With the 2022 CFL season officially concluded, we look directly to the best part of any season. The postseason. The 2nd season. However you want to call it, it’s a time in the football calendar year when it’s the best time of the year.
Draft day. Check.
Training camp. Check.
Opening day. Check.
Labour Day Classic. Check.
Qualified teams. Check.
Each team’s hard work was on display throughout the 2022 season. Like any season, there were upsets, consistency, overachievers, underachievers, and surprises. All fans felt the highs and lows as it is a common occurrence during any season. For some fans of a particular team, the expectations were higher and have been achieved at least for the time being. For other fans, it was a year of reflection on what went wrong in 2022.
With that said, let’s look at the 2022 CFL Playoffs.
EAST SEMIFINAL
Sunday, November 6th, 2022. 1 PM EST.
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN+, BT Sport (UK and Ireland)
Radio: Ticats Audio Network, TSN 690 (Montreal), 98.5 FM (Montreal), and
SiriusXM
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Montreal Alouettes.
Percival Molson Memorial Stadium will be the site of a clash of two clubs that showed more success in the 2nd half of the 2022 season rather than the 1st half.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will have to play on the road for the duration of the 2022 playoffs. The Montreal Alouettes on the other hand had shown a lot of resilience in earning the right to host the East Semi-Final.
Both teams have gained a lot of their respected starters back just in time for when the game matters most. Having said that, this is going to be a very entertaining game where all 3 phases of the game will be on display. Come to think of it, this game can also be a flip of a coin on who you think will win. It will be close and it have all the implications of a possible overtime game.
Final Score:
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 23
Montreal Alouettes: 20
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats win in overtime with a field goal by Seth Small.
WEST SEMIFINAL
Sunday, November 6th, 2022. 4:30 PM EST.
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN+, BT Sport (UK and Ireland)
Radio: 770 CHQR (Calgary), AM 730 (Vancouver), and SiriusXM
Calgary Stampeders at BC Lions
Another game in which we have two clubs that had great seasons. It will be a teacher vs student when it comes down to the two clubs.
The Calgary Stampeders have been an all too common occurrence in the postseason in which it is just normal for them to be there. Love them or hate them, the Calgary Stampeders have been a benchmark of success.
For the BC Lions, it was a year in which they did achieve a lot of success and had improved dramatically from their respected 2021 season.
CFL fans were treated with a spectacle to see with QB, Nathan Rourke. The Victoria, British Columbia born, and Oakville, Ontario raised; has been the best Canadian-born QB in the CFL in the modern era since going back to the great Russ Jackson. It might only be his 1st full season as a starter, but Nathan Rourke has performed above any expectations.
With that said, we will be in for a game with a lot of offence. The experienced Calgary Stampeders will be victorious in a very closely contested match.
Final Score:
Calgary Stampeders: 38
BC Lions: 36
Jake Maier engineers a last-minute drive to set up a game-winning FG by Rene Paredes.
EAST FINAL
Sunday, November 13th, 2022. 1 PM EST.
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN+, BT Sport (UK and Ireland)
Radio: Ticats Audio Network, TSN 1050 (Toronto), and SiriusXM
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Toronto Argonauts
Whenever the two clubs meet, you are in for a dogfight. Two teams. Two different cities. The two stadiums are only 67.1 kilometres apart.
The Toronto Argonauts will be hosting the East Final at BMO Field in which they would want to erase the 2nd half collapse from the 2021 season. There is still a bitter taste left from the last time the same clubs met a year ago at the same site.
The game will be an all-out affair in which both clubs will bite, scratch, and claw in their respective ways to gain any advantage.
The game will be very close, and will not be high scoring at all. The defence will take the glory in this one.
DB Jamal Peters seals the deal with the last-minute interception and takes it to the house.
Final Score:
Toronto Argonauts: 20
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 13
WEST FINAL
Sunday, November 13th, 2022. 4:30 PM EST.
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN+, BT Sport (UK and Ireland)
Radio: 770 CHQR (Calgary), 680 CJOB (Winnipeg), and SiriusXM
Calgary Stampeders at Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers face off with the Calgary Stampeders at the friendly confines of IG Field.
This will be another game which will be a chippy game with both defending great through the duration of the game and will be flexing their muscles at key moments of the game.
This will be a game in which long drives could potentially be the norm where each drive could be close to the north of 4 minutes on an average per drive.
In the end, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will punch their ticket to the Grey Cup with the last drive to run out the game clock.
Final Score:
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28
Calgary Stampeders 26
109TH GREY CUP
Sunday, November 20th, 2022. 6:30 PM EST.
TV: TSN, RDS, ESPN+, BT Sport (UK and Ireland)
Radio: Various platforms via TSN or local radio along with SiriusXM.
Toronto Argonauts vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. Regina, Saskatchewan.
A clash of two teams with a lot of expectations during the 2022 season. The Toronto Argonauts wanted to complete the task of wanting to go to the Grey Cup after being bounced by their Provincial rivals from last season. But getting there will not be enough for the Toronto Argonauts.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers want to extend their current Grey Cup winning streak to 3 Grey Cup Championships in a row and be embedded in history as one of the best only to Edmonton with 5 in a row from 1978-1982.
The game is a great one for both teams. The Argonauts will take their shot against the Winnipeg defence which has been dominant this season. But the Argonauts will find ways to counter the defence at times and make a very close game out of this.
In the end, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will capitalize on a couple of Toronto Argonaut miscues and transform those miscues into points on the board.
Zach Collaros will be tested and will make plays when it matters most. He will carry the Blue Bombers on his back to seal the deal with a Winnipeg Blue Bombers victory over the Toronto Argonauts.
Final Score
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 29
Toronto Argonauts 26
Scott
October 31, 2022 at 8:08 pm
Very nice, I see it a little different
East semi Ham 23 Mon 16
West Semi Maier pulled early in 3rd qtr with BC up 24-8,Bo takes over and orchestrates best playoff performance of his career,final score Cal 32 BC 24. Maier does not take another snap in playoffs
East Final Argos 42 Ticats 17
West Final not even close, Bo continues his fantastic play, inspiring Cal D, Bombers are in Shock as they are manhandled 43-3
Argos Stamps Grey Cup, high scoring affair Argos 43 Stamps 40
MBT MVP
The Guess Who with original members puts on fantastic half time show
Dino Sepe
November 1, 2022 at 4:56 pm
Hello Scott,
Thank you for reading my article. There is no doubt that upsets can happen at any time, as there has been a history of that in the past on a few occasions.
I love your passion for your predictions. After all, when the opening whistle goes at kickoff, anybody can win at any given time. That’s what makes the playoffs a beautiful thing. Being complacent can be the worse thing to encounter in the playoffs.
Thanks,
Dino