What a treat it is when the final week of the regular season still results in meaningful, significant football to be played. In this case, we still have several important playoff races to settle! In the East, Hamilton and Montreal are tied with identical 10-7 records, with Hamilton currently holding the tie-breaker due to their season series results; if the Tiger-Cats lose and Montreal wins this week, the Alouettes will leapfrog them to clinch the East division title and a first-round playoff bye. In the West, we have a topsy-turvy scenario: BC and Calgary are currently in second and third with identical 10-7 records, with BC holding the tie-breaker due to their season series results. If the Lions win this week, they will clinch the right to host the West semifinal… but it’s not quite so simple if they lose. The Bombers, despite their inconsistency this year, sit just 1 game back of both Calgary and BC, so if somehow both the Lions and Stamps lose, that would result in a three-way tie of 10-8 records, with each team having won a series against one and lost against another (BC beat Calgary and lost to Winnipeg; Calgary beat Winnipeg and lost to BC; Winnipeg beat BC and lost to Calgary). The next determining tiebreaker I believe is point differentials; but I must say even then I am not 100% certain. We’ll see how this week’s games go, I suppose!

In league news this week:

• The CFL announced that mgk (the artist formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly) will headline the Grey Cup halftime show this year. Unless baby mama Megan Fox is somehow also featured in the show, I don’t predict a lot of widespread interest in this year’s show. Couldn’t name a single tune he does or even whistle you a melody, but apparently this is somehow a big get for the league… How is this possible? Am I out of touch? Or is it the children who are wrong?
• The Montreal Alouettes signed GM Danny Maciocia and HC Jason Maas to two-year contract extensions earlier this week; Maciocia will now be with the team through to the end of the 2029 season, while Maas will be there until the end of 2028. With a joint Grey Cup under their belts from 2023 and poised to start another promising playoff run, the future certainly looks bright for pro football in La Belle Province.
• The CFL and CFLPA have agreed to an additional $50,000 CAD of revenue that teams can spend on player salaries exempt from salary cap purposes. With the current salary cap of $6.062 million per team, coupled with the existing rules stating that players assigned to the 6-game injured list that spend their full duration of their allotted time on the list will not have their salaries count against the cap while injured, this will hopefully buy all teams further salary flexibility. The updated figures for the 2026 salary cap totals have not yet been decided by the league and the players’ association.

Onto the games!

WEEK 20 RECAPS

Saskatchewan 16 vs. Winnipeg 17: The Bombers clinched a playoff berth for the ninth season in a row, extending a streak that dates back to 2016 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID); fortunately for their playoff hopes, they were facing predominantly a roster of backups, as the Riders previously locked up the West Division title last week. Not a huge amount of offence for either team; Saskatchewan’s QBs Jake Maier and Jack Coan, starting in place of QB1 Trevor Harris, did not throw a touchdown for the visitors. Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros continued to show his age, with 182 pass yards, a TD, and a pick, but it was enough for the home side to get the job done and punch their ticket to the postseason.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Edmonton 24 vs. BC 37: Nathan Rourke remained red-hot and finally ended the Elks’ 2025 playoff hopes with another stellar performance, giving the Lions their fifth straight win and improving his career record against Edmonton to 6-0. Rourke had a 70-yard rushing TD, 338 passing yards and a TD to league-leading receiver Keon Hatcher, as well as an interception. In a must-win game for the Elks, Cody Fajardo threw a dud, with three interceptions on the night to fall short of a post-season berth once again. While Edmonton definitely is on an upward trajectory compared to years past, and while I do think a post-season return in the near future feels very likely, the team still faces uncertainty moving forward in part due to the death of owner Larry Thompson last month; not sure long-term what the ownership status of the team will be following his passing, which could indeed affect business and football ops alike.

PICK: BC

RESULT: BC

Montreal 39 vs. Ottawa 28: Montreal swept the home-and-home series with the REDBLACKS, and pulled even with the Tiger-Cats with identical 10-7 records to challenge them for the East Division title and a first-round playoff bye. Davis Alexander improved to 11-0 as a starter in the CFL, furthering his all-time record to begin a CFL career, while Ottawa’s Tyrie Adams, in his first game action in two and a half years, had some ups and downs in his first start since 2023. Adams had three picks on the afternoon, but also had three touchdowns as well; Ottawa tried to mount a late comeback but it was once again too little, too late. Is it enough to keep him around for 2026? Hard to say, but it’s good that the team at least gave the home fans what they wanted with the playoffs out of reach – a  chance to evaluate their much-neglected QB4.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Toronto 13 vs. Calgary 44: The Argos’ 2025 season closed with a whimper as they got blown out on the road against the Stamps, who finally clinched a playoff spot with the commanding home victory, as well as with the Elks losing on Friday night to BC. After Calgary opened the game with a big pick-six from DB Adrian Greene, the offence got to work and was highly efficient. Vernon Adams, Jr. had 3 TD passes and just two incompletions, going 12-14 for 214 yards. The run was similarly punishing, with Dedrick Mills racking up 115 rush yards and another major. Toronto had little going on all game, which was no surprise with Nick Arbuckle having been previously shut down for the year a few weeks ago with a shoulder injury. If there’s any schadenfreude to be taken here about their surprising and disappointing 2025 campaign, it’s that Sex Pest Chad Kelly did not play a single snap all year long, due to still rehabbing from that broken leg suffered in the 2024 East Final last November.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

BYE: Hamilton (10-7)

WEEK 21 PREVIEWS

Ottawa (4-13) vs. Hamilton (10-7), Friday, October 24th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): While it’s all over but the crying for the REDBLACKS, they can still spoil part of Hamilton’s season by snatching away a late victory in this final week of the season; if Montreal beats Winnipeg, the Tiger-Cats would fall to second in the East and would lose the first-round playoff bye they so desperately covet. Having to play a meaningful game is probably not what Hamilton had in mind for ending this season; as they look ahead to the playoffs, they need to find a way to ensure their D can stop the run at crucial times; this has been their Achilles’ heel for a while now.

PICK: Hamilton

Calgary (10-7) vs. Edmonton (7-10), Friday, October 24th, 9:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Elks are done in their playoff race, and having to end the year at home against their provincial arch-rival is probably going to feel more like a funeral than a home game; with the team’s ownership status up in the air for next season due to the sudden passing of Larry Thompson last month, we may see some additional changes coming soon – though considering the recent turnover on both the football ops and coaching staff, I would wager most of the upcoming changes will be roster related. One wonders if this might also be the last time we see Tre Ford in green and gold, considering how he lost his QB1 job to Cody Fajardo earlier this season.

PICK: Calgary

Montreal (10-7) vs. Winnipeg (9-8), Saturday, October 25th, 3:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): If Hamilton beats Ottawa, they’ll claim the East title – but Montreal still absolutely has a chance to take that honour if the Tiger-Cats somehow end up losing. Depending on how a few other things play out on the West, this game could prove to be a preview of this year’s East semifinal, as the Bombers are currently fourth in the West and have the inside track to the crossover berth to the East as the lowest-seeded current playoff team. Considering how stagnant their passing game has been due in part to age and injuries to QBs and the O-line, I do not like their chances against the Als – in this game nor in the playoffs. Davis Alexander has done nothing this year except lead his team to wins (when healthy). He was so greatly missed during his long absence mid-season; the East runs through him now that he’s good to go.

PICK: Montreal

BC (10-7) vs. Saskatchewan (12-5), Saturday, October 25th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): This is my my personal prediction for this year’s West Final. The Lions, currently on a five-game win streak, are absolutely electric on offence right now, while their D is finally finding ways to consistently make plays and force turnovers. This is a dangerous, dangerous team, and they’ll be playing their starters as they try to lock down the #2 seed in the West and the right to host a home playoff game. If they lose, and Calgary wins, they’ll play the Stamps next week; if they win, they’ll either host Calgary or, in a less likely scenario, Winnipeg. The Riders mostly just need to stay healthy for this game. That said, their offence needs to try to find a way to strike a little bit more balance moving forward; the passing game started off red hot this year but has cooled a little bit down the stretch; if they’re going to face these same Lions in two weeks’ time, the only way they’re winning is in a shootout. Again, I don’t like anybody’s odds in the West against this Lions side right now.

PICK: BC

BYE: Toronto (5-13)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

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

Passing Yards

1. Mitchell, HAM – 5032
2. Rourke, BC – 4922
3. Harris, SSK – 4437

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 34
2. Rourke, BC – 28
3. Arbuckle, TOR – 26

Rushing Yards

1. Mills, CGY – 1340
2. Butler, BC – 1185
3. Ouellette, SSK – 1179

Receiving Yards

1. Hatcher, BC – 1613
2. Lawler, HAM – 1400
3. McInnis, BC – 1211

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 113
2. Jones, WPG – 101
3. Sankey, MTL – 98

Sacks

1. Betts, BC – 14
2. Howsare, HAM – 11
3. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL – 11

Interceptions

1. Katsantonis, HAM – 6
2. Campbell, SSK  – 6
3. McFadden, TOR – 6

Field Goals

1. Hajrullahu, TOR – 57
2. Maltos Diaz, MTL – 55
3. Liegghio, HAM – 45

PICK POOL

Some pretty good weeks last week. For some reason I entered Saskatchewan over Winnipeg in my picks, sadly, contradicting what I picked in the post itself. Sigh. Will Mr. Ayo blow his two-point lead with four games left to play in the 2025 regular season??

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=243178

Enjoy the games, everyone.