Eight days after riding a 27-point second-half surge past BC, the Montreal Alouettes head to the West Coast looking to sweep the season series and keep pace atop the CFL.
Game Details
- Matchup: Montreal Alouettes at BC Lions
- When: Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 PM ET
- Where: BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
- TV: TSN
- Stream: Watch live on CFL+
Odds
- Spread: BC Lions -2
- Moneyline: Montreal Alouettes +105, BC Lions -125
- Over/Under: 64
Montreal has been the league's best bet all year, covering at a 9-3 ATS clip, while BC sits a modest 5-6 against the number. The over has hit in nine of Montreal's 12 games, and Saturday's total of 64 suggests Vegas expects another track meet at BC Place.
Overview
The Alouettes arrive at BC Place as the hottest team in the league not named Edmonton, and they're doing it with a defense that just turned a track meet into a statement win. Last Friday at Percival Molson, Montreal trailed after one and sat scoreless through two quarters before erupting for 20 points in the third and holding on 37-30. That's now four wins in five games for a team that also owns the league's top net offence (430.4 yards per game) — with BC breathing right down their neck at 427.6, second in the CFL. This is a rematch of a genuine shootout, and there's no reason to expect anything different in Vancouver.
History says this should be tough sledding for the Als. Montreal is a miserable 9-33-1 all-time in Vancouver, with the program's last win west of the Rockies dating back to August 2015. And BC has won three of its last four meetings with Montreal behind Nathan Rourke, who's averaged 351 yards passing with multiple touchdown throws in each of his last five starts against the Als. Rourke called last week's loss on himself, saying Montreal's defense "played tremendous" and that BC beat itself — a dangerous thing for a Lions team that's still 4-1 in its last five and won't want to drop back-to-back games to the same opponent.
But Montreal has the edge here, and it starts under center. Davis Alexander hasn't thrown an interception in his last 101 attempts, a ridiculous run of ball security for a guy playing his first-ever start inside BC Place. He's 1-0 against the Lions this year, and with Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead combining for nearly 65 percent of his passing yardage this season, Montreal has more than enough firepower to survive a shootout. Philpot needs just two catches Saturday to become the fastest Canadian in league history to 100 receptions in a season — he's on a pace that would land him at 147 catches, 2,121 yards and 15 touchdowns by year's end. When a team's best player is chasing history and the quarterback hasn't turned it over in nearly three months, that's an offense built for exactly this kind of environment.
Key Players
- Davis Alexander (Montreal Alouettes, QB) — 284-of-391 for 3,954 yards and 25 touchdowns against just 2 picks, and he hasn't thrown one in 101 attempts.
- Tyson Philpot (Montreal Alouettes, REC) — Sitting at 98 catches for 1,414 yards and 10 scores, he's two receptions from becoming the fastest Canadian ever to 100 in a season.
- Nathan Rourke (BC Lions, QB) — 3,159 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year, and he's averaged 351 passing yards a game against Montreal specifically over his last five meetings.
- Justin McInnis (BC Lions, REC) — Sits 175 yards shy of 5,000 for his career and gives Rourke a security blanket on the boundary.
- Geoffrey Cantin-Arku (Montreal Alouettes, LB) — Montreal's tackle machine in the middle of a defense that clamped down for 27 unanswered points last week.
Keys to the Game
- Montreal's defense needs a repeat of last week's third-quarter turnaround — slow starts on the road against a desperate Lions team will get punished.
- Keep feeding Philpot and Snead; they've been unstoppable and Alexander's turnover-free streak buys this offense the margin for error a shootout demands.
- Contain Rourke early — he's historically saved his best for Montreal, and letting him get comfortable at BC Place plays right into his revenge-game mentality.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| TJ Guy | Montreal Alouettes | Out |
| Gabriel Lessard | Montreal Alouettes | Out |
| Jerreth Sterns | Montreal Alouettes | Out |
| Riley MacLeod | Montreal Alouettes | Out |
| Najee Murray | Montreal Alouettes | Questionable |
| Wesley Sutton | Montreal Alouettes | Questionable |
| Nick Callender | Montreal Alouettes | Questionable |
| David Dallaire | Montreal Alouettes | Available |
| Des Holmes | Montreal Alouettes | Available |
| Joshua Archibald | Montreal Alouettes | Available |
| Terry Wilson | Montreal Alouettes | Available |
| Stevie Scott | Montreal Alouettes | Available |
Depth Chart
Montreal Alouettes starters by position, built from the official Week 15 depth chart. Note this is a projected look and may shift with late-week roster moves.
| Position | Montreal Alouettes |
|---|---|
| QB | Davis Alexander; Dustin Crum, Terry Wilson |
| RB | Stevie Scott III; Liam Talbot |
| FB | Jacob Mason; David Dallaire |
| WR/REC (boundary) | Alexander Hollins; Tyler Snead/Devonte Dedmon |
| WR/REC (field) | Tyson Philpot; Cole Spieker, Kaseem Ferdinand |
| OL — Tackles | Des Holmes, Tiger Shanks; Sage Doxtater |
| OL — Guards | Pier-Olivier Lestage, Donny Ventrelli |
| OL — Center | Cyrille Hogan-Saindon; Justin Lawrence |
| DL | David Perales, Daniel Wise, Mustafa Johnson, Decarius Hawthorne/Joshua Archibald, Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund |
| LB | Tyrell Richards, Tyrice Beverette, Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, Gemon Green; Quinn Urwiler, Donovan Manuel |
| DB | Shakespeare Louis/Faion Hicks, Don Callis/Robert Kennedy III |
| S | Jonathan Sutherland, Nate Beauchemin |
| K | Jose Maltos Diaz |
| P | Joseph Zema |
| LS | Alexandre Gagné |
| RET | Devonte Dedmon |
Score Prediction
Montreal Alouettes 31 - BC Lions 33. Expect a repeat of last week's fireworks, just with the outcome flipped in BC's favor this time — Rourke's history against Montreal and the Lions' need for a bounce-back at home nudge this one over the total and BC's way at BC Place, even as Alexander and Philpot keep it a one-score game to the final whistle.
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Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.