The Montreal Alouettes will travel to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the first meeting between the 2 teams this season. Next week Montreal will host the Tiger-Cats in what will be their final meeting of the season. The last time these teams met was in the Eastern Division Semi-Finals which Montreal won 27-12.

CFL Power Rankings Week 8

Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 9 Picks

Game Details:

Date/Location: Friday, August 2 /Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, ON

Kickoff Time: 7:30 PM ET, 4:30 PM PT

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

Odds: 

Spread: Montreal -4.5 (-120), Hamilton +4.5 (-102)

Moneyline: Montreal -230, Hamilton +188

Over/Under: 50.5 (Over -110, Under -110)

Montreal Alouettes: The Alouettes are coming off of a come-from-behind win against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in week 8. Last week Montreal entered halftime trailing 3-16 before keeping the Riders off the score sheet in the 2nd half to win 20-16. Montreal was without Cody Fajardo so Caleb Evans got the start. Quarterback Davis Alexander came into the game in the 2nd half and completed 15 of his 18 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. This week Davis Alexander will get the start after his heroics last week.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: After an 0-5 start to the season Hamilton now finds themselves on a 2-game winning streak. Bo Levi Mitchell set a career-high in touchdown passes in a game as he threw for 5 touchdowns and 316 yards with 1 interception. He is currently 2nd in passing yards in the league having completed 67.9% of his passes for 2,257 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns with 7 interceptions.

Alouettes Keys to the Game

More Strong Play From the Secondary

Montreal has been the most consistent defense against the pass over the last 2 seasons. Currently, they have the fewest passing yards allowed (223.1 per game), the fewest touchdowns allowed (4), and the lowest opponent passing efficiency (80.4). They will need more strong play from this group as Hamilton has been one of the best passing offenses this season.

Limit James Butler

Montreal saw their opponent’s running backs have success on the ground in each of their last 2 games. So far this season James Butler has averaged 4.7 yards per carry as he has rushed 71 times for 331 yards and a touchdown. Butler can be a dangerous back so Montreal’s run defense will need to be on point Friday.

Exploit Weak Spots in Zone Coverage

At times particularly earlier in the season Hamilton’s secondary would be in a zone coverage that would often give receivers excess room to find soft spots to get open in gaps in coverage. If Montreal’s receivers can get to these soft spots then they may be able to exploit this.

Run the Ball

With Davis Alexander getting his first career CFL start run support will be highly valuable to take pressure off of his shoulders. Hamilton has allowed on average 4.8 yards per rush. Walter Fletcher so far this season has rushed 57 times for 306 yards, 5.37 yards per carry. Despite having the 2nd highest rushing average among starting running backs he has had 6 rushes per game or fewer in each of the last 4 games.

5 Alouettes to Watch

#10 QB Davis Alexander

Completed 15 of his 18 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns last week all in the 2nd half.

#6 WR Tyson Philpot

Last week Philpot led the team in receiving with 7 catches for 88 yards. He is currently 2nd in receiving in the league having caught 51 passes for 691 yards with 5 touchdowns. His 321 YAC is the most in the league.

#22 CB Dionte Ruffin

Dionte Ruffin and Kabion Ento have been one of the best cornerback duos in the league this season. Last week Ruffin only allowed 1 reception his way which was for 7 yards. Ruffin has 18 tackles and 2 interceptions so far this season.

#12 HB Najee Murray

Last week Murray did not allow a reception his way. He has 28 tackles on the season.

#24 S Marc-Antoine Dequoy

Dequoy did not allow a reception his way last week. He has 15 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble so far this season.

5 Tiger-Cats to Watch

#18 QB Bo Levi Mitchell

Last week Mitchell completed 17 of his 25 passes for 316 yards and a career-high 5 touchdowns with 1 interception.

#9 RB James Butler

Last week Butler rushed 21 times for 98 yards, a 4.7 average. If Hamilton runs the ball as much as they did last week and Montreal’s run defense is not tighter than it’s been as of late then he may have a big game.

#81 WR Luther Hakunavanhu

Last week Hakunavanhu had 2 catches for a team-leading 83 yards and a touchdown. He has 6 catches for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns this season.

#17 WR Shemar Bridges

Bridges leads the team in receiving having caught 39 passes for 450 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is currently 6th in receiving in the league, 2nd among CFL rookies.

#44 DT Casey Sayles

Sayles is consistently a problem in the interior for opposing teams both in the pass rush and as a run-stopper. He has 17 tackles and 3 sacks in 7 games so far this season.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

I think we are going to see a very entertaining game in which Montreal wins a close one. Montreal has allowed the fewest points per game at 21.7 while Hamilton has allowed the most at 31.6 per game. Additionally, Montreal’s offense demonstrated a strong ability to continue rolling with Davis Alexander last week. I predict Montreal to win this game 33-24.

@JonathanClink on Twitter