It is a must win for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
If the Ticats have any hope of finishing in first place in the Canadian Football League’s East Division for the first time since 2014 they must defeat the Ottawa Redblacks at Tim Hortons Field Saturday.
Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m. After the game, listen to The 5th Quarter post-game show on Global News Radio 900 CHML, online at 900chml.com and on the Radioplayer Canada app. Fans can also watch the show on CHML’s Facebook page.
Having already clinched a post-season berth, Hamilton enters the game with no room for error when it comes to claiming the division crown and a coveted bye in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Redblacks need only a tie against the Cats this week to clinch first place for the third time in the last four years. However, Hamilton would win the division with victories over Ottawa and Montreal next week coupled with a Redblacks loss against Toronto in the last week of the season.
Ottawa certainly has bragging rights as they go for a season sweep over Hamilton in 2018, after beating the Ticats 21-15 in July at Tim Hortons Field and 35-31 last week in the nation’s capital.
Saturday’s contest comes a week after star receiver Brandon Banks suffered a season ending shoulder injury (broken clavicle), which has elevated recently signed receivers Marquay McDaniel and Terrell Sinkfield Jr. into the starting lineup. Luke Tasker, Mike Jones and rookie Justin Buren round out Hamilton’s starting receiving corps against Ottawa. Receivers Jalen Saunders, Chris Williams, Terrence Toliver and Shawmawd Chambers remain on the six-game injured list.
3 Things To Watch
Can’t count on Banks: The injury to receiver Brandon Banks is a devastating blow to Hamilton’s offence. Since Sept. 1, 2017, Banks and Jeremiah Masoli have become the most prolific QB-WR combo in the league, connecting on 152 completions for 2,341 yards and 18 touchdowns, tops in all three of those categories. Masoli and Luke Tasker are second with 131 completions, 1,777 yards and 16 TDs. Edmonton’s Mike Reilly and Duke Williams are third with 101 completions, 1,720 yards and 12 TDs.
Redblacks stellar in Steeltown: Since 2014, Ottawa has won seven of their 12 outings against the Tiger-Cats including the last three dating back to Sept. 9, 2017. Ottawa has also won its last four games in the Hammer and are 4-1 lifetime at Tim Hortons Field. Their 16-point comeback win last week tied the largest that any Ottawa club has ever made against the Ticats.
Crossing over… again: 2018 marks the third year in a row, and 12th time overall, that the CFL playoffs will have a crossover team. And in all 12 instances, the crossover team has seen a West Division team play in the East Semi-Final. Hamilton (2002, 2017), Ottawa (2003, 2005) and Toronto (2008, 2014) have hosted two crossover playoff teams. Montreal, in 2016, has played a western team just once in the CFL’s crossover era. As for which team will cross over, the CFL stats department says entering this week all four West Division contests down the stretch have playoff implications creating a potential for 22 different permutations. That’s a lot.
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