There are only two weeks this year that all four matchups are divisional games: this week and the final week of the season.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions are trying to push the Elks and the Roughriders to the back of the pack in the West Division, while the Riders and Elks can separate themselves a bit more from the race for third in the division.
Out in the East Division, we have a battle of the top team in the CFL, Montreal, taking on the team with the league’s worst record, the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Plus, the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats will have their first of two battles over the next three weeks in what is a massive series that could decide who hosts a playoff game, if not deciding which one makes the playoffs.
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OTTAWA AT MONTREAL
Thursday, August 20
7:30 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+
The Montreal Alouettes are coming off a Week 11 bye week rested and on fire. The Alouettes are on a six-game winning streak and have a combination of the best quarterback and receiver in the league, and Travis Theis is closing in on taking the rushing lead as well.
Oh, and the Alouettes defence isn’t too bad either sitting in the top half of the league in a lot of the key defensive categories.
The Alouettes host the REDBLACKS, who are trying to find their first win since September of 2025. Yes, it’s getting close to a calendar year without a win in Ottawa.
This also caps off three-straight road games for Ottawa, after a pair of losses on the prairies. The REDBLACKS have also lost three straight by double digits, and will now have a big test to try to get their first victory on the road against a Montreal team that has yet to lose at home this season.
PICK: MONTREAL
WINNIPEG AT EDMONTON
Friday, August 21
9:30 p.m. ET
TSN/CBSSN/CFL+
The Elks shook off two straight losses by handling the Argonauts to the tune of 42-12 in one of the biggest blowouts of the season.
The Elks are back home against a Winnipeg team who have two blowout losses sandwiched in between wins over the aforementioned winless REDBLACKS.
The rest of the league is hoping Justin Rankin getting hot at the end of that game doesn’t spark him for the back half of the season, after he was unstoppable for the first four or so games of the year.
For the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, they need to dedicate themselves to giving Brady Oliveira the ball as much as possible. When Oliveira gets 154 yards of total offence on 19 touches, with a mix of runs and passes, the Bombers are at their best.
Zach Collaros didn’t need to be great in his first game back and it was an okay showing in his first game back from injury. Against Edmonton, he’ll need to be great!
PICK: EDMONTON
HAMILTON AT TORONTO
Saturday, August 22
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/CBSSN/CFL+
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will be riding high after that comeback win over Saskatchewan, while Toronto is limping back home after the 30-point loss they just suffered in Edmonton.
Earlier this season, the Tiger-Cats got a one-point win after Lirim Hajrullahu missed a potential game-winning field goal.
That point looms large for this game, as a win by Hamilton will clinch the season series and push them back into second place with only seven games left for the Tiger-Cats.
I’m not sure where it all went wrong for Toronto last week, other than it all went wrong for Toronto. The Argonauts have not done well to protect the ball, and if they keep being philanthropists for their opponent, the losses will keep piling up.
They escaped against Calgary but can’t expect to have the same luck moving forward.
Hamilton will have an interesting decision to make again at quarterback if Harrison Frost is healthy because there was no doubt that Tre Ford moved the ball and had a lot more pizzazz against Saskatchewan. He also was the quarterback who beat the Argos a few weeks ago.
Either way, Hamilton’s defence is one of the best in the league and if their offence continues to improve, they will be a hard team to beat in the second half of the season. The issue is that the Tiger-Cats offence hasn’t been able to find consistency.
Overall, I still think Hamilton is in a better spot today than Toronto.
PICK: HAMILTON
SASKATCHEWAN AT BC
Sunday, August 23
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/CFL+
I have the same feeling about this game as I did when Saskatchewan lost to Edmonton and played them the following week.
That week, I felt there was no way the Riders defence was going to be as bad as they were the previous week.
This week, I feel there is no way Trevor Harris is going to have back-to-back tough games after his post-game comments following the loss to Hamilton. Harris took the blame and he’ll be ready to go. I imagine he will be a lot more aggressive against the Lions.
The Lions are improving across the board and will be a huge challenge for the Riders and I have this as a game that could be an absolute classic! Probably as tight a finish as the Western Final last year, but with more scoring.
Nathan Rourke beating the Riders this week will send a massive message to all the preseason prognosticators who may have been on to something picking BC to be in the Grey Cup.
Even if they lose, I still think the Lions could be a threat if they make the playoffs. The issue is this starts a stretch of five games where they play the Riders and Alouettes twice each. HAVE FUN!
PICK: SASKATCHEWAN
