With week 9 of the CFL schedule now past us, we now turn our attention to week 10. Week 9 displayed a lot of high drama and entertaining football. The biggest surprise of the week was Ottawa taking down one of the CFL’s elite in Calgary in an impressive upset of the week. In the return match in Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers put a full stop to snap their 3-game losing streak over Toronto. Edmonton played the best game of their respective season so far, but came up short and fell to Hamilton. And finally, what was supposed to be a rubber match on record between Montreal and Saskatchewan was anything but that. Saskatchewan outplayed Montreal in all phases of the game.
Hello football fans. Here are your CFL News Hub Power Rankings.
Record: 7-1
Previous ranking: 1
Some Roughrider fans were looking for a breakout game to make a statement in the CFL. What Saskatchewan did on the road in a hostile environment in Montreal was nothing short of spectacular. The Roughriders took control from the opening kickoff and never looked back. In a total team effort, Saskatchewan controlled a lot of team stats in every important category. The Riders won the first down battle with 22, compared to Montreal’s 12. Total yards 426, compared to Montreal’s 132. Total rushing yards 137, compared to Montreal’s 59. And more importantly, the time of possession battle of 36:52, compared to Montreal’s 23:08. Add this all up, and a 34-6 win over Montreal is fully explained. Saskatchewan showed up, and Montreal did not.
Next game: Saskatchewan will be on a bye for week 10. Their next scheduled game will be on Saturday, August 16th, 2025, vs. Hamilton.
Record: 6-2
Previous ranking: 2
Hamilton entered week 9 on the road to lock horns with Edmonton. And locking horns, they did when they played the Elks. With Edmonton sitting at the bottom of the West Division, now being the bottom of the league, Edmonton put up a big fight and had Hamilton on the ropes. With that said, the overall depth and leadership of Bo Levi Mitchell displayed the reason why Hamilton was riding on a five-game winning streak when they entered Commonwealth Stadium. Some of those wins came in the form of behind victories this season. They are a resilient football team that will not panic under pressure. Thus, the reason why they walked out of Edmonton in a grind-out style victory. Bo Levi Mitchell was at it again with his clock management skills, putting the dagger in Edmonton’s back at 2:06 left in the 4th quarter with a touchdown strike to WR Tim White. When the game was officially over, Hamilton would walk away with a 28-24 victory.
Next game: Thursday, August 7th, 2025, vs. BC
Record: 4-3
Previous ranking: 5
At the 3rd spot, it will be debatable where you can slot Calgary, Montreal, or Winnipeg at 3rd, 4th and 5th on this list. Factoring in that all the games played out in a surprising fashion to a certain extent, Winnipeg is 3rd on our list. Winnipeg was embarrassed last week on the road when they played Toronto in a 31-17 loss. Only this time, the Winnipeg football that we have witnessed as fans was on full display in Winnipeg. Just like Toronto won in all three phases of the game last week, Winnipeg was able to flip the script in a commanding 40-31 victory. Trey Vaval was spectacular on special teams with one kickoff return for 93 yards resulting in a touchdown, along with another from a punt return for 97 yards for a touchdown. It was not all special teams that controlled the game. Fans saw a vintage Winnipeg defence with none other than Willie Jefferson causing a lot of havoc to the Toronto offensive line. He was a nightmare for Toronto with 1 tackle, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 4 pass deflections. More importantly, they held Toronto to only 8 rushing yards.
Next game: Saturday, August 9th, 2025, at Calgary
Record: 5-3
Previous ranking: 4
In pro football, there will be times when a good team simply does not show up. It's inevitable at times. Yes, we can say some teams are battling the injury bug. In retrospect, all teams will experience it at some point during a marathon season. Calgary became a victim of a hungry Ottawa football team that wanted to win at all costs. QB Philip Walker Jr. took the reins in this game for his first CFL start, as Vernon Adams Jr. was nursing a head injury as per protocol. Philip Walker Jr. did a pretty good job for his first start with 273 passing yards and 1 touchdown. The problem was the 3 interceptions, which were too costly at key points of the game. Calgary as a whole was unable to reach the red zone all game. Add in only producing 35 rushing yards, along with 13 penalties, and you get the picture. Calgary made too many mental mistakes, and Ottawa capitalized on Calgary's miscues. Calgary would lose 31-11 to Ottawa.
Next game: Saturday, August 9th, 2025 vs. Winnipeg
Record: 5-3
Previous ranking: 3
What was supposed to be a possible classic was anything but that. Saskatchewan entered Montreal and dictated the pace of the game, the scoring, the line of scrimmage, the clock, the toughness, and just about every category you could think of, and walked away with a 34-6 win. With only 191 yards of total offence, and only 59 of those on the ground, Montreal’s offence was shut out. It was the leg of Jose Maltos that put the only 6 points on the board with two field goals for the duration of the game. Montreal has to get back to its rhythm in a hurry, or it could be dropping down the division with victories that it should have had. They will now turn their attention to Edmonton for a home game in week 10. If they show up as they did this week, it will be a double whammy if Edmonton displays the game that they played against Hamilton.
Next game: Friday, August 8th, 2025, vs. Edmonton
6 – BC Lions
Record: 3-5
Previous ranking: 6
BC was on a bye in week 9. They will have their back-to-back meeting with Hamilton, as they did two weeks ago. BC has dropped a few games due to not playing a full sixty minutes. The offence is there. For BC, they need to improve on clock management in the 4th quarter to close out games.
Next game: Thursday, August 7th, 2025, at Hamilton
7 – Ottawa Redblacks
Record: 2-6
Previous ranking: 9
Ottawa appeared to be a deflated team this season for many reasons. Only this time, they finally came to play when they were finally able to get back into the win column with an impressive 31-11 at home over Calgary. They are a different team when Dru Brown is not playing quarterback for the Redblacks, which is obvious. With that said, this was a game where collectively, they looked a lot more in sync. Ottawa was able to derail Calgary with 3 interceptions by Alijah McGhee, Amari Henderson, and DeAndre Lamont. More importantly, halting the Calgary running game for only 35 yards, along with holding Calgary RB Dedrick Mills for 11 yards on 7 carries. Being able to shut down one of the best running backs in the league is a confidence booster moving forward for Ottawa.
Next game: Saturday, August 9th, 2025, at Toronto
8 – Toronto Argonauts
Record: 2-6
Previous ranking: 7
What looked like this could have been a great showing for Toronto in their back-to-back series with Winnipeg, but it appeared not to be in the conversation. Toronto was down 31-13 at halftime, and it looked like Winnipeg was in the driver's seat, coasting to a possible blowout win. Winnipeg made the Toronto running game a non-factor, and the Toronto offensive line looked outmatched by the Winnipeg front seven. The Toronto defence did a pretty good job keeping Winnipeg QB Chris Streveler to no touchdown passes, 3 interceptions, and 173 passing yards. That’s not to say that he was a non-factor in this game, as Chris Streveler was still able to make plays on key drives. The Winnipeg special teams and pressure on QB Nick Arbuckle were too much for the Double Blue that day. WR Damonte Coxie had another monster game for Toronto with 187 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
Next game: Saturday, August 9th, 2025, vs. Ottawa
9 – Edmonton Elks
Record: 1-6
Previous ranking: 8
Edmonton was hoping for a different showing following their 21-18 loss to Saskatchewan last week. The only problem was that they had to host a hot Hamilton team. Unfortunately, they were on the short end of a heartbreaking 28-24 loss. With that said, this was the best overall performance by the Elks in 2025. What they displayed in this game vs. Hamilton was a lot of character. RB Justin Rankin was a player who thrived on putting Edmonton on his back. His 133 total yards and 2 touchdowns were hard-earned. He looked like a throwback of Walter Payton, Jim Brown, and Earl Campbell with his yards after contact. The Edmonton defence looked great, halting Hamilton on multiple drives. Unfortunately, Bo Levi Mitchell was on the other side and sealed the victory in his vintage style in closing out the game.
Next game: Friday, August 8th, 2025, at Montreal