Week 12 Preview

Part II of the Labour Day match-ups did not disappoint in the department of excitement. Calgary atoned for its performance last week and eked out a victory in hostile Commonwealth Stadium. The Banjo Bowl appeared destined for a comfortable Winnipeg victory after the first half. Unfortunately for Winnipeg fans, it was Rider Nation that went home happy, content with their home-and-home sweep of the rival Blue Bombers after a stunning 17 point comeback. The other big comeback story from the past week: Dylan is no longer alone in first place. Here is last week’s wrap-up:

Game 1: Calgary 38-33 over Edmonton (Points: Jamie)
Game 2: BC 35-12 over Hamilton (Points: Jamie, Jocelyn, KDS)
Game 3: Montreal 45-19 over Toronto (Points: Jamie, Jocelyn, KDS)
Game 4: Saskatchewan 34-41 over Winnipeg (Points: Jocelyn, KDS, Dylan)

[No Luke and no Steven (?) picks]

Here are the games for week 12:

Game 1: Winnipeg at Toronto, Friday, 7pm EST. Who needs a win more? Winnipeg’s record stands at 2-8 and they are coming off two straight defeats at the hands of bitter rivals, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Toronto has a two game cushion in second place, but management has fired the coach and pulled a J.P. Ricciardi by hiring a flashback figure, the elderly Don Matthews. Toronto needs to regroup under new leadership and maintain its playoff position. But Winnipeg played a great first half of football last week so look for the Blue to improve on that and play a full 60 minutes of football. Winnipeg wins.

Game 2: Montreal at Calgary, Friday, 10pm EST. Calgary avenged its loss on Labour Day by beating the under-rated Eskimos at home. Montreal simply beat up on lowly Toronto. And that is going to be the difference in this game. Montreal has enjoyed playing in the much weaker East where it has a 6-0 record. Against Western teams, the Alouettes are only 1-3. Calgary wins.

Game 3: Hamilton at Edmonton, 7pm EST. Prediction: massacre. The Casey Printers-led offense in Hamilton is shaky and uncertain at best. The Ricky Ray-led offense in Edmonton plays with precision and adeptness behind a much improved defense. There isn’t much of a debate: the Tiger-Cats will be mauled by the Eskimos in Commonwealth. Edmonton wins.

Game 4: Saskatchewan at BC, 10pm EST. I think that this could be the best football game this weekend. Saskatchewan has been such a consistent winner that it is very hard to bet against them this season even when it feels like they are due to fall back to earth and confront reality. The Lions, on the other hand, have been maddeningly inconsistent, unable to get their high octane offense into gear. Is Charles Roberts the spark they need? With Buck Pierce at the helm, I will make a bold prediction and answer, “Yes.” BC wins.

TSN Power Rankings (updated September 8) are:

1. Saskatchewan (Last Week: 1)
2. Montreal (Last Week: 3)
3. Edmonton (Last Week: 2)
4. Calgary (Last Week: 4)
5. BC (Last Week: 5)
6. Toronto (Last Week: 6)
7. Winnipeg (Last Week: 8)
8. Hamilton (Last Week: 7)

NOTE 1: Chris Schultz picks Winnipeg, Montreal, Edmonton, and B.C. He was 2-2 last week and 23-17 overall this season.

NOTE 2: I know Dylan is busy adjusting to life and school in Waterloo, so I decided to use my ample free time to write this week’s preview. Good luck!