Ottawa still hunts its first win, Hamilton crashes Edmonton off a bye, and both Saturday games in Week 17 come loaded with betting angles.
This Week's CFL Schedule
Calgary Stampeders at Ottawa Redblacks
| When | Saturday, September 26 at 3:00 PM ET |
| Where | TD Place Stadium, Ottawa |
| TV | TSN |
| Stream | Watch live on CFL+ |
| Line | Calgary Stampeders -2 | O/U 62 |
These two just went to war last week, with Calgary escaping Ottawa's building 40-38 in a game that saw 78 combined points, six lead changes and a walk-off René Paredes field goal that was the longest in franchise history. Now they run it back seven days later, and the Redblacks are still looking for their first win at 0-13 after dropping five straight. Calgary snapped its own funk with that win and sits 6-8, clawing at a playoff spot with six games left.
The betting market clearly expects more fireworks — this O/U 62 lines up with a Calgary team that's gone over in 11 of its 14 games this season. Ottawa has been feisty against the number too at 4-6-1 ATS, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson torched Calgary for five touchdown passes last week, a career high. Ryan Dinwiddie will coach his 100th career game Saturday — he'd love nothing more than to finally get Ottawa in the win column doing it.
Players to Watch:
- Vernon Adams Jr. (Calgary Stampeders, QB) — 7-2 all-time against Ottawa and coming off a 357-yard outing, his third 300-yard game this season.
- Clarence Hicks (Calgary Stampeders, DL) — leads the CFL with 11 sacks and is one away from tying his career high.
- Keelan White (Ottawa Redblacks, WR) — set a career best with three touchdown catches last week and will be a focal point again if Ottawa wants to keep pace.
Injury Watch:
- D'Antne Demery (Calgary Stampeders, OL) — six-game injury.
- Derrick Moncrief (Calgary Stampeders, DB) — six-game injury.
- Samuel Carson (Ottawa Redblacks, OL) — six-game injury.
- Shakur Brown (Ottawa Redblacks, DB) — extended on six-game injury.
Pick: Calgary 34-31. Calgary's banged-up offensive line is a concern, but Adams and Hicks give the Stampeders enough juice on both sides to survive another shootout, and Ottawa still has to prove it can finish games.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Edmonton Elks
| When | Saturday, September 26 at 7:00 PM ET |
| Where | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton |
| TV | TSN |
| Stream | Watch live on CFL+ |
| Line | Edmonton Elks -8 | O/U 58 |
On paper this one shouldn't be close — Edmonton is 10-4 and coming off a bye, where the Elks are a perfect 2-0 this season. But Hamilton has owned this series lately, sweeping Edmonton in 2025 and winning six straight in this building. The Ticats arrive at 4-10 and losers of four of their last five, so something has to give.
Edmonton's defense has been the story of its season — a league-best +18 turnover ratio and the second-most big plays in the CFL. Last week the Elks controlled the ball for 38:45, the longest time of possession mark in the league since 1994, even in a loss to Toronto. Hamilton's counter is rookie-ish starter Harrison Frost, who set career highs with 330 passing yards and three touchdowns last time out, and Kurleigh Gittens Jr., who has three touchdown catches over his last two games.
Players to Watch:
- Cody Fajardo (Edmonton Elks, QB) — 6-3 career mark against Hamilton and on pace for his first 5,000-yard passing season.
- Justin Rankin (Edmonton Elks, RB) — needs just 58 yards for a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season and already has 581 through the air.
- Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (Hamilton Tiger-Cats, WR) — 16 catches, 166 yards and three scores over his last two games, Hamilton's best shot at keeping this competitive.
Injury Watch:
- Carter Kettyle (Edmonton Elks, WR) — six-game injury.
- Jacob Plamondon (Edmonton Elks, FB) — extended on six-game injury.
- Joseph Robustelli (Edmonton Elks, WR) — single-game injury.
- Miles Fox (Hamilton Tiger-Cats, DL) — single-game injury.
- Loik Gagné (Hamilton Tiger-Cats, LB) — extended on six-game injury.
Pick: Edmonton 31-22. The history in this building favors Hamilton, but this Elks defense with a +18 turnover margin and a rested roster off the bye is a different animal than the ones the Ticats beat a year ago.
CFL Standings
| Team | W | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Alouettes | 11 | 3 | 498 | 410 |
| Edmonton Elks | 10 | 4 | 433 | 347 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 9 | 6 | 445 | 431 |
| BC Lions | 8 | 6 | 428 | 381 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 8 | 6 | 399 | 371 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 7 | 7 | 373 | 382 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 6 | 8 | 490 | 479 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4 | 10 | 327 | 421 |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 0 | 13 | 308 | 479 |
Quick Hits
- Calgary shuffled its roster hard this week, activating Lance Boykin, Jeremiah Hunter, Daniel Grzesiak and William Barnes off the practice roster while losing Demery, Nichols and Moncrief to the injury list ahead of the Ottawa trip.
- Ottawa got some O-line help back with Giordano Vaccaro and Julian Pearl both activated, but the Redblacks still lost Samuel Carson to a six-game injury just as things were stabilizing up front.
- Fantasy angle: Justin Rankin has been quietly brilliant with 942 rushing yards and 581 through the air — start him against a Hamilton defense that's allowed the most 30-yard completions in the league.
- Ryan Dinwiddie coaches his 100th career game Saturday against the team he's beaten in six of nine tries — a milestone Ottawa would love to spoil.
Standings | Full Schedule | League Leaders
Who wins this week? Drop your picks in the comments.