With six weeks left to go in the Canadian Football League regular season, the playoff race is heating up and the crossover is still very much a possibility.
Since the CFL introduced the crossover rule in 1996 – which allows a fourth-place team in one division to take a playoff spot in the opposite division if they finish with a better regular-season record than the third-place team – there’s been 13 instances of a team moving over for the postseason.
All 13 times, it’s been a team from the West Division crossing over to the East Division, and all 13 times, the crossover team has failed to win the Grey Cup.
In fact, no team has even made the big game from a crossover position, with just five teams even managing a postseason win. Only one team has qualified for the crossover post-COVID, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2025, who lost 42-33 in the Eastern Semifinal to the Montreal Alouettes.
That brings us to 2026, where the crossover is very much in play with most teams having five games left to play.
Standings:
| West Division | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Edmonton Elks | 10-3 |
| 2. | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 8-5 |
| 3. | BC Lions | 7-6 |
| 4. | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 7-6 |
| 5. | Calgary Stampeders | 5-8 |
| East Division | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Montreal Alouettes | 10-3 |
| 2. | Toronto Argonauts | 7-6 |
| 3. | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4-9 |
| 4. | Ottawa Redblacks | 0-12 |
| Crossover | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 7-6 |
| 2. | Calgary Stampeders | 5-8 |
| 3. | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4-9 |
Most of the focus down the stretch will be in the West, where only three games separate second and fifth place. In the East, the Tiger-Cats are still mathematically in the running for the final playoff spot as they try to fend off the West Division.
The main point of contention, however, comes from Alberta with the Stampeders. They are virtually in must-win territory from here on out as they sit two games back of the crossover. There are big-time games remaining on the schedule for Calgary and for the larger playoff picture at hand, as the Stamps close the season by taking on three teams they are chasing: Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, and BC.
Whichever team lands in the crossover – if it comes to fruition – will look to become the sixth team to win a playoff contest, the first to get to the big dance, and the only to win the Grey Cup.
