The Montreal Alouettes will close out their season on the road against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Montreal will look to get back to winning form after a 3-27 loss last week in BC. Winnipeg will secure 1st place in the West with a win.

Game Details:

Date/Location: Saturday, October 26 /Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, Montreal, QC

Kickoff Time: 3:00 PM ET, 2:00 PM CT

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

Odds: 

Spread: Montreal +6.5 (-104), Winnipeg -6.5 (-118)

Moneyline: Montreal +250, Winnipeg -315

Over/Under: 47.5 (Over -115, Under -105)

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

Montreal Alouettes: The Montreal Alouettes will look to bounce back and get back to winning football after losing 3-27 last week on the road against the BC Lions. Cody Fajardo will start at quarterback despite Montreal already having first locked up. Most of Montreal’s starters will start against Winnipeg. Presumably, the focus will be to ensure the starters do not regress from too much rest as Montreal will have a bye the first week of the playoffs.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will look to lock up first in the West with a win in Montreal. There is also something they will wish to prove against Montreal as they defeated Winnipeg in the Grey Cup last year and in their most recent meeting beat the Bombers in their home opener 27-12 in week 1. Winnipeg is one of the hottest teams in the league having recently been on an 8-game winning streak until their most recent game saw them lose to Toronto 11-13.

Alouettes Keys to the Game

Establish the Run

Montreal has not often run the ball this season. It will be good to build some momentum in this area ahead of the playoffs. This season Walter Fletcher has rushed 129 times for 711 yards and 3 touchdowns, 5.5 average.

Strong Day at Special Teams

Last week the offense struggled to get going. If the special teams can make some big plays that will provide a great launch point for the offense to get rolling.

Strong Pass Coverage

Montreal has had the 2nd lowest passing efficiency allowed from their opponents at 85.9 and will want to keep that going heading into the playoffs. Only Winnipeg has a lower passing efficiency allowed at 85.1.

Defend Against the Run

Montreal has allowed 5.7 yards per carry from their opponents which is the 2nd most in the league. Winnipeg is the best rushing team in the league as Brady Oliveira is again leading the league in rushing. This will be a strong test for Montreal’s run defense to prepare for the playoffs.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#81 WR Austin Mack

Mack has only appeared in 2 games this season which saw him record 7 catches for 124 yards. 

#85 WR Tyler Snead

Tyler Snead’s season has been limited by injuries with him appearing in 6 games and recording 16 receptions for 193 yards. He has a lot of speed and an ability to be particularly dangerous in YAC.

#61 RT Jamar McGloster

McGloster will get his first start of the season, with Joshua Donovan out due to an injury. McGloster was a vital part of Montreal’s Grey Cup win last year. He had 9 regular season starts with Montreal last year before starting through the playoffs.

#26 LB Tyrice Beverette

Beverette had 3 tackles and an interception last week and only allowed 1 reception for 6 yards his way. He also generated 5 pressures in the pass rush.

#48 CB Kabion Ento

Kabion’s neighborhood was once again on lockdown last week as he saw 4 targets come his way which resulted in 1 4 yard completion and 2 breakups.

5 Blue Bombers to Watch

#8 QB Zach Collaros

Collaros has completed 69.7% of his passes this season for 4,005 yards and 16 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.

#20 RB Brady Oliveira

Oliveira has rushed 228 times this season for a league-leading 1,318 yards and 3 touchdowns.

#5 DE Willie Jefferson

With Justin Hardy out for this game, Rhymes may be relied on more heavily. He has 62 catches fro 861 yards and 2 touchdowns this season.

#31 Evan Holm

Leads the team in tackles with 83.

#30 CB Tyrell Ford

Ford has 51 tackles and is 2nd in the league in interceptions with 7.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

I predict Winnipeg to win 24-21 in large part due to their running game.

@JonathanClink on Twitter