Happy Halloween, folks. Hope your children do well with trick-or-treating… and that you end up stuffing your gullet with all of their stolen candy. Remember, you brought them into this world… it’s your God-given right to take their candy as desired, too. As the pumpkins and costumes fade away, we’re into the final week of the 2019 CFL regular season; for some teams (read: Ottawa and Toronto), the end couldn’t come soon enough. For others, we have minor inconveniences that need to be dealt with before the playoffs begin next week. The one final piece of the playoff puzzle yet to be decided is which of Saskatchewan or Calgary claims the West division title. All three have been neck-and-neck all season long, but now that we’re down to the last gasp, I think it’s going to make for at least two very good games this week.

We’re very light in league news this week:

• Eskimos WR and return man Christion Jones will miss the remainder of the 2019 season with a knee injury, suffered in last week’s game against Saskatchewan. With Jones missing, it’ll shake up Edmonton’s return game for the playoffs – hopefully they’ll be able to find some continuity, even with their top returner gone.

Onto the games!

WEEK 20 RECAPS

Calgary 28 vs. Winnipeg 29: Zach Collaros’ first career game as a Blue Bomber was a good one; Winnipeg’s new QB led the Bombers to a season series win over the visiting Stampeders, thanks to two touchdown passes on 22-28 passing for 211 yards, as well as an interception. In yet another tight contest between these two teams, Calgary came out ready for a slugfest; they held a 14-10 lead at halftime, and had a 28-19 lead heading into the final frame. Thanks to a highlight-reel TD catch from Darvin Adams, the Bombers pulled to within two points, and Collaros led Winnipeg to a field goal on the final drive, sealing the deal and ensuring the Bombers locked up, at the very least, third place in the West, therefore reducing their travel schedule for the playoffs.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Winnipeg

Hamilton 38 vs. Montreal 26: Brandon Banks went off in this game, racking up 201 receiving yards on eleven catches, not to mention hauling in three touchdowns to boot. The Ti-Cats, despite having locked up the best record in the CFL, stayed hungry all game long; Dane Evans went 29-36 for 379 yards, 4 TDs, and a pick, while the defence racked up three sacks and two interceptions. Montreal, mostly concerned with just staying healthy for the playoffs starting shortly, put up some points of their own, with Vernon Adams, Jr. and Matthew Shiltz splitting the game between them at quarterback. With RB William Stanback on the shelf for this game, backup Jeremiah Johnson had himself a very solid outing in his stead, racking up 105 yards rushing on 16 carries. In the end, however, the better team won – to absolutely no one’s surprise. Expect this to be a preview of the East Final this year – I would be extremely surprised to see Edmonton appearing in place of Montreal.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

Ottawa 9 vs. Toronto 39: Another week, another pathetic showing for the REDBLACKS, who just need to be taken out behind the barn and shot at this point. The Argos led by seven at the half, and ended up boat-racing Ottawa in the second half, even with their second- and third-string quarterbacks in the game. McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Dakota Prukop, and Michael O’Connor all threw touchdowns for Toronto, who looked like a juggernaut once again. The REDBLACKS, starting Will Arndt at QB for the third straight game, still struggled on offence, racking up a single touchdown and fourth-quarter rouge on the night. The D, forced to stay out for more than half the game due to Ottawa losing the time of possession battle once again, were absolutely gassed, and got picked apart yet again. Toronto has a lot of stuff to fix when it comes to their club, but in pales in comparison to how absolutely horrendous the REDBLACKS have been this year.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Toronto

Saskatchewan 27 vs. Edmonton 24: With a clutch road win, the Roughriders once again have the inside track on the West Division title, while the Eskimos, with the home loss, are now locked in to the crossover playoff spot and will face Montreal in the East semifinal. Trevor Harris, back after an extended time on the shelf due to a shoulder injury, helped restore a little bit of punch to Edmonton’s offence, which has looked quite lost in his absence; however, he still had two interceptions on the night. It was a close game through all 60 minutes; Riders’ QB Cody Fajardo took the league lead in passing yards with 4302, thanks to a huge night, going 29-35 for 429 yards and two TDs. Saskatchewan managed to pull out the victory thanks to a 43-yard field goal from Brett Lauther in the dying seconds of the game; at 12-5, they now hold sole possession of first in the West.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: BC (5-12)

WEEK 21 PREVIEWS

Montreal (9-8) vs. Ottawa (3-14), Friday, November 1st, 7:00 PM EST: Because I am an idiot, and because tickets are stupidly cheap, I am attending this game with Lady Maestro and a crew of her old college rugby teammates. It’s gonna be interesting to see how drunk people get in the process of watching everything go down; I certainly hope I have no memory of the game once all is said and done, because it is gonna be baaaaaaad. Even with Montreal likely to rest the majority of their starters in this one, I fully expect the REDBLACKS to get the doors blown off all the same. With no clear answer at QB all season, Rick Campbell is handing the ball back to Dominique Davis for the season finale. A fitting sendoff, considering he may well never play in the CFL ever again after this year.

PICK: Montreal

Edmonton (8-9) vs. Saskatchewan (12-5), Saturday, November 2nd, 4:00 PM EST: A Saskatchewan win and/or a Calgary loss, and the Riders lock up the division title. Having already beaten the Eskimos last week, Saskatchewan would love to sweep this home-and-home with their fellow green-clad team. Edmonton already knows they’re headed east to face Montreal next week, but spoiling Saskatchewan’s fun, and the chance for a first-round playoff bye, might still be within reach. Trevor Harris, who threw two interceptions last week, needs more reps in order to shake off the rust from his injury layoff, so hopefully he’ll find his playoff form soon for Edmonton – because time is running short. That said, apparently head coach Jason Maas is leaning towards benching him for this week’s contest – I get wanting to keep him healthy, but what good is being healthy if you’re not up to game speed? (I ask, of course, entirely rhetorically.)

PICK: Saskatchewan

Toronto (4-13) vs. Hamilton (14-3), Saturday, November 2nd, 7:00 PM EST: The Ti-Cats will finish 2019 with a first-round bye, the top record in the CFL, and a target on their backs as the favourites to win the Grey Cup this year. They kept their foot on the gas pedal last week against Montreal, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them sit most of their starters against the Argos, who are on the opposite side of the coin, playing out the string and looking ahead to 2020. Interestingly enough for the Argos, McLeod Bethel-Thompson appears to have solidified his spot as the Argos’ starting QB for next year; perhaps the team will play Prukop and O’Connor a little bit further in order to see what they’ve got in store for next year.

PICK: Hamilton

Calgary (11-6) vs. BC (5-12), Saturday, November 2nd, 7:00 PM EST: A Stamps win, coupled with a Riders loss, is the only way that Calgary can claim the division crown this year. Tough? Sure. Impossible? Definitely not. But it’s going to take some luck. The LioUns had a disappointing first half but appeared to be turning things around before Mike Reilly went down late in the year; despite them missing the playoffs this season, I think the second half of 2019 is more indicative of where the team will be for 2020. Not an ideal first season for rookie head coach DeVone Claybrooks, but he’ll learn from it, while watching his old team likely go on another deep playoff run this year.

PICK: BC

BYE: Winnipeg (11-7)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff berth
c – clinched crossover spot
e – eliminated from playoff contention

Passing Yards

1. Fajardo, SSK – 4302
2. Harris, EDM – 4027
3. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 4024

Passing TDs

1. Bethel-Thompson, TOR – 26
2. Adams Jr., MTL – 22
3. Evans, HAM – 21

Rushing Yards

1. Harris, WPG – 1380
2. Powell, SSK – 1057
3. Stanback, MTL – 1003

Receiving Yards

1. Banks, HAM – 1550
2. Burnham, BC – 1401
3. Begelton, CGY – 1384

Sacks

1. Hughes, SSK – 15
2. Davis, HAM – 13
3. Jefferson, WPG – 12

Interceptions

1. Rose, WPG – 9
2. Roberson, CGY – 7
3. Rolle, HAM – 5

Field Goals

1. Whyte, EDM – 47
2. Hajrullahu, HAM – 45
3. Ward, OTT – 40

PICK POOL

Idiot me once again forgot to submit my week 20 picks. I deserve my fate. Such is life. Can Litre_Cola hold on for one more week??

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=168258 

Enjoy the games, everyone.