening, both the Lions and the Argos pivoted to a more run-heavy game. A Lions pick-six at the end of the third quarter pulled them close, and with Toronto faltering, BC had them on the ropes. On another late drive, the Argos’ DL Sam Acheampong blocked Jimmy Camacho’s field goal. After Toronto failed to capitalize on another drive, BC had one final chance to win; with the game-winning field goal on his foot, Lions kicker Jimmy Camacho pulled the ball wide right once again. Thanks to Camacho going 0-3 on field goals, the game went into OT. Toronto’s first OT possession ended in a TD from a goal-line sneak by Antonio Pipkin, followed by a 2-point conversion from McLeod Bethel-Thompson to Jacob Scarfone. BC responded with a TD of their own… but failed to hit the two-pointer afterwards, sealing the win for Toronto, who remain perfect at home this year.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Toronto

Saskatchewan 19 vs. Montreal 14: Trevor Harris made his debut for the Alouettes in the fourth quarter and was efficient in his work, going 12-15 for 123 yards and a TD, but it was too little, too late, as the Roughriders prevailed in a defensive battle of a game. The Als’ D, in an homage to longtime DE John Bowman (who was being honoured at this game after retiring earlier this year), did a very good job of locking down QB Cody Fajardo; however, the Riders managed to get the run game going reasonably well, with William Powell scoring a rush TD to close out the first half. Unfortunately for the Als, the Riders’ D also came to play, and save for Harris’ late TD, otherwise held the offence to two field goals and a rouge. With the win, the Riders lock up a playoff spot of their own!

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Winnipeg (10-1)

WEEK 14 PREVIEWS

BC (4-7) vs, Hamilton (6-5), Friday, November 5th, 7:00 PM EST (TSN, ESPN+): The Lions continue to freefall down the West standings, while the Tiger-Cats are getting hot at just the right time. This is a must-win game for BC; they’ll need everything to go right for their final three games of the season, while simultaneously poking a voodoo doll of Bo Levi Mitchell to make everything go wrong for the Stamps. Getting Lucky Whitehead back on offence last week was a start in turning the tide… but more than ever, the Lions’ D needs to step it up. They’re not effective at pressuring QBs and they lack a sense of cohesive identity. Hamilton continues to trend upward, and Brandon Banks is a bit more engaged in the offence than earlier in this season… but they’ll need the reigning Most Outstanding Player to contribute more yet if they want to make a serious run at a Grey Cup.

PICK: Hamilton

Saskatchewan (7-4) vs. Edmonton (2-8), Friday, November 5th, 9:45 PM EST (TSN, ESPN+): The Riders are licking their chops at this one. Another win would give them a two-game cushion over the Stampeders for the second seed in the West, which means home-field advantage for the West semifinal. James Wilder, Jr. and Greg Ellingson missed practise on Tuesday, but they may end up being available tomorrow. The Elks are really just playing out the stretch; attendance has dwindled as the season’s gone on – apparently Edmonton’s last home game had only 25,000 tickets sold, and less than 10K in actual attendance. Pretty bad, but then again, does the team’s performance both on- and off-field really merit the attention?

PICK: Saskatchewan

Toronto (7-4) vs. Ottawa (2-9), Saturday, November 6th, 4:00 PM EST (TSN, ESPN+): The REDBLACKS need to start Duck Hodges. We’ve seen Caleb Evans’ ceiling; he’s a game-manager when at his best, and an absolute turnover machine at his worst. When you give a QB a three-year deal, you tend to want him to actually see the field, one would presume. Toronto has two jobs this week: keep ahead of Montreal and Hamilton, and, more importantly, stay healthy. They also need to work on performing as consistently on the road as they do at home, where they’re a perfect 6-0 this season. Home field advantage will be a big part of determing whether or not the Argos can go on a run this year.

PICK: Toronto

Montreal (6-5) vs. Winnipeg (10-1), Saturday, November 6th, 7:00 PM EST (TSN, ESPN+): Not an ideal time for the Alouettes to face off against the league’s best team, who are coming off a bye week; they need a win that’ll be tough to come by if they want to clinch a playoff spot this week. The Als are confirmed to be starting Trevor Harris at QB against the Bombers; if he’s as efficient and productive as he was in the fourth quarter last week against the Riders, Montreal has a fighting chance… but still no more than a chance. Winnipeg will likely be without Andrew Harris again as he continues to deal with a knee injury, but the RB depth chart is still looking good with Brady Olivera and Shaq Cooper both ready to go for this week.

PICK: Winnipeg

BYE: Calgary (6-6)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

x – clinched playoff spot
y – clinched division
e – eliminated from playoff contention

Passing Yards

1. Collaros, WPG – 2832
2. Reilly, BC – 2613
3. Fajardo, SSK – 2484

Passing TDs

1. Collaros, WPG – 18
2. Adams, Jr., MTL – 14
3. Reilly, BC – 13

Rushing Yards

1. Stanback, MTL – 960
2. Carey, CGY – 784
3. Wilder, EDM – 714

Receiving Yards

1. Lewis, MTL – 864
2. Lawler, WPG – 804
3. Burnham, BC – 785

Sacks

1. Jeffcoat, WPG – 9
2. Woodard, SSK – 9
3. Menard, MTL – 8

Interceptions

1. Brooks, HAM – 4
2. Lawrence, HAM – 3
3. Marshall, SSK – 3

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 40
2. Lauther, SSK – 33
3. Cote, MTL – 28

PICK POOL

I’ve been looooong overdue for a perfect week. Any and all points help, after all! Congrats to Litre_Cola on a perfect week as well.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=193216

Enjoy the games, everyone.