The Lions get an immediate shot at revenge, hosting the CFL's best team eight days after Montreal ripped their hearts out in Quebec.
Game Details
- Matchup: BC Lions vs Montreal Alouettes
- 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: BC Lions -125, Montreal Alouettes +105
- Over/Under: 64
BC has been a mixed bag against the number this year at 5-6 ATS, while Montreal has been money for backers at 9-3 ATS with nine overs in twelve games. Books clearly expect these two to trade points again after last week's 37-30 track meet in Montreal.
Overview
Same two teams, same week, different building. The BC Lions (6-6) welcome the Montreal Alouettes (10-2) to BC Place just seven days after Montreal stormed back from a slow start to beat BC 37-30 at Percival Molson, outscoring the Lions 27-10 after halftime. Nathan Rourke owned the loss afterward, saying "I thought that we beat ourselves," pointing to turnovers rather than a talent gap. Now he gets Montreal again, and this time it's on his own turf — where the numbers say a whole lot changes.
Montreal is 9-33-1 all-time in Vancouver and hasn't won there since August 2015. Davis Alexander is 1-0 against BC in his career but has never actually started a game inside BC Place, and he hasn't thrown a pick in his last 101 attempts — a streak BC's defense will be desperate to snap. On the other side, Rourke is 3-1 against Montreal for his career and has averaged 351 passing yards a game over his last five outings, with multiple touchdown passes in every one of them. That head-to-head history and the home building both tilt this one toward BC despite Montreal owning the far better record.
The Lions have won five of their last six, and their only slip was last week's shootout loss. Montreal, meanwhile, has lost just once in its last five but that one loss (a 44-28 blowout to Winnipeg) showed the league a defense that can be had. Both clubs rank inside the top two in net offence — Montreal first at 430.4 yards a game, BC second at 427.6 — which lines up with an over/under sitting at a robust 64. Expect fireworks, not field position battles.
Key Players
- Nathan Rourke (BC Lions, QB) — 219-of-309 for 3,159 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and he's 3-1 against Montreal in his career with a torrid 351 yards-per-game pace over his last five starts.
- Justin McInnis (BC Lions, WR) — Sitting just 175 receiving yards shy of 5,000 for his career, a milestone he could hit in front of the home crowd.
- Davis Alexander (Montreal Alouettes, QB) — Leads the CFL with only 2 interceptions on 391 attempts and hasn't thrown one in his last 101 throws, though he's never started inside BC Place.
- Tyson Philpot (Montreal Alouettes, WR) — Has 98 catches for 1,414 yards and 10 touchdowns, and needs just two more grabs to become the fastest Canadian ever to 100 receptions in a season.
- Jackson Findlay (BC Lions, DB) — The sophomore has quietly piled up 68 total tackles and two interceptions, and he'll be a factor patrolling BC's secondary against Montreal's deep receiving corps.
Keys to the Game
- BC has to protect the football — Rourke said it himself after Week 14, the turnovers were self-inflicted and Montreal's defense makes you pay for every one.
- Getting after Alexander matters more than coverage here — he hasn't been picked off in 101 attempts, so BC's front led by Mathieu Betts needs pressure to force the issue.
- Slow down Philpot and Tyler Snead, who've combined for 2,557 yards and nearly 65 percent of Alexander's passing total this season.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Woodly Appolon | BC Lions | Questionable (Finger) |
| Cristophe Beaulieu | BC Lions | Available (Knee) |
| Nick Cenacle | BC Lions | Questionable (Shoulder) |
| Ben Hladik | BC Lions | Available (Ankle) |
| T.J. Lee | BC Lions | Available (Hip) |
| Lorenzo Mauldin IV | BC Lions | Questionable (Shoulder) |
| Mark McNamee | BC Lions | Questionable (Hip) |
| Carl Meyer | BC Lions | Questionable (Hip) |
| Maxime Rouyer | BC Lions | Questionable (Core) |
| Garry Peters | BC Lions | Questionable (Shoulder) |
| Lawrence Woods III | BC Lions | Questionable (Shoulder) |
Depth Chart
BC Lions projected starters by position, built from the official Week 15 depth chart. Note this reflects the club's alignment for this game and may shift with late-week status changes.
| Position | BC Lions |
|---|---|
| QB | Nathan Rourke, Kaidon Salter, Chase Brice |
| RB | Zander Horvath, James Butler |
| FB | Riley Pickett |
| WR (Boundary) | Keon Hatcher Sr |
| WR (Field) | Jevon Cottoy |
| SB | Justin McInnis, Stanley Berryhill III, Jermaine Jackson |
| LT | Kory Woodruff |
| LG | Anu Una, Andrew Peirson |
| C | Michael Couture |
| RG | Brandon Yates |
| RT | Tyran Hunt |
| DE | Hayden Harris, Mathieu Betts |
| DT | Nathan Cherry, Jonah Tavai, Tibo Debaillie, Casey Sayles |
| DE | Shaun Peterson Jr, Levi Bell |
| LB | Parker McKenna, Adam Konar, Ben Hladik, Darnell Sankey |
| NKL | Pierre Kemeni, Deontai Williams |
| CB (Boundary) | Stantley Thomas-Oliver III |
| HB (Boundary) | T.J. Lee |
| S | Joshua Hagerty, Patrice Rene, Jackson Findlay |
| HB (Field) | Cristophe Beaulieu, Ronald Kent Jr |
| CB (Field) | Lawrence Woods III, C.J. Coldon |
| K | Sean Whyte |
| P | Carl Meyer |
| LS | Cam Foran |
Score Prediction
BC Lions 33 - Montreal Alouettes 31. BC atones for last week's second-half collapse with the home crowd and BC Place behind them, Rourke's history against the Als and his recent scoring binge tip a shootout in the Lions' favor, while Montreal's offense keeps it tight to the final whistle.
CFL Standings | Full Schedule | League Leaders
Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.