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Posted at 2:15 PM EST.

7:00 PM EST. We’re back in the CFL business tonight because we see an opportunity that we’re not about to miss. Just because we haven’t been posting CFL plays the past couple of weeks doesn’t mean we’re not paying attention. We are. The Tiger-Cats are now 2-0 under new head coach June Jones, which is pretty on paper but no game has even been played on paper before and we know better. Hamilton was gifted its first win on Labour Day after a three-hour lighting delay in front of the 25 fans that bothered to stick around through the storm. What looked like a fumble by quarterback Jason Masoli would have handed the ‘Cats another loss but it was ruled an incomplete pass. Jones then took a shot and threw the flag after an incomplete pass in the end zone and interference was called on the defense. Just like that the Tigercats were in the end zone. It was a horrible call and a desperate attempt by the new coach that worked out. It was a bizarre win in a game that Hamilton was outgained in by 128 yards.   

Last week, Hamilton literally hung on to beat Ottawa 26-22. The ‘Cats were outscored in the second half by a count of 15-3 and the reason they won is because they didn’t turn the ball over once. Incidentally, last week, Ottawa’s #1 QB, Trevor Harris was injured and forced to leave in favor of Drew Tate. In summarizing, Hamilton’s two lucky victories since replacing Ken Austin came against Toronto and Ottawa, two East teams in what could be summarized as the worst East Division in the history of the CFL. Put no weight in Hamilton’s two victories. Put lots of weight on the ‘Cats being outgained by 258, 201, 134, 161, 221 and 118 yards in six of its last seven games. The last time the ‘Cats played Saskatchewan back in early July, they were outgained by 258 yards. Now the Roughriders are a much improved team while the Tiger-Cats are not. QB Jason Masoli is not an upgrade over Zach Collaros and is in fact a big downgrade. The Tiger-Cats have not turned a corner. They are the CFL’s worst team by far but two wins have changed the market mindset on them.

Saskatchewan is a tough, physical team that has swag again for the first time in over two years. Only twice this entire season have they been noticeably outplayed and those losses occurred to B.C. and Calgary. For the most part, the Roughies have been racking up big yardage and playing solid defense. They are also coming off back-to-back games against a very difficult Winnipeg team in which they outgained Winnipeg both games but split the home and home series. The only way Saskatchewan loses here is if they are flat after two big games versus Winnipeg. The good news is that they lost the last one and teams’ are usually flat after a win, not a loss. We have not seen the Roughriders appear flat too often this year, instead, we have seen an intensely focused team that is on a mission to not only make some noise but also to get back the great respect they had for years. If that team shows up here, this one won’t be close and that’s what we’re betting on. 

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