The red-hot BC Lions take their five-game win streak into Montreal to face a Alouettes team that's lost just once in its last five.
This Week's CFL Schedule
BC Lions at Montreal Alouettes
| When | Friday, September 4 at 7:30 PM ET |
| Where | Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, Montreal |
| TV | TSN |
| Stream | Watch live on CFL+ |
| Line | Montreal Alouettes -4 | O/U 62 |
This is the best matchup on the CFL calendar this week, and it isn't close. Montreal (9-2) owns the league's top offence at 438.8 yards per game, but BC (6-5) ranks second at 424.9 and leads the CFL in yards allowed. Something has to give, and it's happening at a building where the Als have won eight straight — against a Lions team that's won six straight in the season series and just five in a row overall.
BC's turnaround has been one of the wildest storylines of the year. After a 1-5 start, the Lions are averaging 33.4 points per game over their current streak — up 32 per cent from their first six weeks — while their defence has slammed the door, allowing 21.8 points per game, down from 30.3 earlier in the year. Last week against Ottawa, BC held the Redblacks to -3 rushing yards, the lowest total allowed by any CFL team since 1994. Montreal, meanwhile, stumbled last week, dropping a 44-28 shootout to Winnipeg that snapped a four-game win streak of their own.
Players to Watch:
- Nathan Rourke (BC, QB) — Career 3-0 against Montreal with 300+ passing yards in four straight games.
- Tyson Philpot (Montreal, WR) — Leads the CFL in catches (90), yards (1,316) and TDs (10), with six scores in his last three games.
- Zander Horvath (BC, RB) — Coming off a career-high four-touchdown game and on pace for 26 on the season, which would smash Milt Stegall's CFL record of 23.
Pick: BC Lions 31-27. Montreal's the better team on paper and Percival Molson has been a house of horrors for visitors, but BC owns this matchup historically and Rourke has never lost to the Als. The Lions are 5-0 in their last five and playing the best football in the league right now — take the points, or just take BC outright.
CFL Standings
| Team | W | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Alouettes | 9 | 2 | 395 | 307 |
| Edmonton Elks | 8 | 3 | 323 | 279 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 7 | 4 | 337 | 295 |
| BC Lions | 6 | 5 | 319 | 291 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 6 | 5 | 300 | 314 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 5 | 6 | 328 | 339 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 5 | 6 | 406 | 350 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4 | 8 | 280 | 347 |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 0 | 11 | 247 | 413 |
Quick Hits
- Tyler Snead is quietly having a monster year for Montreal, with a career-high three-TD game last week and five 100-yard receiving performances on the season.
- Philpot and Snead are chasing history — if both crack 1,500 receiving yards, they'd be the first Als duo to do it since Jeremaine Copeland and Ben Cahoon in 2003.
- Montreal is 8-3 against the spread this season with the over hitting in eight of 11 games, so don't be shocked if this one gets track-meet-y at Molson.
- BC's Jevon Cottoy is five catches shy of 300 for his career, and Mathieu Betts needs three sacks to pass Ted Laurent for the most by a Quebec-born player — fittingly, on the road in Montreal.
Standings | Full Schedule | League Leaders
Who wins this week? Drop your picks in the comments.