After becoming the first CFL team to clinch a postseason berth last month, the Montreal Alouettes can wrap up first place in the East Division on Saturday when they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Alouettes (11-3) can punch their ticket to the East final on Nov. 7 with a win over the Blue Bombers (7-7), provided the Toronto Argonauts (9-6) lose to the B.C. Lions (8-6) earlier in the day.
Montreal can ill-afford to look past Winnipeg, given the latter recorded a 44-28 victory over the Alouettes on Aug. 28 to snap their seven-game winning streak.
Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns and Brady Oliveira rushed for 106 yards and a score in the previous encounter versus Montreal.
Collaros, however, is nursing a head injury, which resulted in Dru Brown making his fifth start of the season in the Blue Bombers’ 30-28 loss to the Argonauts last week. Brown completed 16 of 28 passes for 193 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and Oliveira ran for a season-high 139 yards in a losing effort.
“There’s been some games where I feel like we’re right there, we’re in it, and we kind of let it slip away,” Oliveira told the Winnipeg Free Press.
Had the Blue Bombers won that contest, they would have pulled into a three-way tie with the Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders for the No. 2 seed in the West Division.
Winnipeg will have wide receiver Ontaria Wilson and linebacker Michael Griffin II back on the field Saturday. Wilson missed the past two games with a hand injury, while Griffin has been sidelined six games with an ankle injury.
Montreal’s Davis Alexander threw four touchdown passes in the previous meeting with Winnipeg, although he caused a stir by failing to fulfill his media obligations after the game.
“I play with fire and I play with passion, and a lot of the time it does benefit us and it benefits me, but if I can’t control it and some other things end up p—— me off, and it takes me out of my game even a little bit,” he said. “There’s no excuse. I definitely learned a ton.”
Alouettes linebacker Tyrice Beverette joined Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke and Argonauts linebacker Adarius Pickett in being named the CFL’s top players of September. Beverette recorded 20 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one interception that he returned for his first touchdown.
–Field Level Media
