By Canadian Press

Alouettes look to earn right to host East Division final by securing win in Toronto

Sep 25, 2024 | 2:17 PM

The Montreal Alouettes can secure another first on Saturday night.

Montreal (11-2-1) visits the Toronto Argonauts (7-7) with a chance to clinch first in the East Division and earn home-field advantage in the conference final Nov. 9. An Alouettes win or Ottawa Redblacks loss in Regina would do the trick for the defending Grey Cup champions.

Montreal was the first CFL team to both clinch a post-season berth and home playoff contest.

For a third straight week, Ottawa (8-5-1) can cement a playoff berth with a win. The Redblacks visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-7-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Ottawa hasn’t been to the playoffs since losing to Calgary in the ’18 Grey Cup. The Redblacks would also qualify for the post-season with losses by Hamilton and Edmonton, which would eliminate the possibility of Ottawa being impacted by a West Division crossover.

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Edmonton and Hamilton are both on the road Friday night. The Elks (5-9) play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-6) while the Ticats (5-9) face the B.C. Lions (7-7).

Winnipeg would also punch its playoff ticket with a victory.

Montreal is coming off a 24-12 win last week over Ottawa. Not only did the Alouettes remain unbeaten on the road (6-0-1), they became the first team to defeat the Redblacks at TD Place this season.

Montreal faces a somewhat similar situation this week as Toronto is 5-2 this season at BMO Field. But while the Alouettes are 5-1 within the East Division, the Argos are just 1-5.

However, that lone Toronto victory was a 37-18 decision in Montreal on July 11. The Alouettes won the series opener 30-20 at BMO Field on June 28.

Montreal will get its first look of the season at Toronto starter Chad Kelly. He didn’t play in either of the two previous matchups while serving a CFL-mandated suspension for violating its gender-based violence policy.

Kelly was reinstated, with conditions, in August.

Toronto is 2-3 under Kelly, the CFL’s outstanding player last season. He has completed 119-of-179 passes (66.5 per cent) for 1,630 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing 26 times for 131 yards (five-yard average) and four TDs.

Montreal’s Cody Fajardo has completed 225-of-306 passes (league-best 73.5 per cent) for 2,642 yards with 13 TDs and six interceptions. The Alouettes are 7-2-1 with Fajardo as their starter.

Toronto is coming off a 33-31 home loss to Hamilton, which gave the Ticats their first regular-season series sweep of the Argos since 2019. Kelly threw for 255 yards with a TD and interception while DaVaris Daniels had four catches for 118 yards.

Montreal is allowing a CFL-low 19.6 offensive points per game. Linebacker Tyrice Beverette has a league-high 114 defensive plays (including a league-best 92 total tackles) with teammate Darnell Sankey second overall with 100 (including a league-leading 89 defensive tackles).

An interesting matchup will be Toronto’s second-ranked ground game (118.4 yards per game) versus Montreal’s No. 8-ranked run defence (112.1 yards). The Argos are averaging 5.4 yards per rush (second-best in CFL), which is also what the Alouettes are allowing (tied for seventh-highest).

But Montreal boasts the league’s second-ranked pass defence (254.8 yards per game). The Alouettes have allowed just seven completions of 30-plus yards and 14 touchdown passes, both CFL lows.

And Montreal’s second-down conversion percentage of 45.6 is second only to Winnipeg (42.4).

Pick: Montreal.

Edmonton Elks versus Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Friday night)

At Winnipeg, the Bombers have reeled off six straight wins and sit atop the West Division. A big part of their success has been Brady Oliveira (CFL-leading 1,021 rushing yards, 5.8-yard average). Last week, the defence forced six turnovers in the club’s 27-14 road win over Edmonton. Veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson will reportedly start for the Elks, who got a 157-yard rushing performance last week from Justin Rankin, his second 100-yard game this season.

Pick: Winnipeg.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats versus B.C. Lions (Friday night)

At Vancouver, the Ticats chase a fourth straight win. Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell leads the CFL in passing (4,044 yards) and TDs (24). Marc Liegghio hit all six field goals he tried last week versus Toronto, including the 48-yard winner on the game’s final play. Nathan Rourke remains the starter for B.C., which comes off the bye week and hosts an East Division rival — usually two big advantages. Then again, the Lions’ last home game was a 33-17 loss to Toronto on Sept. 13.

Pick: B.C.

Ottawa Redblacks versus Saskatchewan Roughriders (Saturday afternoon)

At Regina, Saskatchewan ended its seven-game winless streak (0-6-1) with last week’s 37-29 road victory over Calgary. Ryquell Armstead, a former Redblack, ran for 207 yards on 25 carries in his Riders’ debut. Ottawa counters with the league’s third-ranked run defence (91.1 yards per game) but starter Dru Brown (ankle) was injured last week against Montreal. If he can’t play, veteran Jeremiah Masoli is expected to draw the start.

Pick: Saskatchewan.

Last week: 3-1.

CP’s overall record: 36-27.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press