With Canadian Thanksgiving now done and dusted, any vestigial remnants of summer are now completely gone, and with it, the grim reminder of no holidays until late December. It’s time like these where we need football more than ever to carry us through the beginning of these long, dark nights. I wish you all well and may take American Thanksgiving off in order to show some solidarity.

In league news this week:

• The Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed former Alouette receiver Hergy Mayala. A former first-round CFL draft pick out of UConn, the Montreal native struggled earlier this year, with just seven catches in 118 yards in 10 games played, but perhaps there’s a role for him in the Ti-Cats’ new Scott Milanovich-led offence.
• The Edmonton Elks announced they’ll be closing the upper bowl of Commonwealth Stadium for home games beginning in the 2024 season. With the average Elks game averaging about 24,000 in attendance, they’ll still be able to fill the 31,000 lower bowl and feel a bit more comfortable with games. That’s what poor play, and general national sports fan demographics, will do to you. Commonwealth seats over 56,000, making it the largest open-air stadium in the country. Save for a few one-off Grey Cups over the last decade, the CFL, across the country, just doesn’t fill stadiums that size at all.

Onto the games!

WEEK 18 RECAPS

Edmonton 12 vs. Toronto 35: The Argos were simply too much for the Elks to handle, and they’ll miss the playoffs yet again. Tre Ford was terrorized all night, throwing two interceptions, including an ugly pick-six by Toronto LB Wynton McManis, but earlier, on a very similar play, Ford did throw an absolutely wild TD pass to Gavin Cobb, a rookie receiver, where he scrambled out left, evaded multiple rushers and threw into super tight double coverage. The postseason hopes are done, sure, but at least there’s a little bit of optimism for the future with the team’s awful home losing streak now over and with a young Canadian QB that they can market like crazy.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Toronto

Winnipeg 34 vs. BC 26 (OT): The league and the pundits hyped this game all week in our leadup, and boy, did it deliver. The Lions led for almost the entire game, but with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Zach Collaros found Kenny Lawler in the end zone for a late TD and Sergio Castillo then kicked a field goal shortly after to tie the game up at 26. Before OT, the Lions almost had a winning deep shot TD of their own, but Dominique Rhymes, who caught a 65-yard bomb from Vernon Adams, Jr., was brought down at the five as time expired. Winnipeg won the coin toss and opened the extra frame with possession, where Brady Oliveira scored a rushing major and Kenny Lawler caught the two-point conversion for the Bombers; BC was then stuffed by Winnipeg’s D and lost not only the game, but also probably their best shot at the West Division title and a playoff bye.

PICK: BC

RESULT: Winnipeg

Hamilton 38 vs. Saskatchewan 13: Bo Levi Mitchell surprised many people, myself included, by playing for the first time since July 28th, when he broke his ankle against the REDBLACKS late in the game. While he only played the first quarter as part of a load management strategy that will see his workload increase gradually as we draw closer to the playoffs, he looked sharp, going for 4-6 for 129 yards and a TD. Matt Shiltz tossed two more in his three quarters of action, while RB James Butler cracked the 1000 rushing yard mark on the season for the second consecutive year with a big game (158 yards from scrimmage). Saskatchewan continues to crumble, particularly on defence, and yet they remain the favourite for the final spot in the West playoffs. Jake Dolegala didn’t throw a touchdown for the home side in this game, so it was fortunate that RB Jamal Morrow had a good night with 120 rush yards and a TD – there was hardly any other offence to speak of.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

Ottawa 3 vs. Montreal 29: Two weeks of do-or-die games and two consecutive instances where the the REDBLACKS delivered absolutely nothing of consequence for their fans, and as such, will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. To make matters worse, the Alouettes swept Ottawa this year, with a perfect 4-0 record in the season matchup. Montreal’s defence balled out with six sacks and a defensive TD, and pitched a shutout through almost 54 minutes of game action. Dustin Crum was under siege all night, with Nick Arbuckle coming in late in the fourth quarter to replace him. Cody Fajardo found Tyson Philpot for the game’s only passing TD in the second quarter, while backup kicker Jose Maltos, a Global player from Mexico, had two field goals on four attempts and backup QB Caleb Evans ran in a major against his former team. It’s a big win for the Alouettes, who remain one game up on Hamilton for second in the East and the chance to host the East semifinal.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

BYE: Calgary (4-11)

WEEK 19 PREVIEWS

BC (11-5) vs. Hamilton (8-8), Friday, October 13th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Major bummer last week for the Lions, who really could’ve used that win. They’ll host a home playoff game regardless, but some extra rest is always welcome in early November. They also can’t overlook Hamilton, who’ve managed to right the ship with Scott Milanovich’s offence taking over midseason and with their QBs getting healthy again. Some more good game reps will be helpful for Bo Levi Mitchell as he continues to ramp up ahead of the playoffs; at least the Tiger-Cats have multiple guys they seem to trust under centre right now. For the Lions, a win is the main focus, but I’m also curious to see if DL Mathieu Betts (16 sacks) will be able to break the single-season sack record by a Canadian (currently held by former Lion Brent Johnson, who racked up 17 in 2005); with two games left to play, I like his chances.

PICK: BC

Saskatchewan (6-10) vs. Calgary (4-11), Friday, October 13th, 9:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Riders have lost five in a row; they’ve looked rattled ever since Winnipeg blew them out in the Banjo Bowl over a month ago. Hard to believe that they’ve got the inside track on the final playoff spot in the West; if they lose this game, the Stampeders will sit just one game back with three left for them to play. That should have the entire Riders org sweating, regardless of how ineffective Calgary has been this year. That said, they win this game, they’re in. But that feels like a Herculean task right now for Gang Green. With this also a do-or-die game for the home side, they should come out swinging for this one. The last time Calgary missed the playoffs was in 2004; this is an extremely unusual predicament for the team. Win or lose, expect to see some significant changes this offseason. Hopefully some bye week rest will help them out in advance of this game.

PICK: Calgary

Montreal (9-7) vs. Edmonton (4-12), Saturday, October 14th, 4:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Montreal’s D really found a new level these past two weeks against Ottawa; if they want to make a deep playoff run this year, their offence is going to need to take some similar steps. Despite missing the playoffs this year, Edmonton’s pass rush is going to provide some important reps for the Als’ O-Line and Cody Fajardo to work on pass protection. That’s been the team’s Achilles heel all year long, and with Jake Ceresna and A.C. Leonard both into double-digit sack territory this year, the Elks have a chance to make Montreal sweat some more late in the season. Would also be cool to see Tre Ford not ground into dust; he’s just so enjoyable to watch even when the Elks continue to lose. Better to be fun and bad rather than miserable all the time.

PICK: Montreal

Ottawa (4-12) vs. Toronto (13-2), Saturday, October 14th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Both teams have nothing to play for. The Argos, as we know, wrapped up the East weeks ago, and are primarily focused on making sure they can balance the eternal struggle between rest and rust for their starters. The REDBLACKS, once again failing to make the post-season, are currently staring at an existential crisis. With two games left this year, they’ve only won a total of fourteen games in the past four seasons – and that’s with multiple coaching changes, GM replacements, and roster rebuilds. What’s the crux of the problem here? Fans are furious, and rightly so. These last couple games are, at best, a job interview for next season. As far as I’m concerned, not a single person should be safe, including GM Shaun Burke, who came in here with lofty expectations to get this franchise turned around.

PICK: Toronto

BYE: Winnipeg (6-10)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

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

Passing Yards 

1. Adams, Jr., BC – 4357
2. Collaros, WPG – 4127
3. Maier, CGY – 3820

Passing TDs

1. Collaros, WPG – 32
2. Adams, Jr., BC – 29
3. Kelly, TOR – 21

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 1426
2. Butler, HAM – 1049
3. Brown, EDM – 1032

Receiving Yards

1. Schoen, WPG – 1222
2. White, HAM – 1157
3. Hatcher, BC – 1134

Defensive Tackles

1. Pickett, TOR – 108
2. Awe, CGY – 107
3. Dean, SSK – 98

Sacks

1. Betts, BC – 16
2. Carter, OTT – 11
3. Ceresna, EDM – 11

Interceptions

1. Houston, WPG – 7
2. Dequoy, MTL – 5
3. Katsantonis, HAM – 4

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 47
2. Whyte, BC – 45
3. Castillo, WPG – 40

PICK POOL

We have about two weeks left to break BC Dick’s kneecaps and electronic devices. I still have my doubts about the efficacy of both actions to stop him from winning this year’s pool.

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

Enjoy the games, everyone.