CFL.ca Game Notes: Top running backs meet in Toronto

TORONTO — Week 8 is headlined by a battle of the top two running backs in the CFL right now.

Toronto’s Ka’Deem Carey leads the league in rushing yards with 429, followed closely by Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira with 415. Both players are the heart and soul of their offences, with the Argonauts currently sitting first in rushing yards per game (129.2) while the Blue Bombers are third (101.0).

The Boatmen also lead the league in yards per carry with 5.4, while Winnipeg is first in average gain on first down with 7.3. That means that when Argos and Bombers meet on Saturday at BMO Field, both teams will be looking to establish the running game in order to move the chains. That is especially true given that both teams are struggling somewhat to pass the ball. Toronto sits last with 236 passing yards per game while Winnipeg is second last with 243.3.

It’s a good thing then that Oliveira and Carey also provide help to the aerial offence. The 2023 Most Outstanding Canadian caught 22 passes for 171 yards so far, while Carey added 12 catches for 110 yards and a major.

One thing for certain is that the ball will be in their hands on Saturday, but who will come out on top?

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• Last week, Toronto’s Janarion Grant tallied a kick-return touchdown for the third straight game – a 96-yard effort. He is the third player to accomplish the feat, joining Henry Williams (1990) and Chris Williams (2012).
• Grant has three of the four kick-return TDs this season.
• He has 11 career kick-return touchdowns (9 PR, 2 KO) in 47 games; his mark of one in every 4.3 games is the best in league history.
• Grant leads the league with 16.3 yards per return – a pace that would be fourth best all-time.
• Grant’s career punt return average of 13.4 ranks fourth all-time.
• On Saturday, Grant faces his former team for the first time. He holds the Bombers’ franchise record with eight kick-return touchdowns (7 PR, 1 KO).

QUICK SLANTS

League-Wide:

• In Week 7:
  • 15 sacks
  • 15 takeaways
  • Eight passing touchdowns to eight interceptions
  • Four games decided in the final three minutes
• For the fifth time in seven weeks, a Canadian led the league in receiving yards (Ajou Ajou with 110).
• Teams leading after the third quarter are 21-5.
• Punters are averaging 48 yards per punt, besting the records set in 2023 (46.6) and 2022 (46.3).

SSK at MTL

• The winner of this game will be a league-best 6-1.
• The Riders last won in Montreal on October 30, 2021 when Cody Fajardo was their starter.
• At this point last year, Saskatchewan was -3 in turnovers. This year, they lead the league at +11.
• Last week, Ajou Ajou (110) broke the 100+ yard mark for the first time in his career.
• Rolan Milligan Jr.’s four pass knockdowns last week was one shy of the record held by Emmanuel Martin, Kavis Reed and Davis Sanchez. Milligan has nine in six games; the record is 18.
• Montreal has won its last four games when coming off a bye. League-wide, teams are 5-1 on a week’s rest.

CGY at OTT

• Calgary has won its past five visits to the nation’s capital, but the team has yet to record a road victory this season.
• The Stampeders’ last four games (2-2) have been decided by a total of 12 points; each of their games this season has been decided in the final three minutes.
• Dave Dickenson recorded his 83rd victory as a head coach last week to tie Jack Gotta for 14^th all-time. Tom Higgins sits 13^th with 84.
• Jake Maier’s next touchdown pass will be the 50th of his career. He has never started against the REDBLACKS.
• Ottawa has matched the team’s best opening stretch at home (3-0) since rejoining the CFL in 2014. No Ottawa team has started 4-0 at home since 1978.
• The REDBLACKS’ most recent three-game winning streak came in 2018, which is also the last time the team was three games over .500 at 10-7 before finishing 11-7.
• Dru Brown is a career 2-0 versus Calgary.
• In his first two games, Kalil Pimpleton has nine catches for 209 yards (23.2 yards per catch).

WPG at TOR

• The teams’ last three games at BMO Field have been decided in the final three minutes.
• Winnipeg has won six of the teams’ previous eight matchups.
• Winnipeg has the fewest big plays (nine), while giving up the most (22).
• Zach Collaros is 10-5 versus his former team. He is 74-45 as a starter.
• Last season against Toronto, Brady Oliveira set a career-high with 169 rushing yards.
• At this point last season, Winnipeg led the league with 15 30+ yard completions. The team is currently second last with five. Toronto has four.
• The game features the league’s Top-2 rushers: Ka’Deem Carey (429) and Brady Oliveira (415). Carey leads the league with 12 runs of 10+ yards.
• Last season, the Argonauts finished with a franchise-best 14.5 return yards per punt; this year, they have 15.7.
• Rasheed Bailey will face his former team for the first time. In four seasons with Winnipeg, he recorded 180 catches for 2,072 yards, while capturing two Grey Cups.

HAM at EDM

• Hamilton has won its last four games in Edmonton. Since 2021, the teams have split their four matchups.
• Bo Levi Mitchell is a career 15-4 versus Edmonton – the most wins he has against any opponent.
• Mitchell has at least one touchdown pass in each game this season. He is on pace to throw for a career-high 5,823 yards.
• In his last two games, James Butler has 238 yards from scrimmage on 33 touches, while scoring two majors.
• Edmonton has scored 12 touchdowns in 15 opportunities in the red zone – an 80 per cent success rate to lead the league.
• Each of the Elks’ games has been decided in the final three minutes.
• McLeod Bethel-Thompson (14,964) is 36 passing yards shy of 15,000 in his career.
• Noah Curtis is tied for the league lead with four sacks.
• Jake Julien tops the CFL in yards per punt (52.7).