Fall is officially here, folks. Football weather has finally arrived as well – I haven’t run my home A/C in over 10 days and I’m thrilled about this. Not just for the energy savings, of course, but also for the fact that it’s the ideal temperature to enjoy this beautiful game. Nothing like having a cozy blanket to enjoy along with your beer and chips.

In league news this week:

• In the wake of a heated parking lot confrontation after last week’s Lions-Stampeders game, the CFL suspended Calgary LB Cameron Judge for one game. Judge’s suspension comes as a result of sucker-punching Lions WR Lucky Whitehead on the field; allegedly, Whitehead made a series of disparaging comments towards Judge’s family. Following the on-field altercation, Calgary police had to separate both teams as they left McMahon Stadium before further punches were thrown. Judge will not appeal the suspension and will miss this week’s rematch.
• The Montreal Alouettes signed a number of players this week, bringing back DL Jamal Davis after his release from the NFL’s LA Chargers, as well as former Ottawa REDBLACKS DB Ranthony Texada, who was released just a few weeks ago.
• Veteran LB Kyries Hebert, who played 12 CFL seasons from 2004 through 2018, signed a one-day contract to retire as a Montreal Alouette earlier this week. Hebert was known for his reckless abandon and hard hits, but he also gradually developed a reputation for dirty play, particularly headshots – the best-known of which was probably the 2014 blow to Calgary RB Jon Cornish which ultimately forced him to retire from football. Love him or hate him, he’ll certainly be a name that Canadian football fans will remember for quite a while.

Onto the games!

WEEK 15 RECAPS

Edmonton 26 vs. Saskatchewan 24: Don’t look now, but the Elks are now just two games back of Saskatchewan in the West. This bad season is taking a turn for the worse in Riderville as the lowly Elks put together a really complete game to send the home crowd away unhappy. Edmonton broke a seven-year losing streak in Regina with the victory in this match – a very auspicious stat indeed – by leaning on recently-extended QB Taylor Cornelius to get the job done. Cornelius finished the night 13-24 for 237 yards and a TD to Dillon Mitchell, while also adding eight carries for 93 yards and a rushing score. Cody Fajardo also rebounded somewhat from a few tough outings with two scores and 230 passing yards on 20-27 attempts. This game also featured a ton of lead changes – Saskatchewan held a 10-3 lead after the first frame, while Edmonton took a 17-13 lead into the half. Down 23-14 in the final frame, the Roughriders rallied furiously to take a 24-23 lead with just over a minute left on the clock. Unfortunately, the D couldn’t hold the Elks on their final drive, as Cornelius connected with Derel Walker on three passes to get the visitors into field goal territory, and Sergio Castillo split the uprights from 47 yards out to give them the win. Saskatchewan’s final two passes fell incomplete, ruining a strong comeback effort by the home side.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Edmonton

Winnipeg 31 vs. Hamilton 48: Dane Evans had a career night for the Tiger-Cats, who scored a huge upset victory over the league-leading Blue Bombers. Evans saw the field for the first time since Week 12, and proceeded to go 25-32 for 327 yards and five touchdowns – all personal bests. This was a truly shocking game on so many levels – besides the impressive offensive output, the defense chipped in to boost the home side as well, picking up two interceptions and two sacks of Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros – most notable was the strip-sack-fumble scoop-and-score by Tabbies DL Malik Carney, who returned the ball 22 yards for the score. With three total TDs and three field goals courtesy of Marc Liegghio, the offence had a decent outing for Winnipeg, but their D was uncharacteristically off. The Bombers still are unquestionably the team to beat in this league – but we haven’t seen them take a licking like this in quite some time.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Hamilton

BC 31 vs. Calgary 29 (OT): What an excellent game. Too bad about the post-game antics afterwards. In his first taste of action as the Lions’ starting QB, Vernon Adams played well, going 25-32 for 294 yards and adding 32 rushing yards on three carries, moving the ball effectively. He also set up teammate James Butler for two rushing TDs (including the OT game-winner) and Antonio Pipkin for another. The Stampeders’ Jake Maier had a very good night as well, going 26-38 for 301 yards and three passing scores. Calgary held a 13-10 lead at the half, but BC entered the fourth quarter with a 20-13 lead thanks to Pipkin’s successful goal line sneak and an earlier field goal from Sean Whyte. With time ticking down in the fourth, Maier found receiver Luther Hakunavanhu deep in the end zone to tie things up at 23 apiece. After forcing a two-and-out, Calgary had a chance to win it on their final drive… but Rene Paredes, the league’s most reliable kicker for years, surprisingly missed wide left from 48 yards out… and off we went to overtime. Calgary won the toss and elected to defer, setting the Lions to score on their possession thanks to James Butler finding the end zone on an 18-yard run. The Lions were successful on the two-point convert (which was aided by a re-do courtesy of an offside call on Calgary), setting up Calgary to try and even things up. Maier found receiver Jalen Philpott to pick up six points, but couldn’t come through with the two-point attempt even after thorough review for pass interference. Things were heated between both teams at the end of the game – we’ll see how much carries over.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: BC

BYE: Montreal (5-7), Ottawa (3-9), Toronto (7-5)

WEEK 16 PREVIEWS

Hamilton (4-9) vs. Montreal (5-7), Friday, September 23rd, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN2): Yes, last week Dane Evans looked like the guy everyone in the Tiger-Cats organization envisioned he could be. But after so many earlier weeks of just terrible decision-making and inadequate ball protection, I’m not convinced this is a complete reinvention for him. It’s important that like the Tiger-Cats, the Alouettes have also been the only other team to beat the mighty Blue Bombers this year. With the season series standing at one game apiece, this one serves as the rubber match. Montreal naturally wants desperately to hold onto second in the East and to host that home playoff game, while Hamilton wants to steal it away – but also to make sure that the fourth-place West team (currently Saskatchewan) doesn’t steal away a playoff spot due to the crossover rule.

PICK: Montreal

Toronto (7-5) vs. Ottawa (3-9), Saturday, September 24th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): Ottawa couldn’t get the job done at home against Toronto a few weeks ago; it’s been so long since I’ve seen a home win by these REDBLACKS that I was still living in a shitty basement apartment the last time it happened. If the Argos win, they’ll clinch a playoff spot – and almost certainly will go on to win the East barring some absolute calamity. This is probably Ottawa’s final chance to get involved in the playoff race – but not only will they need to win at home (a Herculean task these days), they’ll also need some help in the form of Hamilton losing to Montreal as well.

PICK: Toronto

Calgary (8-5) vs. BC (9-3), Saturday, September 24th, 10:00 PM EDT (TSN, ESPN+): After the cop-filled mayhem of last week, I expect both teams’ players to be on extremely short leashes by their respective organizations. BC is extremely lucky that receiver Lucky Whitehead wasn’t suspended for this game if the rumours of his rude comments towards Stamps LB Cameron Judge and his family are indeed true. Calgary will of course miss Judge in their linebacking corps – but they’re fortunate to have some good depth all the same. We have seen both games between these teams end in Lions victories – each by just a single point. Expect more of the same this time around – both teams are really good. The West is a deep, deep division, and as good as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are, the prospect of either team getting hot at just the right time and embarking on a Grey Cup run doesn’t seem completely implausible anymore.

PICK: BC

BYE: Edmonton (4-10), Saskatchewan (6-8), Winnipeg (12-2)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards 

1. Collaros, WPG – 3578
2. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 3427
3. Rourke, BC – 3281

Passing TDs

1. Collaros, WPG – 28
2. Rourke, BC – 25
3. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 16

Rushing Yards

1. Carey, CGY – 773
2. Oliveira, WPG – 757
3. Morrow, SSK – 577

Receiving Yards

1. Acklin, OTT – 1025
2. Rhymes, BC – 1016
3. Schoen, WPG – 988

Sacks

1. Mauldin, OTT – 12
2. Lemon, CGY – 10
3. Robertson, SSK – 9

Interceptions

1. Peters, TOR – 6
2. Kelly, HAM – 5
3. Peters, BC – 4

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 39
2. Lauther, SSK – 36
3. Bede, TOR – 33

PICK POOL

As was mentioned in our previous Saturday night Open Thread, holy shit. Literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON got their picks wrong this past week. I’m SHOCKED. I can’t believe this. I wish I could calculate what the mathematical probability is of that even happening in the first place.

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

Enjoy the games, everyone.