What to know for a weekend of Canadian playoff football
CFL's post-season kicks off as U Sports' continue
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The CFL post-season kicks off this weekend, while the Canadian university playoffs continue. Here's what to know about the road to the Grey and Vanier Cups:
CFL
Six teams remain in contention for the 109th Grey Cup game on Nov. 20 in Regina. Winnipeg is favoured to win its third consecutive championship after going a CFL-best 15-3 to earn the top seed in the West Division and a first-round bye.
The Blue Bombers will host the West final next week against the winner of the semifinal between the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders (both 12-6) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET in Vancouver. The big x-factor in this matchup — and maybe the entire playoffs — is Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. The 24-year-old Canadian was enjoying a sensational first season as a pro starter, leading the CFL in every major passing category and pushing B.C. to an 8-1 record, before suffering a serious foot injury in August. The Lions went 4-4 without Rourke before he returned for a one-quarter cameo in last week's loss at Winnipeg. He's expected to start Sunday's playoff game.
Depending on whether Rourke can recapture his Most Outstanding Player-calibre form, the Lions could be either Grey Cup contenders or headed for a quick exit. Hoping to facilitate the latter outcome is a Calgary team that replaced its all-time leading passer, two-time Grey Cup MVP Bo Levi Mitchell, with second-year man Jake Maier around the time Rourke was injured. The Stamps also lean on CFL rushing champ Ka'Deem Carey and a defence that led the league in sacks.
Hamilton made an impressive turnaround too. After a Labour Day loss to Toronto dropped them to 3-9, the return of quarterback Dane Evans from a shoulder injury sparked the Tiger-Cats to five wins in their final six games to claim the last playoff spot in the East. Hamilton is going for its third consecutive Grey Cup appearance, but the CFL's longest championship drought has reached 23 years after the Ticats lost the last two title games to Winnipeg.
U Sports
The Canadian university playoffs opened last weekend with Ottawa clipping Windsor and Laurier, and Queen's dominating Carleton and Toronto, respectively, in the Ontario quarter-finals.
Conference semifinals are on tap Saturday across the country. In Ontario, Laurier will try to knock off undefeated powerhouse Western while Queen's takes on Ottawa. In Quebec, first-place Laval faces overmatched-looking Concordia while Montreal is favoured to beat Sherbrooke. In the West, it's first-place Saskatchewan (a Vanier Cup finalist last year) vs. Manitoba and second-place Regina vs. UBC. In the Atlantic, unbeaten St. FX awaits the winner of Mount Allison vs. Bishop's.
Right now, everything is pointing to Western repeating as national champions. The No. 1-ranked Mustangs outscored their eight opponents this season by an average of more than 30 points, and the Vanier Cup game will be played at their stadium for the first time on Nov. 26.
