The CFL is only on TSN and CFL+ this weekend. No CTV or CBS Sports Network. There wasn't a Saturday afternoon contest to bump up to CTV. Once again, we have only 6 of the league's 9 teams in action.
This is the weekend for you if you prefer the West teams in the league. The furthest east team in the West (Winnipeg) travels to the league's southern most team in Hamilton. You could look at this as the Grey Cup reunions from 2019 and 2021 for the Blue Bombers and the Tiger-Cats yet they feel like different teams.
Calgary takes its road woes to Vancouver, which can be a tough place for road teams under normal circumstances. We don't have usual circumstances these days as the Lions don't want to play in Vancouver either.
The CFL has some Saturday night momentum on the final weekend before Hockey Night in Canada engages Canadians. The green of Saskatchewan comes to the green and yellow of Edmonton for a tough battle for both teams. The Elks are drawing better at home and plenty of Saskatchewan fans will show up at Commonwealth Stadium.
Montréal, Ottawa, and Toronto get to enjoy autumn colours in the east.
TSN
Friday
Winnipeg @ Hamilton, 7p
Calgary @ BC, 10p
Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 7p
Bye week: Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto
Argos kicked 8 FGs, and won.
— Riders Fan 13 (@CFLFan13) September 29, 2024
Riders kicked 7 FGs, and won.
Points matter everyone! I know spreadsheet boys think field goals shouldn't count.#CFL
Sometimes, CFL teams lose because they settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Those games proved to be the exception.
CFL goalposts are on the end zone line so they are 10 yards shorter than the NFL. Years ago, the NFL had that but then moved back. The NFL exhibition game in Winnipeg in 2019 reminded us of this difference.
MONTREAL RUNS THE EAST 📍
— CFL (@CFL) September 28, 2024
With Ottawa's loss, the @MTLAlouettes will host the Eastern Final, clinching top spot in the East Divison. #GCPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/eixKkNAFQ6
Lirim Hajrullahu may have been known by non-CFL fans as the kicker who won the game on a rouge. On Saturday night in Toronto, Hajrullahu set a franchise record with 8 field goals as the see-saw battle went to the Argonauts.
Chad Kelly finished 19-for-30 for 287 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception for Toronto. Ka’Deem Carey led the way for the Argos running game with 90 yards and a touchdown while Deonta McMahon added 67 rushing yards and a major.
Montréal clinched first with the Ottawa loss. James Letcher Jr. went 100 yards for a punt return for a major in the second quarter. This was the team's first road loss in over a year — September 9, 2023 also at BMO Field.
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It’s voting season and Rolan Milligan Jr. (@rmilliganjr) is back on the M.O.P. campaign trail.#CFL #Riders #RiderNation
— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 28, 2024
pic.twitter.com/EenU5jzBIQ
Saskatchewan has specialised in second half collapses in recent seasons. The 2024 win over Calgary was the first post Labour Day win since November 2021. Now the Roughriders have won 2 in a row in the fall. Brett Lauther, whom some fans wanted gone earlier in the season, kicked those 7 field goals.
Ottawa has lost 4 of its last 5 games.
The CFL suspended Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive back Deontai Williams for one game after Williams slammed Ottawa receiver Kalil Pimpleton head first into the turf. There were 6 seconds left in the game. Williams did later apologize to Pimpleton. Your humble narrator gets a football hit. This was not a football hit.
— r/CFL on Reddit (@cfl_reddit) September 28, 2024
Your humble narrator watched part of the game in Vancouver. 16-0 at the half. BC Lions scoring drives but 3 field goals in the first half. Peeked in later and saw BC 23, Hamilton 11. Figured I could go to sleep.
Was not expecting 32-29 Hamilton in overtime. The cleverness of the 2-point conversion after the first Tiger-Cat touchdown (Tim White throws a pass to Bo Levi Mitchell). The Lions' defence being more open than the Red Sea thanks to Moses. The Lions offence scoring a major during the comeback and only a field goal to send the game into overtime. Hamilton had the lead for very little time in regulation.
The sudden pass interference in overtime that gave Hamilton the comeback win, even shocking by CFL standards.
The Lions won in Victoria yet haven't won in Vancouver since July 13. This is October and the Lions host Calgary. We did mention that the 2024 Grey Cup is at BC Place. Maybe a few hundred times.
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Winnipeg started out with 2 long TD passes to Nic Demski and Keric Wheatfall for a blowout win over the Elks. The Blue Bombers posted a +41 over Edmonton in the 2-game series within a week. Zach Collaros finished with 6 touchdowns.
Winnipeg now owns the tiebreaker over every single West team and has a playoff spot. Rather good for a team that started 2-6 and now has a 7-game winning streak.
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-- The NHL trade deadline coverage is an all you can eat buffet. The CFL trade deadline coverage is a mostly empty automat in Amsterdam.
There was an actual CFL trade at the 2024 deadline: Canadian running back Jeshrun Antwi goes from Montréal to the BC Lions for a 3rd-round pick in the 2025 draft. This was the first deadline trade since 2019 when some quarterback named Zach Collaros went from Toronto to Winnipeg in 2019. The Antwi deal won't be as fruitful as the 2019 trade.
-- BC punter Stefan Flintoff didn't just hit a punt into the scoreboard. The latest punt got stuck in the scoreboard at BC Place in Vancouver. We have noticed, not Flintoff's fault, but the BC Lions haven't won any of the games where the scoreboard interferes with a punt.
-- The 2024 Edmonton squad is the first CFL club since Edmonton and Hamilton both in 1966 to have 3 running backs with at least 500 yards. Javon Leake, Kevin Brown, and Justin Rankin are over 500 yards.
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Montréal (11-3-1) gets a week off and a home playoff game at Stade Molson for the East final. The East battle is to host the East semifinal. Ottawa (8-6-1) still hasn't clinched a playoff spot. The RedBlacks have a 3-game losing streak and a ½ game lead for second place behind Toronto (8-7). These 3 East teams get to sit out this week. Toronto wants to keep playing and Ottawa hopes a week will help Dru Brown's knee. The RedBlacks can clinch a playoff spot with a Hamilton loss.
Hamilton (6-9) is a game back of the BC Lions (7-8) for 3rd place in the West. The team crossing over needs more points than the other team; no ties or tiebreakers. The Tiger-Cats win over the Lions puts Hamilton that much closer to a crossover. Beating Winnipeg at home and having Calgary win in Vancouver doesn't seem likely. Then again, we would have said that about the Tiger-Cats winning in Vancouver.
The Tiger-Cats are 2 games behind Toronto with 3 to play (with the tiebreaker), which is why the crossover is easier. Dave Naylor discussed the potential for a first-time East team as a crossover to the West (for those who missed it last week).
Winnipeg (9-6) has a 7-game winning streak and a playoff spot. This is the 8th straight season where the Blue Bombers are in the playoffs. Life didn't used to be this sunny in the Manitoba capital. The Blue Bombers have the tiebreaker with every West team. The Blue Bombers clinch first place in the West (4th straight season) with a win and an Edmonton win.
Saskatchewan (7-7-1) is riding high with 2 wins in a row, the first 2 such wins post Labour Day for the team since November 2021. The Roughriders have a ½ game lead on the Lions (7-8) for second place. Saskatchewan hasn't hosted a playoff game since 2021.
The Roughriders formula for the playoffs is losses from Hamilton and Calgary with a Saskatchewan win. The Lions formula for the playoffs is wins from BC, Winnipeg, and Saskatchewan.
The 2 Alberta teams — Edmonton (5-10) and Calgary (4-9-1) — play the West teams above them in the standings. Tiebreakers are on the line as the Elks host the Roughriders while the Stampeders travel to play the Lions. Edmonton can only get to 16 points while the Calgary ceiling is 17 points. Calgary has made 18 straight trips to the playoffs, the longest active streak and 4-longest in CFL history.
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The CFL was not going to blink of the 2024 Grey Cup conflict with the Vancouver Canucks November 17 home game. The NHL team agreed to move the start time from 5 pm PST to 7 pm PST. Figure the Grey Cup will start just after 3 pm PST on that day. The stadiums are next to each other so traffic would be an issue.
We struggle with why the NHL is so insistent on scheduling Canadian teams on Grey Cup Sunday. Bad enough that happens but to schedule a team in the same market as the home destination of the Grey Cup feels insulting.
The Montréal Canadiens traditionally has matinees on Super Bowl weekend. The NHL could offer up Canadian teams earlier in the day on Grey Cup Sunday, though the Vancouver Canucks play at 7 pm PST the previous night (Hockey Night in Canada) in 2024.
Did anyone else lose streaming abilities on CFL+? What’s going on @CFL #CFL
— Kent Sangster (@KSang09) September 29, 2024
I did watch part of the CTV game via CFL+. I was unable for awhile to access the Montréal-Toronto game on CFL+. Eventually, the video link came back. A reminder that CFL+ has a 48-hour window for rebroadcasts.
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CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Edmonton @ Winnipeg: Rod Smith/Duane Forde/John Lu
Hamilton @ BC: Farhan Lalji/Glen Suitor/Shantelle Chand
Ottawa @ Saskatchewan: Marshall Ferguson/Glen Suitor/Brit Dort
Montréal @ Toronto: Rod Smith/Duane Forde/Matt Dunigan/Matthew Scianitti
Laura Daikun filled in for Kate Beirness on the CFL on TSN panel. Jim Barker and Henoc Muamba were in the studio in for Matt Dunigan and Milt Stegall.
We aren't used to seeing Marshall Ferguson as far west as Regina yet. Farhan Lalji called his first game in Vancouver this season. Dustin Nielson was out for the weekend, so that was a consideration.
The "Red Riders Green Riders" CTV game on Saturday drew the weakest audience of the CFL games over the weekend. The numbers were 409,000 on CTV. The West Coast game in Vancouver on a Friday night drew 478,100.
Another way to look at things is that the CTV game in Regina outdrew the last 2 CTV games: Ottawa at Hamilton in Week 15 (275,000) and Montréal in Ottawa in Week 16 (317,800).
The Canadian over-the-air network is skipping this weekend but will have Saturday afternoon exclusive CFL games through the rest of October.
logo credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @CFLFan13; @CFL; @3DownNation; @cfl_reddit; @KSang09
photo credit: TSN/CFL
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