As we draw near to the end of August, many of us prepare for the start of the NFL season and the school year ahead. Both are exciting – particularly if you’re me – but we have to remember that the CFL has always been excellent at providing entertainment over the last weeks of summer. With one more week to go ahead of some classic Labour Day matchups, we’re trying to build to a crescendo with this week’s slate of matchups.

In league news this week:

• The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they made a $3.9 million profit in the abridged 2021 CFL season – impressive figures considering the shortened schedule and ongoing COVID-related attendance issues.
• Roughriders DL Garrett Marino continues to be an unrepentant shitheel. Fresh off his return from a four-game suspension for taking out Ottawa REDBLACKS’ QB Jeremiah Masoli with a dirty low block that also included his hurling racial slurs at him afterwards, Marino was fined for a late hit after the whistle on BC Lions’ centre Peter Godber during last week’s game. For a guy who’s only been in the league for two seasons, that’s an awfully long record of supplemental discipline.
• The Ottawa REDBLACKS released two defensive starters this week in DB Randall Evans and DE Antonio Simmons; following last week’s demoralizing loss to Edmonton, we may see further changes on the horizon for both the roster and the coaching staff.

Onto the games!

WEEK 11 RECAPS

Edmonton 30 vs. Ottawa 12: It’s truly a wonder that the REDBLACKS continue to draw so well at home, because they’ve only won two games at TD Place since 2019. Yes, you read that correct. With yet another stinker at home, featuring some absolutely abysmal quarterback play by Caleb Evans, the REDBLACKS allowed the visiting Edmonton Elks to score three touchdowns in a game for the first time in three seasons. Ottawa’s offence faded in the second half, when it needed it most – they were completely scoreless in the final two frames of the game. Even with Caleb Evans getting replaced by Nick Arbuckle under centre, nothing changed. It was an excellent start to this current home-and-home series for Edmonton, where they’ll look to build on the strong defensive effort they put forth from this one.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Edmonton

BC 28 vs. Saskatchewan 10: It was a victory, yes, but it was also the worst possible outcome for the Lions: Nathan Rourke got hurt, and his season is almost certainly done. Following a sack by Riders DL Pete Robertson, the co-league leader, Rourke left the game in the fourth quarter with what was revealed to be a severe Lisfranc sprain – his right foot needs surgery and he’ll need months of rehab on it. Despite the devastating loss of their superstar QB, the Lions had a very solid game – their defence picked off Cody Fajardo twice in the first half, which saw him benched for the final 30 minutes for Mason Fine, and their offence continued along at an incredible clip, with Rourke throwing two more TDs (and two picks) while third-stringer Antonio Pipkin punched the ball in twice on goal-line rushes. Saskatchewan falls back to .500 on the year and faces a lot of questions about the team in advance of this week’s rematch.

PICK: BC

RESULT: BC

Hamilton 28 vs. Montreal 29: It wouldn’t be an East Division game if it didn’t involve walk-off field goals; the Alouettes thrilled the home crowd when David Cote connected from 48 yards out with no time left on the clock to seal the deal. This was a back-and-forth battle that featured a ton of lead changes; Hamilton had some stellar performances out of QB Matthew Shiltz, who went 27-39 for 303 yards and two TDs, and receiver Tim White, who carved up the Montreal secondary with eleven catches for 145 yards and those aforementioned TDs from Shiltz. Montreal was lucky to get some similarly strong play from Trevor Harris, who went 24-31 for 382 yards, three scores, and a pick; with so much topsy-turvy action, Montreal was lucky to put together a fourth quarter that was good enough to to get the job done – but Hamilton will no doubt be frustrated by this extremely close loss.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Calgary 22 vs. Toronto 19: The Stamps weren’t playing great in the first half, and longtime quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, a two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player award winner, was benched for the second half in favour of sophomore Jake Maier. While Calgary’s offence wasn’t spectacular in this game, the team was sparked to a second-half comeback by a giant 62-yard pick-six by DB Elie Bouka, who snagged McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass and took it to the house to pull within three points of the Argos. Thanks to Rene Paredes, Calgary was able to chip away at Toronto’s lead until his field goals put them ahead; a big defensive effort by the visiting team also kept the Double Blue off the scoresheet in the fourth quarter.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

BYE: Winnipeg (9-1)

WEEK 12 PREVIEWS

Calgary (6-3) vs. Winnipeg (9-1), Thursday, August 25th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): The Stamps are going to start Jake Maier for this one coming off a lacklustre performance by Bo Levi Mitchell last week. Probably just as well, as the team has already lost twice this year to the league-leading Blue Bombers and a shakeup could potentially be useful. We know now that the Bombers can be beaten, but their bye week last week was sorely needed after ten consecutive weeks without a break. Winnipeg will be without receiver Greg Ellingson and returner Janarion Grant for this game, while Calgary gets RB Ka’Deem Carey back in the lineup – perhaps things might be closer than in previous matches.

PICK: Winnipeg

Hamilton (3-7) vs. Toronto (4-5), Friday, August 26th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): It’s the third of four meetings in a five week stretch between these two provincial rivals, and while tensions will be high, this one is still the dress rehearsal to next weekend’s Labour Day Classic at Tim Hortons Field. Both teams are coming off losses; Toronto needs to figure out how to keep their offence engaged late in the game, while Hamilton, with Matthew Shiltz at QB, seems to have turned a corner on the turnover issues that plagued them so ferociously earlier in the season; they need now to focus on how to ensure their D can close out a game more effectively. Dane Evans dressed as a backup last week, but it’s hard to say what their QB plans are for this game even just now.

PICK: Toronto

Saskatchewan (5-5) vs. BC (8-1), Friday, August 26th, 10:30 PM EDT (TSN, ESPNews): The Lions will start Michael O’Connor at quarterback this week after megastar Nathan Rourke was almost certainly lost for the year last week. Curiously, O’Connor is also a Canadian – which many will know is an extreme rarity for CFL quarterbacks – and more rare still, he found his path to becoming a CFL quarterback primarily through Canadian USports where he played four years with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, where he won a Vanier Cup as Canadian national champs and the game’s MVP. O’Connor has found success at other levels of Canadian football, but his playing time at the pro level has been very limited to date – it’s fortunate that he’s coming into the job with a team that has an embarrassment of riches at receiver and a D that continues to improve each week. Saskatchewan looked bad last week against these same Lions – if they want some revenge after an offensively inept outing last week, they’ll need to pray that the Lions take a step back with O’Connor under centre.

PICK: BC

Ottawa (1-8) vs. Edmonton (3-7), Saturday, August 27th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): It’s another rematch, and the Ottawa REDBLACKS will finally, after two years of speculation, finally start Nick Arbuckle at quarterback. Arbuckle, we must remember, was traded for and signed in advance of the cancelled 2020 season, and was released ahead of 2021 after he refused to restructure his contract; following a series of trades from Toronto to Edmonton and now back to Ottawa, Arbuckle will face off against his old team. The REDBLACKS were awful last week – part of that was QB Caleb Evans’ panicked play in the pocket – but the team as a whole needs to improve. Another loss and changes have to be made. Ottawa didn’t make any midseason changes in their disastrous 2019 and 2021 campaigns – and with 2022 looking to be more of the same, they should well start considering it.

PICK: Edmonton

BYE: Montreal (4-6)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards 

1. Rourke, BC – 3281
2. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 2586
3. Collaros, WPG – 2455

Passing TDs

1. Rourke, BC – 25
2. Collaros, WPG – 18
3. Harris, MTL – 10

Rushing Yards

1. Morrow, SSK – 564
2. Oliveira, WPG – 544
3. Harris, TOR – 490

Receiving Yards

1. Lewis, MTL – 849
2. Rhymes, BC – 810
3. Acklin, OTT – 765

Sacks

1. Robertson, SSK – 8
2. Mauldin, OTT – 8
3. Lanier, SSK – 7

Interceptions

1. Moncrief, SSK – 4
2. Kelly, HAM – 4
3. Marshall, SSK – 3

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 31
2. Bede, TOR – 25
3. Lauther, SSK – 25

PICK POOL

Only three points separate first from sixth. There’s still a ton of season left, folks. Congrats to Gumbygirl, who had a perfect week of picks!

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=205786

Enjoy the games, everyone.