CFL.ca Game Notes: What are the numbers saying ahead of Week 1?

TORONTO — Week 1 is finally here and with it CFL.ca’s Game Notes, full of information about players and this week’s matchups, including:

Since 2022, Montreal is 7-3 against Hamilton, however the Ticats swept the season series in 2025
Cody Fajardo needs three TD passes to reach 100 and two rushing TDs for 50. His next win will be his 50^th as a starter.
Nic Demski – the active leader in receptions – needs six to hit 500 in his career
Vernon Adams Jr.’s next win will be his 50^th
Eugene Lewis – the active leader in TD receptions – is three away from 50 in his career

Check out all CFL.ca’s Game Notes for Week 1 below.

479 total players on CFL rosters
- 398 veterans (83 per cent)
- 81 first-year players (17 per cent)
- Averages of 42 games of CFL experience and 24 starts
- Average age: 28.1
Status
- 225 Nationals
- 237 Americans
- 17 Globals
142 players from U SPORTS (29.6 per cent). UBC, Laval, Montreal and Laurier lead with 11 each.

SLINGIN’ IT

2025 IN HINDSIGHT

Home teams in the regular season: 44-37
Six 1,000-yard+ rushers – the most since 2009 (7)
League-wide passer rating (97.4) was the second highest in league history (98.3 in 2016)
51 per cent of games decided in the final three minutes. On 16 occasions, teams came back after trailing in the final three minutes
Teams that won the turnover battle were 58-11 (.790)
73 singles. In 2026 with the modified rouge, 36 of them would no longer apply

QUICK SLANTS

LEAGUE-WIDE

MTL at HAM

Since 2022, Montreal is 7-3 against Hamilton, however the Ticats swept the season series in 2025
Montreal has won its first game for the past three seasons
Jason Maas’ next victory will move him past Marc Trestman (72) for 19^th on the all-time coaching list
Davis Alexander aims to extend his own CFL record for consecutive wins to start a career to 12
José Maltos Díaz needs to make two field goals to reach 100 in his career
Hamilton is hosting the season opener for the first time since 2019
Hamilton has not won its season opening game since 2018
Coming off a league-best 14 TD catches last season, Kenny Lawler’s next will be the 40^th of his career

WPG at CGY

Zach Collaros needs 17 passing yards to reach 36,000 in his career
Nic Demski – the active leader in receptions – needs six to hit 500 in his career
With four carries, Brady Oliveira will reach 1,000 in his career. His next 100-yard+ rushing game will tie Jon Cornish for second-most by a Canadian (22), behind only Andrew Harris (29).
Oliveira needs 62 rushing yards to move into fifth on the Blue Bombers’ all-time list, passing Gerry James (5,541).
Last season, Calgary was 3-1 against Winnipeg, ending an 0-6 run
Vernon Adams Jr.’s next win will be his 50^th
Last season, Dedrick Mills rushed for a career-high 1,409 yards (5.6 yards per carry)

EDM at OTT

Edmonton swept the season series 2-0 in 2025
Cody Fajardo needs three TD passes to reach 100 and two rushing TDs for 50. His next win will be his 50^th as a starter.
Edmonton last won its season opener in 2019
Fajardo is 9-1 against Ottawa; Jake Maier is 3-3 versus Edmonton
Ryan Dinwiddie will make his debut as Ottawa’s fourth head coach. He went 51–35 (.593) with Toronto, making the playoffs in four of five season
Justin Hardy needs 29 receptions to move past Greg Ellingson (332) for third on Ottawa’s all-time list
Eugene Lewis – the active leader in TD receptions – is three away from 50 in his career

Sheffield Doc/Fest crowns Filthy as its winner