Playoff spots up for grabs as Saturday triple-header highlights CFL on TSN slate
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With the 110th Grey Cup just over two months away, the path to Hamilton is starting to be laid out as two of the Canadian Football League's top dogs can clinch a playoff spot during this weekend's triple-header on TSN.
Tiger-Cats, Redblacks hope to nix crossover on Friday Night Football
Coming off their second Labour Day Classic loss in as many seasons, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats look to make up lost ground in the East as they take on a rested Ottawa Redblacks team on Friday Night Football.
After winning back-to-back games in late July, the slumping Redblacks enter Friday's game having lost their last five contests.
The Tiger-Cats have endured a similar season.
With sky-high expectations that the Black and Gold would compete for a home Grey Cup, a loss to the then-winless Edmonton Elks in early August and the firing of offensive coordinator Tommy Condell put a bow on what could be a lost season in Tigertown.
With the Tiger-Cats owning a pair of points in hand on the Redblacks, a win for Ottawa could set the stage for a crossover this season. The West Division's Calgary Stampeders are currently tied with Hamilton at eight points ahead of their rematch against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday.
If the Stampeders finish the 2023 season with more points than the Ticats and the Redblacks, the Stampeders will crossover to the East Division and face the team that finishes in second place.
Argos can lock up postseason berth
The Toronto Argonauts kick off Saturday's triple-header with a chance to clinch a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.
Having punched their ticket in Week 16 of the 2022 season, having the opportunity to do so two weeks earlier speaks volumes about the kind of season the Double Blue have had.
Led by dual-threat quarterback Chad Kelly, the Argonauts lead the CFL in points for (34.8 per game), offensive points (30.4 per game), and sit tied with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the most touchdowns with 42.
After giving up five sacks to the BC Lions in Week 13 and 42 on the season (tied with the Redblacks for worst in the CFL), the Montreal Alouettes hope to keep quarterback Cody Fajardo on his feet against the league's most productive defence.
Fajardo enters Saturday's game having been held to 2,322 passing yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 games - a far cry from his impressive 2019 season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, when he threw for 4,302 yards and 18 touchdowns to eight interceptions, finishing second in the race for Most Outstanding Player.
Blue Bombers out for revenge in Banjo Bowl
As has followed every Labour Day Classic between the Blue Bombers and the Roughriders since 2004, Saturday's Banjo Bowl presents the Bombers with an opportunity to exact revenge.
The Roughriders captured their first Labour Day Classic win in two seasons on the shoulders of their defence, as Zach Collaros' pass attempt to Drew Wolitarsky in an effort to knot the game up in overtime fell incomplete.
Leading the West Division with a 9-3 record, the Bombers can clinch a postseason berth Saturday for the seventh season in a row.
Should they do exactly that, it would come one week later than their 2022 berth, which was also the result of a Banjo Bowl win. Meanwhile, the Riders, riding a two-game winning streak, look to compete with the Lions (8-4) for the second seed in the West Division.
The Roughriders will be without defensive lineman Pete Robertson, who is serving a one-game suspension for headbutting Collaros.
Battle of Alberta rubber match
Much like the game that proceeds theirs, the rivalled Stampeders and Elks meet for the second weekend in a row for Saturday's nightcap.
Since capturing their first win of the season and snapping their 22-game home losing streak, the Elks, on the back of Canadian quarterback Tre Ford, have seen a mid-season resurgence or sorts.
The saviour from Niagara Falls, Ont., was handed the Elks' offence after lacklustre performances from Americans Taylor Cornelius and Jarret Doege.
Ford, 25, set a new CFL record for single-game rushing yards on Labour Day by a Canadian quarterback with 11 carries for 135 yards, breaking the previous record of 134 yards set in 1964 by Ottawa Rough Riders' Russ Jackson.
After the one-two punch of Ka'Deem Carey and Dedrick Mills rushed for a combined 101 yards and a touchdown, the Elks' defence, led by Vancouver native Adam Konar, look to limit the Stamps' rushing attack.
With a record of 2-10 on the season and not officially eliminated from postseason contention, the Elks are in prime fashion to play spoiler as they can make the Stamps' road to the Grey Cup significantly more difficult and possibly improve their own.