Montreal has scored 30-plus points in six straight games, and Ottawa hasn't won since last October — this one has blowout written all over it.
This Week's CFL Schedule
Ottawa Redblacks at Montreal Alouettes
| When | Thursday, August 20 at 7:30 PM ET |
| Where | Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, Montreal |
| TV | TSN |
| Stream | Watch live on CFL+ |
| Line | Montreal Alouettes -13 | O/U 62 |
Montreal has already beaten Ottawa twice this year — a 37-35 nail-biter back in Week 4 and a 34-13 stomping in Week 9 — and the Redblacks haven't beaten the Als since October 2022, a stretch of 13 straight losses in this series. The Als are 8-1 and rolling, averaging 36.7 points a game and pacing for 642 on the season, which would smash the franchise record of 610 set back in 2008. Ottawa, meanwhile, sits at 0-9 and has dropped five straight, getting outscored 165-91 in that span.
Davis Alexander has been nearly untouchable, sitting on 3,140 yards with 18 touchdowns against just two picks, and he's 6-0 against Ottawa in his career — including a combined 765 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions in the two meetings this season. Jake Maier has actually been throwing the ball well of late, with 300-plus yards in four straight starts, but he's 1-5-1 for his career against this Montreal defence and the supporting cast around him is banged up and thin.
Players to Watch:
- Davis Alexander (Montreal Alouettes, QB) — On pace for 6,280 passing yards, which would blow past Anthony Calvillo's 2004 team record of 6,041.
- Tyson Philpot (Montreal Alouettes, WR) — Sitting on 1,154 yards and tied a league record for fastest to 1,000 receiving yards; he and Tyler Snead could set the mark for fastest teammate duo to reach 1,000 each with a big night.
- Jake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) — Has topped 300 yards in four straight games but will need a career night just to keep this one respectable against Montreal's defence.
Injury Watch:
- Charlie Parks (Ottawa Redblacks, DL) — Out, moved to the six-game injury list this week.
- Dionte Ruffin (Ottawa Redblacks, DB) — Questionable, also shifted to a six-game designation.
- Julian Pearl (Ottawa Redblacks, OL) — Out, extended on single-game injury.
- Stevie Scott III (Montreal Alouettes, RB) — Out with a hamstring injury, but Travis Theis has been more than capable, averaging over 100 yards a game and 7.1 yards per carry in his last five outings.
Pick: Montreal Alouettes 44-17. Ottawa is bleeding depth on the defensive line and in the secondary right when they have to face the league's hottest offence, and Montreal has covered the spread in seven of their last nine games — this number feels light.
CFL Standings
| Team | W | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Alouettes | 8 | 1 | 321 | 247 |
| Edmonton Elks | 7 | 3 | 301 | 260 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 6 | 3 | 293 | 241 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 5 | 4 | 237 | 264 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 4 | 5 | 265 | 291 |
| BC Lions | 4 | 5 | 244 | 251 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 4 | 6 | 378 | 327 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4 | 6 | 237 | 280 |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 0 | 9 | 207 | 322 |
Quick Hits
- Ottawa's injury list ballooned this week, with Muftah Ageli, Charlie Parks and Dionte Ruffin all shifted to six-game injury, forcing the club to dip into the reserve and practice rosters for Josh Connors, Blessman Ta'Ala, Sione Teuhema and Benny III Sapp.
- Montreal got some good news on the health front, activating Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, Najee Murray, Mustafa Johnson and Wesley Sutton off single-game injury just in time for Thursday's kickoff.
- Fantasy managers should keep riding the Alexander-to-Philpot connection — Philpot already has 21 catches for 382 yards against Ottawa this season alone.
- Under head coach Jason Maas, Montreal is 8-2 coming off a bye and 24-7 all-time against East Division opponents, numbers that make Thursday's spread look almost conservative.
Standings | Full Schedule | League Leaders
Who wins this week? Drop your picks in the comments.