CFL WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS

CFL / Football

Written by Joel Lefevre

Heading into week 8 of the 2022 CFL season, the Blue Bombers continue to be the team to catch as the only unbeaten side remaining, while the Redblacks can't seem to catch a break.

After seeing some surprisingly low-scoring games a week ago, this could be another challenging week to predict.

With that in mind, though, here is a look at my breakdown of all four matchups and how I see things shaking down.

Source (Background Photo): CFL

Montreal Alouettes at Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Down by a point heading into the final quarter last week, Montreal came to life, putting up 15 points to earn their second win of the season.

Trevor Harris had perhaps his best and most complete performance of the year, going 25 of 31 for 341 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

In his second game on the sidelines, interim head coach Danny Maciocia did a nice job of mixing up the offensive play calls, involving most of their weapons, including backup QB Dominique Davis, who rushed for three touchdowns, while eight different receivers caught passes from Harris, with Hergy Mayala leading the way.

Offensively they moved the ball well however, on defence they haven't been able to get off the field quickly enough, allowing the most first downs in the league (143).

They have done a good job getting penetration up the middle, currently ranked third when it comes to sacks at 15.

Turnovers continue to plague Hamilton, who did well to contain the high-octane Lions offence last weekend but still dropped to 1-5.

They turned it over five times in BC but still had a chance to steal a game that many people, including myself, thought would be a blowout.

Orlando Steinauer's disguised coverage seemed to fool Nathan Rourke at times as his Ti-Cats squad made a pair of interceptions, while not allowing more than a touchdown in each quarter.

Dane Evans continues to throw for big numbers, ranked second in the league in passing yards and third, in TD passes.

Evans still has yet to play mistake-free football for over 60 minutes though, and those turnovers have hurt his team.

Prediction- Montreal Alouettes 14-20 Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The Tiger-Cats will be keen to earn a victory for their new advisor and former Als coach Khari Jones, and there is a reason for optimism.

Montreal has allowed the second-most points in the league (169), while they have been inconsistent against the run, and even though the Ti-Cats' Achilles heel is in their run game, I still believe they will manage to come away with a narrow victory, given how well their defence stepped up last week.

Saskatchewan Roughriders at BC Lions

The Riders probably played as well as we could have anticipated for a club missing a good portion of their team because of COVID.

Jacob Dolegala went 13 for 28, 131 yards, a touchdown and one interception in relief of Cody Fajardo, while defensively, they had three sacks and an interception.

What has to be disappointing for Craig Dickenson is that his team had that game versus Toronto in their hands despite all the players out and couldn't finish the job, allowing 17 fourth-quarter points.

What was perhaps most puzzling was that the CFL's leading rusher Jamal Morrow only had 10 carries for 25 yards against the Argos, and that lack of production and touches failed to take much time off the clock, allowing the Double Blue to climb their way back into the game.

The Lions' victory last week was not the flashiest that we have seen from them in 2022, but it showed us that Rick Campbell's unit could win despite not putting up an earth-shattering number of points.

Nathan Rourke still threw for 250 yards despite tossing two picks as he is learning to have a thick skin and keep plugging away when things aren't going well.

Their defence, which rarely got much attention early in the campaign, deservedly earned plenty of praise against Hamilton, as some key plays helped them to preserve the victory.

They have allowed the fewest first downs of any defensive unit in the league (95) and are still moving the ball fairly effectively, despite the points production being down a little, with the second-fewest two-and-outs (17) thus far.

Prediction- Saskatchewan Roughriders 20-24 BC Lions

If the Riders are a little healthier, there's a chance they can keep pace with BC, although Bryan Burnham could soon be back for the Lions as well.

Rourke has shown that he is resilient and can bounce back from a tough series, and I expect to see him find a way to move the ball enough to tire out the Riders' D.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Calgary Stampeders

After a week off, the Calgary Stampeders will be chomping at the bits for another crack at the unbeaten Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In week six, they gave the reigning champs all they could handle, but when it counted most, failed to finish the job.

Kamar Jordan seemed to haul in a touchdown catch that would have forced overtime, but he failed to come down with it as Demerio Houston easily picked off the pass which was tipped up for him perfectly, preserving the victory for Winnipeg.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has not put-up mind-boggling numbers through the air, but he has rarely made a bad throw, with only three interceptions total heading into this game, as his offensive line has done well to protect him, allowing the second-fewest sacks (seven) to date in the CFL.

The front line has also created plenty of holes for Ka'Deem Carey to run through, as the Calgary back is the third-leading rusher in the league, with the Stamps second in average gains per rush (5.8 yards), while they have not allowed many big plays against them defensively.

Fresh off a 315-yard passing performance in week six, you would not have expected the reigning Most Outstanding Player Zach Collaros to only complete seven passes against one of the worst secondaries in the league, the Edmonton Elks.

Indeed, he didn't have his favourite target Greg Ellingson available because of injury.

However, it was still an inconsistent display from Collaros, who threw two interceptions but still managed to connect for some big plays to Dalton Schoen, who caught four passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.

Once again, the defence bailed them out as they have throughout 2022, with five sacks plus an interception.

This season, the Bombers' D have done a fine job at stopping the run, allowing the second-fewest yards (529) on the ground and they are the only team who have not conceded a rushing TD this season.

Through the air, though they have shown they can be vulnerable, allowing the second-most passing yards in the league (2024) and the most completions (160).

The Bombers have allowed an average of 16.3 points per game, the lowest ratio in the CFL.

Prediction- Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-30 Calgary Stampeders

The Bombers have flirted with defeat numerous times this year and come out victorious, but Collaros has not shown enough consistency throughout the season, which could work to the Stampeders' advantage.

Calgary has done a great job at making big plays on offence, while also spreading the ball around nicely, and we anticipate Mitchell will be able to find holes in a Bombers' secondary, that has allowed 13 completions of 30 yards or more, the highest in the CFL.

Ottawa Redblacks at Toronto Argonauts

Frustration must be reaching an all-time high in the nation's capital as Paul LaPolice's side lost another tight game to the Montreal Alouettes, squandering a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, losing 40-33.

Caleb Evans threw for 297 yards and a touchdown in the loss but failed to throw an interception, while Nick Arbuckle only took one snap, finishing 1 for 1 with 47 yards through the air.

They have a solid receiving corps who have stepped up as seven different players caught passes against Montreal, but they aren't turning those drives into touchdowns, with the third-fewest major scores in the league (11).

Their offence has felt plenty of pressure to score, though, because they struggle to stop other teams, allowing an average of seven yards per play defensively and also conceding the third-most offensive points (165) after seven weeks.

After throwing for a season-best 336 yards, McLeod Bethel-Thompson will be looking to keep the good time rolling against a Redblacks team who struggles to contain opposing offences.

Andrew Harris made a big statement against the Riders this past weekend, rushing for 143 yards on 26 carries as he became the first Canadian to reach the 10,000-yard plateau, while he was also one of six Argos to catch a pass in that encounter.

Getting pressure on the quarterback has proven difficult for the Boatmen, who have only produced 11 sacks on the year, while their special teams have not done them any favours, with the lowest field-goal percentage (75%) and also the lowest punting average (35.2 yards).

Despite having a future Hall of Fame runner in their backfield, they have not utilized him as much as you would have expected, with Toronto having the fewest rushing attempts in the league (88), though they do have the second-highest completion percentage in the CFL (72.6%).

Prediction- Ottawa Redblacks 13-23 Toronto Argonauts

Unfortunately for the Redblacks, they still seem to be missing that killer instinct to finish teams off while also allowing too much on the ground, conceding an average of 5.1 yards per carry, the second-most in the CFL.

I expect Harris will have another big game running the ball and could put more pressure on the Redblacks' offence to score on almost all of their possessions.