The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-4) go for back-to-back wins when they play the Blue Bombers (4-3) in Winnipeg Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
After the game, you can listen to The 5th Quarter postgame show on Global News Radio 900 CHML, online at 900chml.com and via the Radioplayer Canada app.
The Ticats are coming off a historically dominant win in Montreal in Week 8. Alouettes quarterback Johnny Manziel threw four interceptions in the first half of a 50-11 loss to Hamilton.
Safety Mike Daly had one of the interceptions.
“I don’t think it mattered that it was against Johnny. The only fun part about it was that you knew a lot of people were watching.”
The Tiger-Cats’ 28-0 lead over the Als matched the largest-ever by a road team in CFL history. Only three previous teams accomplished the same feat.
“It was good to get back on track,” said quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who threw for 300 yards with two touchdown passes and rushing for another. “We were just fed up with putting up all these yards and not putting up points.”
The Tiger-Cats enter Week 9 with the second-ranked net offence in the CFL at 411.3 yards per game. They have gone
over the 500-yard mark twice already in 2018, something they did just once in 2016 and 2017 combined.
Hamilton has won the last two meetings with Winnipeg including a 31-17 triumph at Tim Hortons Field on June 29. The Bombers were without starting quarterback Matt Nichols in that loss. They’ve won three of their last four since his return.
The Ticats will be trying to sweep Winnipeg for the first time since 2015.
The Blue Bombers are coming off a bye week. They won their previous game, completing a home-and-home sweep of the Toronto Argonauts with a convincing 40-14 win on July 27. Nichols threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns for Winnipeg.
As has become the norm, Hamilton is reaping the benefits of playing out of the CFL’s East Division. Despite a sub .500 record, the Ticats are just two points behind division-leading Ottawa (8 points). The Redblacks are home to the basement-dwelling Montreal Alouettes Saturday.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, is longing for 2009 before the expansion Ottawa Redblacks forced the Blue Bombers to move to the West Division. Despite a winning record, Winnipeg is already six points behind first-place Calgary (7-0).
3 things to watch:
Holy Masoli: QB Jeremiah Masoli has thrown for 300-plus yards in 11 of his last 12 games. Only two players have ever achieved that kind of consistency: Sam Etcheverry (1955-56) with 14 out of 15 games and Doug Flutie (1991-92) with 12 out of 13 at 300-plus.
Downside: Masoli has thrown an interception in all seven games this year. He’s also fumbled the football more than any other player in the CFL (6 fumbles, 4 lost). Masoli is the only member of the Tiger-Cats to lose a fumble this year.
First ballot: Winnipeg receiver Weston Dressler’s consecutive game reception streak is up to 119. The last time he played a game and did not catch a ball was Aug. 12, 2010. Dressler’s 119-game streak is the eighth-longest in CFL history. He’s one game away from catching Craig Ellis. Dressler is also 200 yards away from becoming the league’s 17th 10,000-yard receiver and he’s three catches short of becoming the CFL’s 13th player to reach 700 career receptions.
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