CFL WEEK 10 PREVIEW & PICKS

BY ADAM GREENE

We have officially done it. We’ve crossed into the second half of the season and finally have four winning teams thanks to the Montreal Alouettes coming out on top of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week.

That’s the good news. The bad news? The Edmonton Elks are back from their time out and facing off against this week’s top ranked CFL franchise. If that prospect was any uglier it would show up as my “most compatible” the next time I open my Hinge app. But, hey, there’s still games to play and money to be made. Thankfully, we have the odds, lines and totals with which to do just that.

POWER RANKINGS

1. WINNEPEG BLUE BOMBERS (6-2)

The Blue Bombers were underdogs last week, but absolutely obliterated the BC Lions in their rematch and now take the top spot in the rankings after a shocking Toronto Argonauts loss. Last week: No. 3

2. TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-1)

An injury to starter Chad Kelly doomed the Argos to their first loss of the season as the offense could never get on track with back up Cameron Dukes last week against the Calgary Stampeders. They got some good news this week as Kelly is expected to be back Sunday. Last week: No. 1

3. BC LIONS (6-2)

Back in the first month of the season, the Lions easily handled the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Apparently, Winnipeg didn’t like that much, as BC got the kind of spanking last week that usually costs four figures to receive off Craigslist. Last week: No. 2

4. MONTREAL ALOUETTES (4-3)

It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but it still counts as the Alouettes eked their way over .500 with a solid victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Saturday. Last week: No. 5

5. SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (4-4)

Thanks to holding off a late rally by the Ottawa Redblacks, the Roughriders are back to .500, serving as the perfect line of demarcation between the CFL’s winners and losers. Last week: No. 8

6. CALGARY STAMPEDERS (3-5)

There’s no better way to get your season back on the rails than knocking off the league’s top team. The Stampeders did exactly that, shocking the CFL by handing the Toronto Argonauts their first loss of 2023 last Friday. Calgary gets bonus points by not picking up their sixth loss in the CFL’s first two months, seeing as they lost six games all of last season. Last week: 7

7. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (3-5)

Hamilton was unable to stack up wins again as its offense fell flat against the Montreal Alouettes last week. They were the worst team to make the CFL playoffs a year ago and, if they return, probably will be again. Last week: No. 4

8. OTTAWA REDBLACKS (3-5)

Ottawa’s offense finally showed up, but it still wasn’t enough to keep them from adding another “L” to the stat sheet against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Sunday. Last week: No. 6

9. EDMONTON ELKS (0-8)

After a luxurious week off to lick their wounds, the Elks now have to deal with a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that dropped 50 points on the BC Lions a week ago. Last week: No. 9

WEEK 10

Byes: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

THURSDAY

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS AT EDMONTON ELKS (+13.5, O/U: 44.5)

There’s an old Klingon proverb that revenge is a dish best served cold and though it’s still summer, even in Canada, the Blue Bombers didn’t let that stop them from making up for an early season loss by decimating the BC Lions, 50-14, last Thursday. Zach Collaros had a day under center, going 19 of 27 for 389 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the win. Brady Oliveira led the team in rushing with nine carries for 67 yards and two scores. Kenny Lawler was a human highlight reel, catching seven passes for 200 yards and a TD. Dalton Schoen had five grabs for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Nic Demski caught five balls for 63 yards and a score. Rasheed Bailey had one 57-yard touchdown grab. Adam Bighill led the defense with six tackles. Winston Rose and Evan Holm both recorded five tackles. Demerio Houston had four tackles and a pick. Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat both had a tackle and a sack and Brandon Alexander picked off a pass.

Edmonton finally had a vacation week to think about what they’d done and what they’ve done is be one of the worst football teams on Planet Earth for the first two months of the season. Before their bye, they put forth their best offensive performance, losing 37-29 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 8. Two quarterbacks took the field for the Elks, which is never a good thing unless one of them is mopping up in a blowout. Jarret Doege was 14 of 21 for 201 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Taylor Cornelieus finished 11 of 20 for 177 yards, one TD and two picks. He scrambled five times for 14 yards. Kevin Brown led the team in rushing with 11 carries for 77 yards and a score. Kyran Moore caught four passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Steven Dunbar, Jr. had five receptions for 72 yards and a TD. Maurice Ffrench caught six passes for 70 yards. Dilon Mitchel had four grabs for 68 yards. Mark McLaurin and Nyles Morgan co-led the defense with five tackles apiece, with Morgan adding a sack and two tackles for a loss. Kony Ealy had two tackles and a sack.

Poor Edmonton. You’d hope that the bye could give them a chance to regroup, but they spent last weekend watching Winnipeg bend the BC Lions, one of the CFL’s best teams, over a bus seat. This one should be even uglier. Blue Bombers 41, Elks 13

FRIDAY

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (-5.5, O/U: 44.5)

Saskatchewan found itself in a serious battle against the Ottawa Redblacks last Sunday but had just enough in the tank to hold off a fourth quarter comeback to claim the 26-24 victory. Mason Fine finished his evening 23 of 37 passing for 296 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed five times for 17 yards. Jamal Morrow carried the ball 13 times for 47 yards and a score. Shawn Bane, Jr. had six catches for 88 yards and a TD. Jerreth Sterns had seven receptions for 71 yards. Samuel Emilus had four grabs for 61 yards. Jake Wieneke caught four balls for 53 yards. On defense, Micah Teitz recorded eight tackles. Larry Dean had seven tackles. Anthony Lenier posted five tackles and three sacks. Lake Korte-Moore had four tackles and a sack. Pete Robertson had three tackles, all for a loss. Micah Johnson had two tackles, both for a loss and a sack. Charbel Dabire had a tackle and a sack. 

Cody Fajardo tried to toss the game away with two interceptions, but the Alouettes survived his generosity, winning their second consecutive game, 27-14, over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Saturday. Fajardo finished his day 19 of 25 for 318 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned two picks. He scrambled twice for 15 yards. William Stanback rushed 19 times for 106 yards. Austin Mack caught five passes for 106 yards. Tyler Snead had four grabs for 90 yards. Quartney Davis caught three passes for 55 yards. Regis Cibasu hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass. Kordell Rogers ended his afternoon with seven tackles. Marc-Antoine Dequoy had five tackles. Tyrice Beverette had four tackles and a forced fumble. Jamal Davis had four tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss. JR Reed finished with three tackles and a pick. Shawn Lemon nearly batted for the cycle, recording three tackles, two sacks, one interception and recovered a fumble.

Saskatchewan might be the league’s best bad team while Montreal is probably the worst good team. That means this one will likely be closer than the spread. Alouettes 27, Roughriders 23

SATURDAY

CALGARY STAMPEDERS AT BC LIONS (-6.5, O/U: 45.5)

The Stampeders couldn’t have drawn it up any better. After knocking out Toronto Argonauts starting quarterback Chad Kelly early in the game, Calgary cruised to a (perhaps) season saving 20-7 win over the Toronto Argonauts last week. In spite of the victory, quarterback Jake Maier still looked ready for the USFL, going 22 of 24 for only 149 yards, no touchdowns, but, hey, no interceptions. He did scramble twice for eight yards. Dedrick Mills did all the work on offence, carrying the ball 27 times for 137 yards. Tommylee Lewis had nine receptions for 58 yards. Macah Awe and Cameron Judge both led the defense with four tackles each. Michael Griffin had two tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Mike Rose and Mike Moore both had two tackles and a sack. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund had a tackle and a sack. Jonathan Moxey picked off a pass.

It got so bad that the Lions had to march out a second quarterback before the game wrapped, but nothing could stop them from being completely overrun by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last Thursday night, losing 50-14. Dane Evans finished 12 of 21 for 113 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Dominique Davis was 8 of 18 for 76 yards, no TDs and no picks. He scrambled six times for 13 yards. Taquan Mizzell had 10 carries for 50 yards. Keon Hatcher caught four passes for 60 yards. On defense, TJ Lee, Marcus Sayles and Ben Hladik all finished with five tackles. Boseko Lokombo had three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Marcus Moore had a tackle and an interception.

While Calgary can congratulate itself for taking out a wounded Argos team, the Lions have to be hot after getting embarrassed by the Blue Bombers last week. They’ll take it out on the Stampeders on the Sabbath. Lions 34, Stampeders 17

SUNDAY

OTTAWA REDBLACKS AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS (-10, O/U: 47.5)

It was a spirited effort that came up just short. The Redblacks stormed back in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t do enough to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders, losing a 26-24 heartbreaker. Dustin Crum was USFL-worthy in his effort, going 16 of 20 for only 174 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He scrambled four times for 21 yards. Devonte Williams led the team rushing, if you can fall it that, with 12 carries for 33 yards. Jaeolon Acklin caught three passes for 56 yards. Jovan Santos-Knox turned in his timecard with nine tackles and three for a loss. Justin Howell and Cariel Brooks both had five tackles apiece. Bryce Carter had three tackles, all for a loss and forced a fumble. Douglas Coleman II had two tackles and a forced fumble. 

An ankle injury sidelined starting quarterback Chad Kelly and the offense never recovered. The Argonauts dropped their first game of 2023 thanks to a 20-7 defeat at the hooves of the Calgary Stampeders. Kelly was 4 of 6 for 94 yards and a touchdown when he left the game. Replaced by Cameron Dukes, the back up was 8 of 15 for 63 yards, no TDs and a pick. He scrambled four times for 18 yards. AJ Ouellette rushed seven times for 32 yards. Cam Phillips caught four passes for 94 yards and a score. Defensively, Robertson Daniel booked 16 tackles. Royce Metchie had nine tackles. Josh Hagerty and Wynton McManis recorded seven tackles apiece, with McManis adding a tackle for a loss. Jonathan Jones had three tackles and a sack.  

Chad Kelly has been a full participant in practice this week in spite of his ankle injury in case you thought Ottawa might stand a real chance here. I’m feeling that the Argos will want to take out their frustrations on that fist loss and the Redblacks will be the Black and Blues before it’s over. Argonauts 38, Redblacks 20

Last week

Straight up: 3-1

Against the spread: 2-2

Season

Straight up: 27-8

Against the spread: 22-13

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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