| Tiger-Cats (6-6) @ Edmonton Eskimos (3-9) Regular Season Game 13 Sunday, October 3 @ 4:30 p.m. Commonwealth Stadium – Edmonton, Alberta |
BROADCAST INFORMATION
| TV BROADCAST: |
National broadcast on TSN |
| Play by play: / Colour: |
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| RADIO BROADCAST: | AM 900 CHML, simulcast on Y108 (Listen Live) |
| Play by play: Rick Zamperin / Colour: John ‘Coach Sal’ Salavantis |
THE MATCH-UP
Sunday’s game will be the first of two regular season meetings between the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos in the 2010 season. The Eskimos and the Ticats split the season series last year with each team winning at home. The Tiger-Cats won the first meeting at Ivor Wynne Stadium, 28-21, while the Eskimos got their revenge a few weeks later winning, 31-30. The match-up will be the 78th meeting between the two teams since 1950. Edmonton holds the edge in the all-time series, 49-27-1. The Ticats have struggled in their last 10 trips to Commonwealth Stadium, only winning two games while losing eight. In the last 10 meetings overall between the two teams, the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos have each won five times. The likelihood of Sunday’s game being close is very good. In the last eight meetings between the two teams, the average margin of victory has been 3.75 points per game.
The Tiger-Cats are looking to rebound after losing last week, while the Eskimos are trying to win two games in a row for the first time this season. The Tiger-Cats couldn’t hang on to the ball last week as the Saskatchewan Roughriders used turnovers to propel them to a 32-25 victory. The Eskimos used the same formula against the Toronto Argonauts and also held the Argos under 10 points, winning the first ever Scotiabank Touchdown Atlantic game in Moncton, 24-6.
This will be the third meeting between head coaches Marcel Bellefeuille and Richie Hall. Bellefeuille has a career record of 16-22 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 1-1 record against the Eskimos. Hall has a career record of 12-18 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 1-1 record against the Ticats.
2010 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
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Total Offence Per Game |
370.7 (5th) | 326.1 (7th) |
| Rushing Offence Per Game | 92.2 (8th) | 103.5 (6th) |
| Passing Offence Per Game | 302.3 (3rd) | 250.5 (6th) |
| Total Defence Per Game | 398.0 (5th) | 404.0 (7th) |
| Rushing Defence Per Game | 124.9 (6th) | 145.9 (8th) |
| Passing Defence Per Game | 294.4 (7th) | 276.3 (4th) |
| Points Per Game | 24.6 (6th) | 18.8 (8th) |
| Opponents Points Per Game | 26.5 (5th) | 31.5 (8th) |
PLAYERS TO WATCH
DeAndra’ Cobb / RB / Hamilton
Cobb has an opportunity this week to drive the Tiger-Cats offence down the field after having two great games in a row. Cobb rushed for 151 yards on 23 carries two weeks ago and followed that up last week with 166 yards rushing on only 15 carries. In those two games, he’s averaged 8.3 yards a carry. Cobb is just 170 yards away from his second consectutive 1,000 yard rushing season. With the Eskimos defence that’s ranked eighth against the run in front of him, Cobb could be the primary option for the Tiger-Cats offence on Sunday afternoon.
Geoff Tisdale / DB / Hamilton
Tisdale has been reading quarterbacks extremely well lately. Trying to bounce back after the secondary surrendered 418 yards to Darian Durant last week, Tisdale had a great week of practice making multiple interceptions and knockdowns. Tisdale has also recorded three interceptions in his last four games. Ricky Ray has already thrown 13 interceptions this season and we may see Tisdale with one in Sunday’s game.
Chris Thompson / DB / Edmonton
Thompson, a former Tiger-Cat, sits second in the league with seven interceptions on the season. The Tiger-Cats offence will need to keep the ball away from Thompson in order to avoid turning it over to the Eskimos. Look for the Eskimos to match Thompson up with Arland Bruce in the slot, potentially taking away one of the Tiger-Cats best receiving threats.
Calvin McCarty / RB / Edmonton
With Ray struggling lately in the passing game, Edmonton may need the running game to give them a boost. McCarty had a great game last week against the Argonauts, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. McCarty had 10 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Eskimos to their third win of the season. Look for the Eskimos to rely a little more on McCarty this week against a Tiger-Cats run defence that gives up over 120 yards per game rushing.
KEY MATCH-UP
Tiger-Cats Offence vs. Eskimos Defence
The key match-up in Sunday’s game will be the Ticats offence against the Eskimos defence. A telling stat this season for the Tiger-Cats has been their win-loss record based on the turnover difference. When the Ticats create more turnovers than they give up, they are undefeated this season, but when they turn the ball over more than their opponents, they are 0-6. This could be the key to the game against a hot Eskimos defence, who intercepted three Argonauts quarterbacks a total of six times in last week’s game. DeAndra’ Cobb will most likely be relied on heavily in the offence on Sunday and he will need to hang on to the ball after losing two fumbles last week. If the Tiger-Cats can hang on to the football and put points on the board, they should be able to defeat the Eskimos and push closer to a playoff berth.
