The Montreal Alouettes are coming off a 30-10 victory over Ottawa at home and will now face them again this time in Ottawa. The Alouettes look to win their 11th straight game in meetings against the RedBlacks, having won the last 10 between he 2 clubs. Davis Alexander is 10-0 as a starter thus far, the best start to a quarterback’s win/loss record in CFL history.
Game Details:
Date/Location: Saturday, October 18 / TD Place, Ottawa, ON
Kickoff Time: 3:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM PT
Channel: CTV, TSN, RDS (Canada), CFL+ (USA, Global)
Odds (If you place bets, please do so responsibly in moderation):
Spread: Montreal -10.5 (-105), Ottawa +10.5 (-115)
Moneyline: Montreal -550, Ottawa +390
Over/Under: 50.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Montreal Alouettes: The Montreal Alouettes climbed closer to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the standings last week as Montreal won while Hamilton lost 20-37 to Calgary. Hamilton is on the bye this week and plays Ottawa in week 21 to close out their regular season. If Montreal can win its game this week and next week in Winnipeg, it will finish first in the East if Hamilton loses their week 21 game against Ottawa. But given how Ottawa has been, that is a pretty big if.
Ottawa RedBlacks: With Dustin Crum being ruled out for this game, Ottawa will see Tyrie Adams get the start at quarterback.
Ottawa at 4-12, doesn’t have anything to play for this season other than for pride and preparations for next year. Currently, they are in last place in the league, and unless they pass Toronto in the standings, who are 1 game ahead of them, they will have the first pick in the CFL draft. Ottawa has drafted in the first 2 picks in 3 of the last 4 CFL drafts.
Alouettes Keys to the Game
No Fly Zone
Last week saw a strong performance from Montreal’s secondary. By my tracking, Montreal’s 5 starting defensive backs had 10 targets come their way, resulting only in 4 completions for 27 yards with 4 passes defended. There was not much success downfield to be had for Ottawa last week. Both CB Kabion Ento and HB Wesley Sutton had only 1 target come their way without a completion allowed.
Pressure the Passer Early
Last week, Montreal had 4 sacks. The Alouettes will want to ensure they do not allow time in Ottawa’s backfield for Adams to get comfortable in his first regular-season opportunity in years.
Davis Alexander to Take What’s Available
Last week, Alexander completed 23 of his 30 throws for 240 yards and a touchdown. There was nearly a red zone interception midway through the 4th quarter, but overall, he was pretty safe with the ball. Ottawa has the fewest passing touchdowns allowed and the third fewest passing yards. Their record would indicate they are a team you could light up in the passing game, but that is not the case.
5 Alouettes to Watch
#81 WR Austin Mack
Last week, Mack led the team in receiving, catching 5 of his 8 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown.
#6 WR Tyson Philpot
Philpot was tied for most targets last week, catching 6 of his 8 targets for 40 yards.
#24 S Marc-Antoine Dequoy
Last game saw Dequoy open the scoring when he blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. He also locked it down in coverage as 5 targets came his way, resulting in only 1 completion for 5 yards and breaking up 3 passes. His performance earned my recognition as “Jonathan of the Game” in my article: Dequoy, Stanback, and 8 Others Who Stood Out in Week 19’s Montreal 30-10 Win Over Ottawa – After Film Review
#91 DE Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund
Adeyemi-Berglund is tied for 2nd in sacks in the league at 11. Last week he had 5 pressures past a blocker by my count.
#68 RT Tiger Shanks
Shanks has been an impressive rookie for Montreal after being drafted 5th overall. By my count, he has allowed only 1 pressure in each of the last 2 games.
5 RedBlacks to Watch
#7 QB Tyrie Adams
Adams has not thrown a regular-season pass since 2023, when he completed 23 of his 37 passes for 314 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception over 2 games. He also rushed 7 times for 50 yards. It will be intriguing to see how he may have developed since that time in this opportunity.
#31 RB William Stanback
Stanback had a great game last week against his old team, forcing 2 missed tackles and rushing 11 times for 73 yards (6.64 average) and a 15-yard touchdown.
#2 WR Justin Hardy
Hardy could potentially break 1,000 yards receiving this week. He has 73 catches for 937 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.
#87 WR Eugene Lewis
Lewis could break 1,000 yards receiving this week for the 4th time in 6 seasons. He has 69 receptions for 963 yards and 5 touchdowns.
#CB CJ Coldon
Last week, Coldon had 3 tackles, including a solo stop against the pass, and was in on a shared stop. 5 targets came his way in coverage, resulting in 3 completions for just 13 yards.
Injury Report:
Depth Charts:
Score Prediction:
Montreal is hot right now, while Ottawa is cold. I predict Montreal to win 30-17.
