Winless, banged up and walking into the league's hottest offense, Ottawa faces its ugliest test yet against Montreal.
Game Details
- Matchup: Ottawa Redblacks at Montreal Alouettes
- When: Thursday, August 20 at 7:30 PM ET
- Where: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, Montreal, QC
- TV: TSN
- Stream: Watch live on CFL+
Odds
- Spread: Montreal Alouettes -13
- Moneyline: Ottawa Redblacks +575, Montreal Alouettes -850
- Over/Under: 62
Ottawa is a rough 2-5-1 against the spread this season with the under hitting five times in nine games. Montreal, meanwhile, has been money for bettors at 7-2 ATS and has gone over the total seven times — this offense just doesn't stop scoring.
Overview
There's no dressing this one up. The Ottawa Redblacks are 0-9, riding a five-game losing streak that's seen them get outscored 145-73 in that stretch, and now they're heading into Montreal to face the best team in the league on a five-game roll of its own. The Alouettes have won five straight and scored at least 30 points in six consecutive games — they're averaging 36.7 points a night through nine games, a pace that would smash the franchise scoring record of 610 points set back in 2008. This is about as lopsided a matchup as the CFL schedule can produce in Week 12.
The head-to-head history isn't kind to Ottawa either. These teams have already met twice this year — Montreal took a wild 37-35 shootout in Week 4, then blew the doors off with a 34-13 win in Week 9. Zoom out further and Ottawa hasn't beaten Montreal since October 2022, an 0-13 skid in the series. Davis Alexander is a perfect 6-0 as a starter against Ottawa, and in this year's two meetings alone he's thrown for 765 yards and five touchdowns with zero picks. That's the version of Alexander this Redblacks secondary has to deal with again on Thursday.
The edge here isn't close. Montreal's offense is humming — 18 touchdowns on 51 possessions over its last four games, a 65 percent conversion rate on second down — while Ottawa's defense has been gashed for 322 points allowed, worst in the league by a wide margin. Add in a front seven that's been decimated by injury and a franchise dealing with an off-field shakeup after Adrian Sciarra's exit as team president, and this has all the makings of another long night in La Belle Province.
Key Players
- Davis Alexander (Montreal Alouettes, QB) — On pace for 6,280 passing yards, which would obliterate Anthony Calvillo's team record of 6,041 from 2004, and he's 6-0 for his career against Ottawa.
- Jake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) — Has thrown for 300-plus yards in four straight games and sits at 2,680 yards on the year, but he's a career 1-5-1 against Montreal and will need a clean pocket he hasn't had much of lately.
- Tyson Philpot (Montreal Alouettes, WR) — Leads the CFL with 1,154 receiving yards and just tied a league record for fastest to 1,000 receiving yards in a season; he's torched Ottawa for 21 catches and 382 yards in two meetings this year.
- Kalil Pimpleton (Ottawa Redblacks, WR/RET) — Leads the entire league at 197.4 combined yards per game and remains Ottawa's one legitimate big-play threat on offense and special teams.
- Brett Lauther (Ottawa Redblacks, K) — Perfect 23-for-23 on field goals this season, a rare bright spot for a team that's needed every point it can find.
Keys to the Game
- Ottawa has to find a pass rush against Alexander, who's had all night to throw in both meetings this year — an already-thin defensive line is even thinner now.
- Maier needs to protect the football against a Montreal defense that gets after the passer, and Ottawa can't let this turn into a track meet it can't keep pace in.
- Lean on Pimpleton in the return game and get him the ball in space early — hidden yardage and quick strikes are about the only way this stays respectable.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Muftah Ageli (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Hamstring |
| Emeric Boutin (FB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Ankle |
| Michael Brodrique (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Knee |
| Aaron Casey (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Groin |
| Drew Desjarlais (OL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available — Foot |
| Adrian Frye (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Hand |
| Scott Hutter (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Ribs |
| Cleyon Laing (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Foot |
| Nyles Morgan (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Questionable — Hamstring |
| Daniel Okpoko (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available — Shoulder |
| Charlie Parks (DL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Bicep |
| Julian Pearl (OL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Groin |
| Jevoni Robinson (TE) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out — Hip |
| Dionte Ruffin (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Questionable — Hamstring |
Depth Chart
Ottawa Redblacks starters by position, built from the club's official Week 12 depth chart. This is Ottawa's projected lineup only.
| Position | Ottawa Redblacks |
|---|---|
| QB | Jake Maier / McLeod Bethel-Thompson / Bryson Barnes |
| RB | Greg Bell / Daniel Adeboboye |
| FB | Anthony Gosselin |
| SB | Justin Hardy / Keelan White / Ayden Eberhardt |
| WR | Cade McDonald / Kalil Pimpleton / Nick Mardner |
| LT | Dino Boyd |
| LG | Drew Desjarlais / Alassane Diouf |
| C | Sean McEwen / Samuel Carson |
| RG | Giordano Vaccaro |
| RT | Zachary Barlev |
| DE | Luiji Vilain / Aidan John, Sione Teuhema / Jessie Evans |
| DT | Jelani Stafford / Blessman Ta'Ala, Dennis Briggs Jr. / Daniel Okpoko |
| WLB | Brian Cole II / AJ Allen / Lucas Cormier |
| MLB | Josh Connors / KJ Cloyd / Nyles Morgan (GTD) |
| SLB | CJ Reavis |
| CB | Shadwel Nkuba II / Christian Matthew, Eric Cumberbatch |
| HB | Marcus Barnes / Benny Sapp III, King Ambers |
| S | Alonzo Addae |
| K/P | Brett Lauther / Noah Gettman |
| LS | Lucus Spencer |
| RET | Kalil Pimpleton / Cade McDonald |
Score Prediction
Ottawa Redblacks 25 - Montreal Alouettes 38. Maier and Pimpleton get Ottawa moving the ball enough to cover some of that plus-13, but Alexander, Philpot and that Montreal machine have simply been unstoppable, and there's no reason to think a winless, injury-riddled Redblacks squad slows that down on the road.
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Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.