Blue Bombers can clinch first-place finish in West Division with victory over Lions
After punching their playoff ticket last week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers can solidify a shorter route to the 2021 Grey Cup.
The Bombers (9-1) can cement top spot in the West Division on Saturday with a home victory over the B.C. Lions (4-5). Winnipeg, the defending Grey Cup champion, became the first team to clinch a playoff berth Friday night with a 26-16 victory over the Edmonton Elks.
A first-place finish would secure Winnipeg the right to host the West Division final Dec. 5 versus the winner of the conference semifinal Nov. 28. But the Bombers could still clinch a home playoff game even with a loss.
If B.C. wins and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-4) lose to the Calgary Stampeders (5-5), the Blue Bombers would clinch at least the right to host the West Division semifinal. The same would also apply if B.C. defeated Winnipeg by less than 21 points and Saskatchewan beat Calgary.
The Grey Cup game will be held Dec. 12 at Tim Hortons Field.
The Bombers certainly don't face an easy path to first in the West Division. Their four remaining regular-season games -- which includes two against the Montreal Alouettes (5-4) -- are versus teams with combined 19-18 record (. 514).
By comparison, Saskatchewan's five remaining games -- which includes two versus Edmonton (2-7) -- are against teams with a combined 18-28 record (. 393).
Calgary (opponents combined record of 26-21, .553 win percentage), B.C. (20-18, .526) and Edmonton (24-21, .533) all have difficult season-ending schedules also.
The Toronto Argonauts (6-3) sit atop the East Division and will finish their regular season against five opponents with a combined 17-29 record (. 370 win percentage). Second-place Montreal's five remaining games are against teams with a combined 37-17 record (. 646 win percentage).
And that will include two meetings with Winnipeg.
The third-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-5) will play their final five contests versus opponents who're a combined 19-32 (. 373) while the final four opponents for Ottawa (2-8) sport an overall 20-17 mark (. 541).
Toronto visits Montreal on Friday night while Hamilton hosts Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. In West Division action, B.C. is in Winnipeg while Saskatchewan visits Calgary, both on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.