The AP pre-season top 25 poll was released on Monday.
For the first time in 65 years, the Big Ten Conference has the top two teams in the pre-season rankings.
The Ohio State Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes.
Ohio State, which is FanDuel’s favourite to win the College Football Playoff National Championship at +550, will enter an NCAA football season as the top ranked team for the ninth time and the first since 2015.
No. 2 Oregon received 14 first-place votes to land the highest pre-season ranking in the program’s history.
The Ducks landed ahead of the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs, No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns in the pre-season rankings.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame (+600) has slightly shorter odds to win the FBS Championship than Oregon (+700).
Georgia is the fourth choice at +800 at FanDuel.
Texas is fifth in the pre-season rankings and the fifth choice to win the FBS Championship at +850.
The defending champion Indiana Hoosiers are sixth in the AP pre-season poll and the sixth choice to win the College Football Playoff National Championship at +900.
The Big Ten has won three straight FBS Championships, with Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana all taking their turn at the top.
No conference has ever won four straight FBS titles.
While NCAA football fans spent the past two days debating rankings, we’re on to Week 12 of the CFL regular season and there’s little doubt about which team deserves to be considered the Grey Cup favourite.
The Montreal Alouettes own the CFL’s best record at 8-1.
Davis Alexander’s 19-1 record as a CFL starter is the best all-time for a player in his first 20 starts.
This week, Alexander and the Alouettes host the winless Ottawa Redblacks in the most lopsided matchup of the season so far on paper.
Montreal is a 12.5-point favourite at FanDuel.
The Redblacks are +530 to win the game outright at FanDuel – longer odds than the Alouettes to win the Grey Cup as the obvious favourite at +190.
While Alexander and company are expected to cruise to a lopsided win on Thursday Night Football, they still have a long road in front of them as they attempt to navigate their way to the 113th Grey Cup in Calgary.
Which Grey Cup contender is most likely to upset Montreal in a potential playoff matchup?
Let’s rank all nine CFL teams entering Week 12 in this Morning Coffee for Wednesday August 19th, 2026.
Ranking All Nine CFL Teams From First To Worst Entering Week 12
Alexander is on pace to throw for over 6000 passing yards for the Alouettes this season.
Tyson Philpot leads the CFL in receptions (74), receiving yards (1154), and is on pace to break the all-time CFL single season records in both categories if he continues to produce at his current pace.
Right behind him is teammate Tyler Snead, who ranks second in the CFL in receiving yards (940) and third in receptions (55) behind only Philpot and KeeSean Johnson of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
It’s one thing for Montreal to have the most prolific passing attack in the CFL.
It’s another for them to also have Travis Theis, who has flashed at times this season and ranks third in the CFL with 700 rushing yards and six rushing scores.
The Alouettes can beat their opponents in a variety of different ways, and as long as they stay healthy, they will be the Grey Cup favourite at FanDuel.
This week, Montreal will host the winless Redblacks.
Ottawa is the 13th team in CFL history to start a season with nine straight losses and has now dropped 15 straight games dating back to last season.
16 straight is the modern CFL record for consecutive losses – set by the Hamilton Wildcats all the way back in 1948-49.
With the Alouettes and Redblacks performing at historic paces at opposite ends of the spectrum, we can pencil in Montreal at No. 1 and Ottawa at No. 9 in our rankings.
The tough part is filling in the blanks from No. 2 to No. 8.
While they picked up an upset win in Week 11 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders to snap a three-game slide, an injury to Bo Levi Mitchell has capped the potential for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to contend in the East Division.
FanDuel set Hamilton’s regular season win total at 8.5.
The Tiger-Cats improved to 4-6 with the upset win over the Riders but would still have to go 5-3 the rest of the way just to clinch the over.
Meanwhile, Hamilton beat the Toronto Argonauts in Week 7 and can deal their Ontario rivals another blow with an upset win on Saturday night.
Toronto followed back-to-back wins over the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders with an ugly, lopsided loss to the Edmonton Elks in Week 10.
The Argonauts are a 4.5-point favourite at FanDuel for Saturday’s clash with Hamilton.
Meanwhile, the Elks will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in another West Division showdown on CFL Friday Night Football.
The Riders will attempt to bounce back from their loss to Hamilton when they visit the BC Lions on Saturday.
The fact that all five teams in the CFL’s West Division are separated by only three wins adds another layer of intrigue to these regular season matchups.
Saskatchewan could find itself back on top of the West Division with a win and an Edmonton loss in Week 12.
Meanwhile, the Riders could end up tied with Winnipeg at 6-4 and just one game up on BC at 5-5 with a loss and a Bombers win.
Then there’s the Stampeders, which have gone from the Grey Cup favourite a few weeks ago to the sixth choice to win it all at +850 at FanDuel this morning.
Veteran QB Vernon Adams Jr. and running back Dedrick Mills were both injured in last week’s loss to the Lions.
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time, and Calgary will need its biggest stars back in the lineup by the time they play a home-and-home against the rival Elks in early September.
The Stampeders would be in big trouble if Adams and Mills were to miss extended time.
As it stands now, Calgary absolutely needs a win over Hamilton in Week 13 to avoid falling to 4-7 entering the home-and-home series versus Edmonton.
While the Tiger-Cats showed signs of life in their upset win over the Riders, I’m not willing to move them any higher than 8th in my CFL rankings.
That could change with a Week 12 win over Toronto.
As it stands, I have the Argonauts, TiCats, and Redblacks listed No. 7, No. 8, and No. 9 in my CFL power rankings.
That’s one more reason why Montreal’s biggest obstacle might very well be the ability to stay healthy.
As for the West Division, we’re about to see the contenders separate from the pretenders over the next few weeks.
The Stampeders have the talent to contend when healthy, but injuries and inconsistencies have capped their production these past few weeks, and now there’s uncertainty surrounding Adams and Mills.
Those injuries keep them from climbing higher than sixth in my CFL power rankings.
Meanwhile, the Bombers are being overlooked as a +1500 long shot to win the Grey Cup despite having an opportunity to move into a tie with Saskatchewan for second place in the West Division in Week 12.
I’m not willing to write off a healthy Winnipeg just yet, but I can’t put them any higher than fourth on my list.
I trust a healthy Bombers side more than the Lions in a potential playoff game, but I can’t put them in the same category as Edmonton and Saskatchewan just yet.
Winnipeg will get another opportunity to prove they belong as a 5.5-point favourite on the road at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday Night Football.
The Elks and Riders split their first two head-to-head games.
Saskatchewan blew a golden opportunity to keep pace with Edmonton in the standings in Week 10 and simply can’t afford to let any more winnable games get away.
The Riders have lost games to Toronto and Hamilton, and it could cost them in the long run as they fight for first place in the West Division standings.
Saskatchewan still plays two more games against BC.
The Riders also face a brutal final stretch that includes a home-and-home versus Winnipeg in early September, back-to-back games against BC and Calgary, then a home-and-home versus Montreal before a rematch versus Edmonton in their regular season finale.
The Elks will be motivated to clinch first place in the West and ensure that the division title doesn’t come down to that Week 21 showdown with Saskatchewan.
If the Riders want to keep pace, they’ll need to hit the gas beginning with a bounce back against BC on Saturday.
After dropping some winnable games and splitting the season series versus the Elks, I’ll drop Saskatchewan to third in my CFL power rankings behind Edmonton.
Here is a look at my CFL power rankings entering Week 12 with each team’s odds to win the Grey Cup.
- Montreal Alouettes +190
- Edmonton Elks +460
- Saskatchewan Roughriders +450
- BC Lions +650
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers +1500
- Calgary Stampeders +850
- Toronto Argonauts +650
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats +7500
- Ottawa Redblacks +40000
As somebody who already bet Montreal to win the Grey Cup in the pre-season, perhaps I’ll throw some money on Winnipeg at +1500 with the hope that a healthy Bombers side can exceed expectations in the loaded West Division.
What are your thoughts on my CFL power rankings?
Am I too high or too low on any one of these teams?
Hit me up @Domenic_Padula on X and let me know.
In the meantime, the debate will rage on as we enter a crucial stretch of the CFL regular season schedule.
Have a great day, everyone!
