The Montreal Alouettes travel to Ottawa to take on the RedBlacks on Saturday afternoon on CTV. Montreal is unbeaten on the road this season (5-0-1) while Ottawa is unbeaten at home (6-0-1).

The Alouettes are coming off of a 19-19 tie in Calgary while Ottawa is coming off of a 21-27 loss in Hamilton. Montreal will look to deny the RedBlacks the opportunity to close the gap for first in the East should they win on Saturday. Montreal won the last meeting in week 3 47-21. They will meet a third time in Montreal in week 19.

Game Details:

Date/Location: Saturday, September 21 /TD Place, Ottawa, On

Kickoff Time: 3:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM CT

Channel: CTV (Canada), CFL+ (USA, Global)

Odds: 

Spread: Montreal -2.5 (-118), Ottawa +2.5 (-104)

Moneyline: Montreal -240, Ottawa +195

Over/Under: 49.5 (Over -110, Under -110)

If you do place bets please do so responsibly and if you may have a gambling problem please seek help.

Montreal Alouettes: Last week saw Cody Fajardo complete 19 of his 26 passes for 204 yards. Kaion Julien-Grant led the team in receiving with 8 catches for 71 yards in what was his first game back since week 6. Charleston Rambo caught 2 passes for 51 yards bringing his total to 47 catches for 681 yards and 4 touchdowns in his rookie season. On the ground, Walter Fletcher rushed 7 times for 90 yards, an impressive 7.8 yards per carry elevated by a 55-yard rip early in the 2nd quarter. Fletcher has one of the best yards per carry in the league at 5.8 after rushing 103 times for 594 yards however, Montreal currently has the fewest rushing attempts in the league. 

On defense, Darnell Sankey led the team in tackles with 10. He had a positive impact making 2 solo run stops, and 2 shared run stops, and was in on 2 total stops against passing plays as well. Linebacker Bryce Cosby stood out having a strong game as he made 5 tackles, 3 QB hurries, 3 solo stops against the pass, and a shared stop, and broke up a pass. In coverage, Cosby saw 6 targets come his way, of which 4 were completed for a combined total of -1 yards.

Lwal Uguak is listed as a 2nd-string defensive end this week against Ottawa who was brought back to Montreal this week after spending the NFL training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ottawa RedBlacks: Last week Dru Brown completed 17 of his 27 passes for 164 yards with an interception before he was replaced by Jeremiah Masoli in the third quarter. Masoli completed 13 of his 19 passes for 183 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Dominique Rhymes caught 10 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Justin Hardy also broke 100 yards catching 8 passes for 103 yards. Khalon Laborn rushed 13 times for 84 yards in his 2nd CFL start for an average of 6.5 yards per carry. Alonzo Addae led the team in tackles last week with 8 and Brandin Dandridge recorded an interception. 

Alouettes Keys to the Game

Run the Ball

Last week Montreal was up against Calgary who has the longest average rush per carry allowed and they only handed the ball off to Fletcher 7 times. Montreal has the fewest rushing attempts in the league. A healthy run game cultivates a balanced offense.

The Alouettes handed the ball off to Fletcher 12 times in each of the first 3 games but since then there has only been 1 game where he has more than 8 carries. Over the last 10 games, he has rushed an average of only 6.7 rushes per game.

Quick Progressions From Cody Fajardo

Ottawa has some dogs on their defensive line so it will be important to get rid of the ball quickly. Some packages with both a fullback and running back in the backfield could be beneficial at times to aid in pass protection.

Strong Pass Coverage

Ottawa has a talented group of receivers and multiple options at quarterback. Ottawa has the 2nd most passing yards in the league (3,822) while Montreal has the 2nd fewest allowed (3,280).

Better Run Defense Schemes

Last week Calgary had success running the ball against Montreal’s 3 man defensive line setups. There were also some times in a 4 man-defensive line where openings were still able to be generated due to defenders being lined up wide allowing for Calgary’s run blocking to easily create a lane. Montreal will benefit from being more vigilant against the run pre-snap.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#17 WR Cole Spieker

Last week caught his only target for 14 yards in a game which saw both Kaion Julien-Grant and Tyler Snead return to the lineup. If Ottawa is game-planning to cover primarily those who had the most targets last week then Cole Spieker and Reggie White could be getting open.

#11 WR Kaion Julien-Grant

Led the team last week with 8 catches for 71 yards last week.

#94 DT Mustafa Johnson

Last week Johnson had 3 tackles. He had a solo run stop and was in on 3 shared run stops.

#96 DE Lwal Uguak

Lwal Uguak was a key part of Montreal’s Grey Cup run with his run stops and pressures. He had 4 sacks in the final 5 games of the season last year as a rookie. Recently he was with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and was named to Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Preseason.

#43 CB Lorenzo Burns

Burns is listed as a 2nd string cornerback in what will be his CFL debut. Burns played this past season in the UFL where he won the championship with the Birmingham Stallions. He finished the season with the third-highest defensive grade from Pro Football Focus among cornerbacks.

5 RedBlacks to Watch

#2 WR Justin Hardy

Hardy is 2nd in receiving in the league and has 76 receptions for 1,013 yards and 3 touchdowns so far this season.

#15 WR Dominique Rhymes

Rhymes has 56 receptions for 782 yards and 2 touchdowns this season.

#96 DT Michael Wakefield

Wakefield has a team-leading 6 sacks, 19 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles this season.

#94 DE Lorenzo Mauldin IV

Mauldin has 5 sacks, 32 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles so far this season.

#9 HB Damon Webb

Webb is tied with Alijah Mcghee for the team lead in interceptions with 3. Webb also has 53 tackles, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, and 2 touchdowns.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

I predict Montreal to win a close game 27-24. However, if Montreal does not run the ball more I could see Ottawa’s pass rush taking over this game. I have a sense that if Montreal does not establish a run game then they could struggle against Ottawa’s defensive line being able to just focus on rushing the passer.

@JonathanClink on Twitter