The BC Lions host the Ottawa RedBlacks in Victoria, BC for Touchdown Pacific to kick off Labour Day weekend on Saturday. It is a rematch of last week which saw Ottawa win at home over BC 34-27. The Lions look to end a 5-game-losing streak and maintain their positioning in the standings. The RedBlacks on the other hand have not lost a game over their last 6 games.

CFL Power Rankings Week 12

Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 13 Picks

Game Details:

Date/Location: Saturday, August 31 /TD Place, Ottawa, ON

Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM PT

Channel: TSN (Canada), CBS Sports (USA) CFL+ (Global)

Odds: 

Spread: B.C. -2.5 (-120), Ottawa +2.5 (-102)

Moneyline: B.C. -152, Ottawa +126

Over/Under: 50.5 (Over -102, Under -120)

B.C. Lions: The BC Lions have brought back a major piece to their pass rush by signing Mathieu Betts on Wednesday. Betts had 18 sacks with BC in 2023 which was a record for a Canadian in the CFL before signing with the Detroit Lions this past offseason. Betts will start at defensive end Saturday.

The Lions also recently brought back Nathan Rourke following his stint in the NFL 2 weeks earlier. Rourke had a tough first game back in week 11. He looked much better in week 12 but still seemed to be adjusting back to being a CFL starter as he completed 22 of his 34 passes for 234 yards with 1 interception. 

Ottawa RedBlacks: The Ottawa RedBlacks hope to beat BC to win the season series after winning against the Lions at home last week. Dru Brown completed 28 of his 37 passes for 390 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception in the win. Justin Hardy led the team in receiving as he caught 11 of his 12 targets for 114 yards. On the ground, BC’s run defense did a good job keeping Ryquell Armstead in check as he was held to 52 yards on 15 carries, a 3.5 average.

Lions Keys to the Game

Keep on Running the Football

The Lions have done a great job lately in the ground game. Last week Stanback rushed 15 times for 99 yards, 6.6 yards per carry. Over the last 3 games, he has rushed 43 times for 286 yards, a 6.65 average.

Big Game From the Offensive Line

The RedBlacks bring a difficult defensive line to block and keep the quarterback protected. Michael Wakefield is tied for 2nd in sacks in the league with 5, and both Lorenzo Mauldin and Bryce Carter have 4 sacks. BC’s offensive line will need to rise to the occasion.

Lockdown Coverage Justin Hardy

Last week hardy caught 11 of his 12 targets for 114 yards.  BC’s secondary will need to be tighter on him this week.

Bigger Impact From the Pass Rush

Ottawa did not give up a sack last week and did a pretty good job limiting the amount of pressure in pass protection. BC will benefit from having a stronger performance in pass rushing this week as Mathieu Betts joins the lineup.

5 Lions to Watch

#86 WR Keon Hatcher

Hatcher caught 4 of his 7 targets last week for 44 yards. He was the most targetted receiver in the loss. Hatcher has now played in 4 games which saw him record 12 catches for 152 yards. He has had over 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last 2 years and is due for a breakout game.

#18 WR Justin McInnis

McInnis leads the league in receiving yards and touchdowns having caught 60 passes for 954 yards and 6 touchdowns.

#1 CB Garry Peters

Peters’ Island did not allow much air traffic last week. He saw 3 targets come his way and had a pass breakup. 2 of the targets resulted in completions one being for just 3 yards and the longest for 9.

#48 WLB Ryder Varga

Last week Varga had 6 tackles including a solo run stop. He also was in on a shared run stop, a stop on a passing play, broke up a pass, and had a QB hurry.

#90 DE Mathieu Betts

Betts had 2 tackles and a sack over the 3 preseason games spent with the Detroit Lions recently. He will start at defensive end and look to pick up where he left off last year which saw him lead the league in sacks with 18 last season.

5 RedBlacks to Watch

#2 WR Justin Hardy

Hardy is 2nd in the league in receiving having caught 58 passes for 804 yards and 3 touchdowns.

#84 WR Nick Mardner

Mardner was drafted 2nd overall by Ottawa this past offseason and is coming off of his biggest game yet which saw him catch 3 passes for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns.

#29 Alijah Mcghee

If last week is an indicator of what this week will look like then Mcghee’s performance will be key. He had the most targets come his way last week out of any defender in the game. 7 targets went his direction last week and 4 resulted in completions for 16, 26, 19, and 18 yards while another he intercepted.

#6 SLB Adarius Pickett

Last week Pickett had 3 tackles and 2 QB hurries. He had 4 targets come his way and broke up 2 of them while the other 2 were caught for 9 yards and 11 yards respectively.

#94 DE Lorenzo Mauldin

Last week Mauldin recorded 5 tackles and 4 QB hurries. He made a solo run stop, was in on a shared run stop, and had a solo stop against a short pass.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

BC is due for a win, Rourke is due for a big game, and Betts is back with the Lions. Additionally, the home crowd will be providing energy in a unique setting at Royal Athletic Park that sold out the 14,000 thousand plus tickets in less than an hour. I predict BC to win 37-27.

@JonathanClink on Twitter