Week 16 resulted in a shakeup in the power rankings as every team that played a game found their position changing in this week’s ranking. Winnipeg currently has earned their way to the top riding a 7-game win streak but will need to continue winning to hold the spot. Hamilton is at their highest position in the ranking so far this season as they are now on a 4-game win streak. Saskatchewan bounced back up to the middle of the rankings after a strong victory over Ottawa.
The Crown Holder and the Court Jester
Crown Holder 👑 – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defended the crown successfully defeating BC 32-29 in overtime. Hamilton will host Winnipeg on Friday night.
Court Jester 🃏 – The Calgary Stampeders held the title of Court Jester through their bye week last week. They will have a chance to force the title onto the BC Lions on the road Friday night.
If a team defeats the Crown Holder they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder.
If a team loses to the Court Jester they become the new Court Jester thus freeing the previous team from being the Court Jester.
#1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-6)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 13: Defeated Saskatchewan 35-33 on the road.
Week 14: Defeated Saskatchewan 26-21 at home.
Week 15: Bye week.
Week 16: Defeated Edmonton 27-14 on the road.
Week 17: Defeated Edmonton 55-27 at home.
Week 18: Visiting Hamilton on Friday.
Winnipeg is the hottest team right now and are coming off a big win that extends their win streak to 7 games. Winnipeg’s most recent win was at home by a score of 55-27 over Edmonton. Heading into last week Collaros had only 9 touchdowns which was 20 less than the 29 he had at that time last year. Collaros woke up just as September ended and racked up 432 yards and 6 touchdowns. Kenny Lawler led the team with 8 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns, Nic Demski caught 4 for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Keric Wheatfall caught 3 for 80 yards and a touchdown. Brady Oliveira rushed 16 times for 86 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and also had a 33-yard touchdown reception that was primarily YAC with broken tackles on the way.
Redha Kramdi led the team in tackles with 6. Michael Ayers recorded the lone sack for the Bombers in the win. Winnipeg had 2 turnovers on downs forced. The first being in the first quarter when TyJuan Garbutt stopped Edmonton in short yardage on third down in the 1st quarter and again late in the game when Evan Holm broke up a pass on 3rd and 10.
Winnipeg will travel to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats on Friday night.
#2 Montreal Alouettes (11-3-1)
Previous Rank: 1
Week 13: Bye week.
Week 14: Lost to BC 23-37 at home.
Week 15:
rong>Tied Calgary 19-19 on the road.
Week 16: Defeated Ottawa 24-12 on the road.
Week 17: Lost to Toronto 37-31 on the road.
Week 18:
rong>Bye week.
In week 16 cornerback Dionte Ruffin opened the scoring with a pick 6. This past weekend he had another 1st quarter interception that gave Montreal the ball at Toronto’s 10-yard line. The next play Montreal scored a touchdown taking a 7-3 lead. Late in the first half, a 100-yard punt return touchdown from James Letcher Jr. saw to it that the game was sent to halftime tied at 22-22. Montreal ultimately lost the game 31-37 struggling to find a way to slow down Toronto’s run game.
Cody Fajardo completed 20 of his 29 passes for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Cole Spieker led the team in receiving as he caught 3 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Walter Fletcher rushed 8 times for 44 yards (5.5 average) and also caught a 10-yard touchdown pass. Montreal not only lost the game but they lost starting left tackle Nick Callender who left the game late in the 4th quarter due to injury.
On defense, Wesley Su
tton led the team in tackles with 7. Linebackers Darnell Sankey and Geoffrey Cantin-Arku both had a sack. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund had a large presence in the pass rush as there were 6 plays in which he was the primary Alouette to generate pressure in the pass rush including 1 QB hit.
Montreal will go on the bye this coming week before they host Ottawa in week 19.
#3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-9)👑
Previous Rank: 4
Week 13:
rong>Defeated Toronto 31-28 at home.
Week 14: Bye week.
Week 15: Defeated Ottawa 37-21 at home.
Week 16:
rong>Defeated Toronto 33-31 on the road.
Week 17: Defeated BC 32-29 on the road in overtime.
Week 18: Hosting Winnipeg on Friday.
The Hamilton Tiger-Ca
ts have won their last 4 games with the most recent being a 32-29 win in overtime. Despite starting the season 0-5 Hamilton now has the most wins out of any team not currently sitting in a playoff position and are just 1 game behind BC for third in the West. If Hamilton later crosses over to the West it will be the first time that an East Division team has done so.
Bo Levi Mitchell would have finished the game with 30 completions in a row if not for a drop breaking up the streak. He finished the game with 34 completions on 40 attempts for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. Kiondre Smith led the team in receiving with 8 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Tim White was the 2nd most targeted and caught 7 passes for 74 yards. Greg Bell rushed 7 times for 40 yards and a touchdown, 5.7 yards per carry.
Linebacker Ryan Baker led the team in tackles with 7 in his return to his home province for the first time in his professional career. Hamilton had 3 sacks in the win which came from Casey Sayles, David Menard, and Dewayne Hendrix. Defensive backs Stavros Katsantonis and Destin Talbert both had a pass breakup.
Hamilton will host th
e Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday. Hamilton has the most pass attempts in the league while having the 2nd fewest rushes. I have a hunch that the imbalance in playcalling could later come back to bite them. Hamilton has the most points allowed and rarely provides significant run support. It’s a situation that has too much riding on a single player.
#4 Toronto Argonauts (8-7)
Previous Rank: 5
Week 13: Lost to Hamilton 28-31 on the road.
Week 14:
rong>Lost to Ottawa 27-41 on the road.
Week 15: Defeated BC 33-17 on the road.
Week 16: Lost to Hamilton 31-33 at home.
Week 17:
rong>Defeated Montreal 37-31 at home.
Week 18: Bye week.
The Toronto Argonauts had a big win at home last week over Montreal by a score of 37-31 and have now won the season series against the Alouettes 2-1. Lirim Hajrullahu set a franchise record for most field goals made in a single game as he went 8 for 8 and also made an extra point. While the score was close, the overall offensive production was not as Toronto had 517 yards of offense to Montreal’s 288.
Chad Kelly completed
19 of his 30 passes for 287 yards with 1 interception. CFL rookie Makai Polk led the team in receiving as he caught 5 passes for 103 yards. Polk has three 100-yard games in his last 4. Like last week, Toronto utilized 3 runningbacks in the run game. Ka’Deem Carey rushed 13 times for 90 yards and a touchdown (6.9 average), Deonta McMahon rushed 5 times for 67 yards and a touchdown (13.4 average), and Daniel Adeboboye rushed 8 times for 39 yards (4.9 average).
DB Mark Milton and LB Wynton McManis both had a team-leading 4 tackles. Defensive end Folarin Orimolade had a sack. DE Jake Ceresna had 6 plays where he was the primary player to apply pressure in the pass rush including 1 QB hit. DT Ralph Holley did not appear on the stats sheet but made a positive impact as he assisted on 3 run stops.
Toronto will be on the bye this week before they travel to Winnipeg in week 19.
