TORONTO — The most competitive weekend of the regular season is upon us with the arrival of OK Tire Labour Day Weekend.
The West Division’s parity will factor into three of the four games this weekend, starting with the Touchdown Pacific game in Victoria, B.C., where the Lions host the Ottawa REDBLACKS and are looking to put an end to their five-game losing streak.
Of course, our two West Division Labour Day Classics will impact the West standings, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders play host to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday, then the Calgary Stampeders welcome in the Edmonton Elks on Monday afternoon to close out the week.
Out East, fans will make the trek to Tim Hortons Field, where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will host the Toronto Argonauts, as both teams look to make a push up the standings in their final nine weeks of the season.
While we’ve had fascinating movement in the standings the last few weeks, we’ve seen something similar with CFL.ca’s writers. Jamie Nye leads the pack with a 33-15 record, but Matt Cauz and Kristina Costabile are on his heels, at 30-18. Don’t count out first-year pick maker Vicki Hall, who is now up to 28-20, coming off of a perfect 4-0 Week 12 showing.
Let’s see who everyone’s got this week.
OK TIRE LABOUR DAY WEEKEND
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OTT at BC
We kick things off in Victoria on Saturday, as the Lions move from BC Place to Royal Athletic Park to face the REDBLACKS. While we wait to see if Nathan Rourke gets the start in his birthplace, the Lions are working away at putting their five-game losing streak to bed. To do that, they’ll need to reignite their offence and could use a spark defensively, after Dru Brown and the REDBLACKS’ offence put 451 yards on them last week at TD Place. If you’re looking for guidance from the writers on this one, they apologize. They’re torn.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
WPG at SSK
It’s not often you’ll see a sentence like this one: Sitting at 0-4-1 in their last five games, the Riders’ grip on first place in the West is tenuous as they head into their date with the Bombers. If they’re going to win and keep the top spot in the division, they’ll have to be better on a number of fronts. They turned the ball over four times in their one-point loss to the Argos last week and cost themselves in their late-game execution when the game was up for grabs. The Bombers, meanwhile, fought their way through a difficult, turnover-heavy night themselves in their win over the Ticats. The negatives are always easier to deal with as you come in off of a win, though and it feels like the Bombers have momentum, now just a game under .500 after their 0-4 start. The Riders have a good home record (3-2), while the Bombers struggle on the road (1-4), but again the writers are deadlocked on the outcome.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
TOR at HAM
The wins have been scarce for the Tiger-Cats this season, particularly on this five-game losing streak, but Labour Day stands on its own in Steel Town. The Ticats were a few seconds and a couple of plays away from coming out of Princess Auto Stadium with a win last week and have some positives they can take away from their first game under the defensive guidance of Chris Jones. The Argos have plenty to feel good about, as Chad Kelly‘s return to action was productive, while the defence feasted on Saskatchewan turnovers; that’s something that they’re licking their lips over as they size up the Ticats and their 22 turnovers (third-worst in the league). The writers have a majority here and it’s not a surprising one.
PICK
Writers: 66% Toronto
EDM at CGY
Monday will mark a point where both the Stamps and Elks head into pivotal stretches of their respective seasons. They can’t look at the big picture here, but we can. A Calgary sweep of their annual home-and-home series would propel them back into the playoff conversation and would help to silence Edmonton’s hopes. An Edmonton sweep would let them leapfrog their provincial rivals while still leaving them on a tightrope for their next pair of games, which happen to be against the Bombers. The Stamps are rested but the Elks have played very well in their last four games, before having their three-game win streak last week. Very fittingly, the writers are divided once again on who comes out of the long weekend with a coveted win.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split