TORONTO — Week 8 could be a memorable one for a trio of players chasing significant milestones.
Vernon Adams Jr. has an opportunity to set a new CFL passing touchdown mark, while Brady Oliveira is closing in on membership in an exclusive group of Canadian running backs. Montreal Alouettes special teams standout Alexandre Gagné could also move to the top of a franchise leaderboard.
Here are three milestones to watch in Week 8.
VERNON ADAMS JR. | QUARTERBACK | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
18 SEASON-OPENING TOUCHDOWN PASSES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION
Vernon Adams Jr. enters Friday’s matchup against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers having thrown 17 touchdown passes without an interception this season.
His next touchdown pass would give him the longest season-opening streak in CFL history, breaking the mark shared by Ricky Ray and Darian Durant. Both quarterbacks began the 2013 campaign with 17 touchdown passes before throwing their first interception.
Adams has also thrown 20 consecutive touchdown passes without a pick dating back to last season. According to extensive CFL Stats research, that ties the all-time high set by current Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson in 2000. One more would give Adams sole possession of the mark.
BRADY OLIVEIRA | RUNNING BACK | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
6,000 CAREER RUSHING YARDS
Brady Oliveira needs 97 rushing yards against Calgary to become just the fifth Canadian in CFL history to reach 6,000.
The Winnipeg native would join Andrew Harris (10,380), Norm Kwong (9,022), Jon Cornish (6,844) and Sean Millington (6,086) in the exclusive group.
Oliveira enters Week 8 with 5,903 career rushing yards and a chance to reach the milestone in front of the hometown crowd at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday.
Tune in on TSN and RDS2 in Canada or CFL+ in the U.S. and internationally to see whether Adams and Oliveira can reach their respective milestones.
ALEXANDRE GAGNÉ | LINEBACKER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
MONTREAL’S ALL-TIME SPECIAL TEAMS TACKLES RECORD
Alexandre Gagné enters Week 8 one special teams tackle shy of tying Montreal’s all-time franchise record (David Kirouac/CFL.ca)
Alexandre Gagné is on the verge of reaching the top of Montreal’s all-time special teams tackles list.
Gagné enters Week 8 with 93 career special teams tackles as an Alouette, tying Darryl Townsend for second in franchise history. One more would pull him even with Chip Cox for the team record, while two would give Gagné sole possession of first place.
Montreal hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday night. Fans in Canada can watch the game on TSN and RDS, while viewers in the United States can tune in on CBSSN. International audiences can watch on CFL+.
