Toronto will play host to Ottawa beginning at 7 p.m. ET as
Week 18 gets underway. The REDBLACKS will be well-rested following a bye
week and are hoping to notch their third road win of the year. The two
teams last faced one another in a Week 13 matchup where the Argonauts
scored 28 second-half points en-route to a thrilling 46-17 comeback win.
The provincial rivals will conclude their season series in a Week 20
contest in Toronto.
The second half of the Friday Night Football doubleheader
will see Saskatchewan head to McMahon Stadium with first place in the
West Division on the line. The Roughriders lead the West Division with 20
points and the Stampeders are two points back, while both teams have four
games remaining. Calgary owns a 5-2 mark at home and is hoping to rebound
from last week’s 21-17 setback in Montreal which snapped a four-game
winning streak. The Roughriders are winners of three-straight and will be
looking to avenge a 37-10 loss when these two teams last met in Week 4.
Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s matinee features the Alouettes in Winnipeg for
a 4 p.m. ET tilt. The Blue Bombers are mired in a three-game slide, but
the team has fared well in front the home crowd this season, compiling a
6-1 record at IG Field. Montreal is hoping to carry forward momentum from
a Week 17, 21-17 victory over Calgary. The visitors will also be buoyed
by memories of the two teams’ previous encounter: a stunning 38-37 win in
Week 15 which set the Alouettes’ franchise record for its biggest
comeback.
Week 18 will wrap up at The Brick Field at Commonwealth
Stadium with BC in town. With a win or tie, Edmonton will clinch the
final playoff spot via crossover and earn the right to face Hamilton or
Montreal in the East Division semifinal. The Eskimos have collected five
victories in interdivision matchups this season. The Lions have
registered four consecutive wins and are coming off a dominant 55-8
showing against Toronto, which kept the team’s slim playoff hopes alive.
BC will need to win its final three games, in conjunction with Edmonton
collecting no more than one point, for the Lions to enter the post-season
picture. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET.
This week’s Live Mic game will be BC at Edmonton.
Toronto at Montreal
will be broadcast on ESPNEWS, while the week’s remaining three games can
be seen on ESPN+.
107TH GREY CUP PLAYOFF
SCENARIOS
·
Montreal Loss OR Tie = Hamilton clinches first place in
the East Division and the right to host the Eastern Final on November 17
·
Edmonton Win OR Tie = Edmonton earns a playoff berth via
crossover
Playoff picture
·
Calgary clinched its 15th consecutive playoff
appearance in Week 15.
·
Winnipeg secured its fourth straight spot in the
post-season in Week 15.
·
Hamilton locked-up a home playoff date for a second
year-in-a-row in Week 15.
·
Saskatchewan claimed a post-season berth for the third
consecutive year in Week 16.
·
Montreal will play in the post-season for the first time
since 2014 after a win in Week 17.
Remaining Schedules
TEAM
|
OPPONENTS
|
CUMULATIVE
RECORD
|
BC
|
@EDM, SSK, CGY
|
26-17 (.605)
|
Edmonton
|
BC, SSK, @SSK
|
25-18 (.581)
|
Calgary
|
SSK, WPG,
@WPG, @BC
|
33-26 (.559)
|
Saskatchewan
|
@CGY, @BC,
@EDM, EDM
|
28-31 (.475)
|
Winnipeg
|
MTL, @CGY, CGY
|
26-16 (.619)
|
Hamilton
|
OTT, @MTL, TOR
|
13-29 (.310)
|
Toronto
|
OTT, @MTL,
OTT, @HAM
|
26-31 (.456)
|
Ottawa
|
@TOR, @HAM,
@TOR, MTL
|
24-33 (.421)
|
Montreal
|
@WPG, TOR,
HAM, @OTT
|
26-32 (.448)
|
·
Battle for the East (record of remaining opponents):
o
Hamilton – 24 points (.310)
o
Montreal – 16 points (.448)
·
Road to the West (record of remaining opponents):
o
Saskatchewan – 20 points (.475)
o
Calgary – 18 points (.559)
o
Winnipeg – 18 points (.619)
·
Five down, one to go (record of remaining opponents):
o
Edmonton – 14 points (.581)
o
BC – 10 points (.605)
o
Ottawa – 6 points (.421)
IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
·
East Division Final Bye – Hamilton
·
East Division Semi-Final – Edmonton at Montreal
·
West Division Final Bye – Saskatchewan
·
West Division Semi-Final – Winnipeg at Calgary
FIRST CAREER STARTS
·
Ottawa will start its third pivot of the season in Sandy
Hook, Conn., native Will Arndt, joining Dominique Davis and Jonathon
Jennings
·
Arndt becomes the REDBLACKS’ 8th QB in team
history (Henry Burris, Trevor Harris, Brock Jensen, Drew Tate, Ryan
Lindley, Davis and Jennings)
·
The Western Connecticut State University alum holds
several school records, including:
o
Passing yards (7,940)
o
Total Offence (9,248 yards)
o
Passing TDs (73)
o
Total TDs (91: 73 Passing, 17 Rushing, 1 at WR)
·
Arndt is the third QB to make his first-career start this
season, joining Cody Fajardo and Nick Arbuckle who are a combined 14-6 in
2019. Their first starts:
o
Cody Farjardo: 27-of-34 for 360 yards and 2 TDs. Loss to
Ottawa
o
Nick Arbuckle: 19-of-22 for 262 yards and 2 TDs. Win
against Saskatchewan
LIONS ROAR
·
After starting 1-10, the Lions have won four straight and
face a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
·
A win would give BC its first five-game winning streak
since 2011, when the team won eight-in-a-row and went on to capture the
Grey Cup.
·
Over its current four-game streak:
o
BC has averaged 37.3 points while allowing 10.8 points per
game, including three with eight-or-fewer points.
o
Mike Reilly has passed for 1,224 yards and 10 touchdowns,
including a career-best five against the Argonauts last week.
o
League-leading receiver, Bryan Burnham, has 33 receptions
for 452 yards and five TDs.
MOMENTOUS MILESTONES AHEAD
·
Bryan Burnham (1300) needs 93 receiving yards to set a new
personal-best. He has compiled four-straight seasons with 1,000+ yards.
No Lion has accomplished the feat since Geroy Simon’s nine-year stretch
from 2003 to 2011.
·
Justin Medlock needs 6 points to become the 14th
player to reach 1,500 in a career.
·
S.J. Green needs 90 yards to become the 18th
player to collect 10,000 career receiving yards.
·
Mike Miller (194) needs one special teams tackle to
overtake Wade Miller for second place on the all-time list.
·
1K Club: Five receivers are within 100-yards of reaching
1,000:
o
With 22 yards, Ricky Collins Jr. will reach the milestone
for the first time.
o
Greg Ellingson is 39 yards shy of his fifth consecutive
season with 1,000+ yards.
o
Dominique Rhymes is 50 yards away from reaching the
benchmark for the first time.
·
Six players have already surpassed 1,000 receiving yards:
o
Burnham (1,300)
o
Brandon Banks (1,233)
o
Reggie Begelton (1,134)
o
Bralon Addison (1,123)
o
Shaq Evans (1,096)
o
Derel Walker (1016)
QUICK SLANTS
·
The last time Saskatchewan and Calgary played for first
place in the West Division this late in the season was in 2009. Each team
entered the game 9-7-1; Saskatchewan won 30-14 to clinch top spot.
·
Mike Reilly is searching for his 60th victory as
a starter on Saturday night. He is 59-52 in 111 career starts. He has 48
games with 300+ passing yards and needs 109 to reach 4,000 on the year.
It would be his fourth-straight year reaching the milestone and the fifth
of his career.
·
The last time Montreal was two-games above .500 this late
in the season was in 2012. They were also 8-6 that year and went on to
capture the East Division with a record of 11-7.
·
Last week, Montreal defeated Calgary to sweep the season
series. The Alouettes last swept the Stampeders in 2009.
·
Hamilton’s Dane Evans is 7-1 in his last eight starts with
five 300+ yard games. Evans needs 77 passing yards to reach 3,000 on the
season.
·
Vernon Adams Jr. is 5-1 in his last six starts and has
orchestrated four 4th quarter game-winning drives this season.
·
With a win over Saskatchewan, Calgary will move into first
place in the West Division by virtue of tie-breaker
·
Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons has been named General Manager
of Toronto. As a coach from 2000-2007, he led the team to a 68-55-1 record
with 10 playoff games and a Grey Cup victory in 2007.
·
BC’s 55-8 victory over the Argonauts in Week 17 was the
second largest in franchise history behind a 67-15 win over the
Shreveport Pirates in 1994.
|
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