A winless team walks into BMO Field as a coach faces his old building for the first time — this one has blowout written all over it.
Game Details
- Matchup: Ottawa Redblacks at Toronto Argonauts
- When: Saturday, September 12 at 1:00 PM ET
- Where: BMO Field, Toronto, ON
- TV: TSN
- Stream: Watch live on CFL+
Odds
- Spread: Toronto Argonauts -10
- Moneyline: Toronto Argonauts -625, Ottawa Redblacks +450
- Over/Under: 62
Toronto sits 6-5-1 against the spread this year with five overs and seven unders, while Ottawa has covered just twice in ten tries (2-6-1 ATS) with five overs and five unders on the season.
Overview
Kickoff for this one has a subplot that has nothing to do with the standings. Ryan Dinwiddie is back at BMO Field for the first time since leaving to become head coach and GM in Ottawa, and the building he's walking into is the one he built. Before Dinwiddie arrived, the Argos had strung together back-to-back 4-14 seasons. Under him, Toronto went 30-13 at home, made the playoffs four straight years, won two Grey Cups and put together a .593 winning percentage that trails only Don Matthews in franchise history. There's no reason to think this particular return goes any differently than the ones that made him a legend here.
On the field, this is about as lopsided a matchup as the CFL schedule offers this week. Toronto (6-6) enters off back-to-back statement performances against Hamilton, including a 37-22 road win in the Labour Day Classic where Chad Kelly threw for 319 yards and three scores. Ottawa (0-11) has lost five straight, and the offense has completely collapsed — the Redblacks rushed for -3 yards in their last outing, the worst rushing performance the league has seen since 1994. Toronto's already beaten this team once this season, a 44-24 win in Week 3, and has won four of the last five meetings in Toronto specifically.
Ottawa isn't without pulse — Jake Maier is on pace for over 5,000 passing yards, which would be the first time an Ottawa quarterback has hit that mark since 2018, and Keelan White has caught at least six passes in seven straight games. But this defense has allowed 413 points in eleven games, and Toronto's offense has been rolling. The edge here is Toronto's, and it isn't especially close.
Key Players
- Chad Kelly (Toronto Argonauts, QB) — He's a career 4-1 against Ottawa, has thrown three touchdown passes in three straight games, and needs just 39 passing yards for his second career 4,000-yard season.
- Damonte Coxie (Toronto Argonauts, WR) — Toronto's leading receiver with 1,043 yards and 62 catches has 11 receptions for 256 yards over his last two games.
- Jake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) — He's 3-3 in his career against Toronto and is on pace for 23 touchdowns, but he's also thrown into a defense that's given up a league-low 18 passing touchdowns all year.
- Ayden Eberhardt (Ottawa Redblacks, WR) — Scored twice last week, his first multi-touchdown game with Ottawa and the third of his career.
- Isaac Darkangelo (Toronto Argonauts, LB) — He's put up eight-plus tackles in four straight games and anchors a defense that's been the stingiest in the league through the air.
Keys to the Game
- Toronto needs to keep leaning on the ground and short-passing game to control the clock against a Redblacks defense that can't stop anybody consistently.
- Force Maier into mistakes early — Ottawa's offensive line has been a mess, and if the Argos get pressure, the turnovers will come.
- Avoid the flags — Toronto's averaged a league-low 5.0 penalties over its last five games, and staying disciplined keeps a blowout from turning interesting.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Cassar (LB) | Toronto Argonauts | Out |
| Andrew Chatfield Jr. (DL) | Toronto Argonauts | Out |
| Jake Herslow (WR) | Toronto Argonauts | Out |
| Chad Kelly (QB) | Toronto Argonauts | Available |
| Kendall Randolph (OL) | Toronto Argonauts | Out |
| Alex Teubner (DB) | Toronto Argonauts | Out |
Depth Chart
Toronto Argonauts starters by position, built from the official current-week depth chart. This projected chart may shift closer to kickoff.
| Position | Toronto Argonauts |
|---|---|
| QB | Chad Kelly, Nick Arbuckle, Tucker Horn |
| RB | Isaiah Smith, Qualan Jones |
| FB | Sebastian Parsalidis |
| WR | Damonte Coxie, Nolan Ulm, Dave Ungerer III |
| SB | Tyler Kahmann, Solomon Davis, Janarion Grant, Kevin Mital |
| LT | Desmond Bland |
| LG | Ryan Hunter |
| C | Peter Nicastro, Chris Kolankowski |
| RG | Dakoda Shepley, Frank Vreugdenhil |
| RT | Rush Reimer |
| DE | Shawn Lemon, Da'Marcus Johnson |
| DT | DeWayne Hendrix, Sonae Toia, Paris Shand, Ralph Holley |
| DE | Gabriel Maissonneuve, Jonathan Kongbo |
| LB | Brian Harelimana, Derek Slywka, Jordan Herdman-Reed, Darius McKenzie, Isaac Darkangelo, Akili Arnold, Adarius Pickett |
| CB | Benjie Franklin, Louis-Philippe Gauthier, Tarvarus McFadden |
| S/HB | Bubba Bolden, Ethan John, DaShaun Amos |
| K/P | Lirim Hajrullahu, James Burnip |
| LS | Adam Guillemette |
Score Prediction
Toronto Argonauts 36 - Ottawa Redblacks 26. Kelly and Coxie carve up an Ottawa secondary that's been torched all season, Toronto's defense forces enough Maier mistakes to keep pulling away, and Dinwiddie's return to his old building ends with the home team celebrating — again.
CFL Standings | Full Schedule | League Leaders
Who takes this one? Drop your prediction in the comments.