THE CANADIAN PRESS
CFL.ca Staff
With files from Steve Daniel, Head Statistician
TORONTO — The Division Finals are here with two great matchups, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders, and Edmonton Eskimos all vy for a trip to the 102nd Grey Cup Championship in Vancouver. After a full regular season of hard-fought games and an exciting first round of the Grey Cup Playoffs, the season all comes down to this on Sunday. Four teams will battle, two will emerge for a chance to hold the Grey Cup on Nov. 30.
The first matchup will be a feisty one, as the Montreal Alouettes take their talk onto the field where they’ll try and finally tackle the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It won’t be an easy task, as the Ticats will be playing in the comfort of Tim Hortons Field, where they’re a perfect 6-0 since moving in on Labour Day. They’ve also held the edge over the Alouettes in recent playoff history, going 8-1 over the last nine playoff meetings. Sunday’s meeting presents an intriguing matchup between two stout defences, while all eyes will be on star Alouette receivers Duron Carter and S.J. Green to see if they can come through on their promises of a win.
Capping off the Division Finals on Sunday will be one of football’s oldest rivalries, as the Stampeders and Eskimos clash in the Battle of Alberta for the 25th time in Grey Cup Playoffs history. Emotions will be high in this one, too, as both teams have something to prove. The Stamps are looking to move out of the shadow of doubt cast upon them after years of playoff disappointment, while the Eskimos have lost 11 straight to their southern Alberta rival, including all three regular season meetings this year. Everyone will want to watch Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly, two exciting young quarterbacks, making their first career CFL starts. Jon Cornish and John White, meanwhile, should provide fireworks in the ground game.
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By the Numbers:
Playoff Matchup #26: The Alouettes and Tiger-Cats have played 25 times in playoff history since their first meeting in 1953. The Als are just 9-16 against the Tiger-Cats, having lost the last five playoff games against them overall, and are just 1-8 in their last nine encounters. In their last seven trips to Hamilton in post-season, Hamilton has outscored Montreal 179 to 98. The last time Montreal traveled to Hamilton for the East Final was in 1998 (Hamilton 22, Montreal 20).
QBs – one combined start: Jonathan Crompton will be making his second career playoff start, while Hamilton’s Zach Collaros will be making his playoff starting debut. Over the last 20 years (1994-2013), it is the playoff game where the two QBs have come in with the fewest career playoff starts combined.
And . . . that record will likely be bettered later on Sunday if Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly start the Western Final. Neither has ever started a CFL playoff game.
Hot teams: Hamilton comes in with a 7-2 record in its last nine games; Montreal is 8-2 in its last 10, including the win last week. The tie at 9-9 was the 10th in the East since 1946 and was broken via the tie-breaker on points for the first time.
Tim Hortons Field – six straight: Hamilton ended the season with a six-game winning streak at newly-opened Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats have allowed only five opponent offensive TDs in six games and an average of just 12.7 points per game. Hamilton has won the time of possession battle in all six games, averaging 34:04 to opponents’ 25:56 average. In four of the wins, Hamilton opponents never led.
2014 Field position leader: In 2014, the Tiger-Cats led all CFL teams in average drive starting point. Their average of their own 38-yard line was number one, and they started 43 drives in their opponents’ end of the field – also first in the CFL.
Plus-eight turnover ratio last three games: The Ticats’ turnover ratio in their last three games was plus-eight, turning an early season minus-six into plus-five overall.
Top-ranked Rushing Defence: Hamilton allowed a team record low 76.8 rushing yards per game in 2014, number one in the CFL. It was the fifth-lowest rushing yardage per game allowed by any CFL club since 1995; and 19 less yards per game than number two Edmonton.
33rd East Final appearance (18-14): Since their first Eastern Final in 1946, the Alouettes have won 18 of 32 previous times in the Eastern Final. They lost their last Final game in 2012 to the Argos, but won the previous five times.
49-3 run last week vs. BC: Leading by only 1-0, Montreal scored seven touchdowns (49 points) by six different players in a span of only 24:41 to take its
lead to 47 points at 50-3. It was the third largest lead that any CFL team has ever built in a playoff game.
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For the latest news and notes on who’s in and out of this weekend’s matchups, check out the Division Finals status report page. |
TDs on four straight drives: Last week, the Alouettes became the only team in 2014 to score a touchdown on four consecutive drives. Across either side of half-time, the Alouettes drove for a TD on six possessions out of seven.
Green and Carter: In the last seven Montreal regular season games, S.J. Green and Duron Carter were the Als’ leading receivers: Green 28 catches for 517 yards, two TDs, 15 second down conversion catches, four catches for 30+ yards (including one each of the last four games); Carter 35 catches for 520 yards, five TDs, 15 second down conversion catches, two catches for 30+ yards.
Sacks allowed: The alouettes ranked second in the CFL with just 31 sacks allowed, including only eight in their final nine games. They allowed only one sack last week vs. BC in their 50-17 win. In 2014, Montreal started the fewest different offensive linemen of any club with only six and just one missed
start by Josh Bourke. Jeff Perrett, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Ryan Bomben and Kristian Matte each started all 18 games.
Calgary vs Edmonton: Calgary swept the three-game set in 2014 and has now won the last 11 regular season meetings. The Stamps’ overall win streak over Edmonton is only 10 games however (2012-2014) as Edmonton won the 2011 Western Semi-Final.
Rushing Emphasis: Calgary and Edmonton both rely heavily on the rush – they’re ranked first and secodn respectively as the only teams to average
more than six yards per carry in 2014. Edmonton led the CFL at 6.4 yards per attempt; Calgary led on 1st down runs at 7.1 yards.
Since Grey Cup 2008: The Stampeders have played seven post-season games since their last Grey Cup triumph in 2008. They have a record of just 3-4 (.429) in those playoff games (2009-2013) compared to a 75-32-1 (.699) regular season mark. Coach Hufnagel has a head coaching record of 88-37-1 (.702) compared to a post-season mark of 5-5 (500.) in his career.
Jamar Wall and Shawn Lemon: Wall tied for the CFL lead with six picks this year – the last Calgary player to lead the CFL was Alfred Jordan in 1996. Only three other Stamps have led the CFL: Chris Major 1988, Vernon Roberson in 1975 and Harvey Wylie in 1959. Shawn Lemon tied the all-time CFL record of eight forced fumbles held by Joe Montford (2000) and John Grace (2002).
Bo Levi Mitchell: The loss in Week 19 to Winnipeg snapped an eight-game winning streak with Mitchell as Calgary’s starting QB. Having come off the bench in Week 20 at BC, he is now 15-2 for his career, the same record set by Jackie Parker in his first 17 starts across 1954-1955.
Second Half last week – four points: The Riders and Eskimos scored only 28 total points last week in the Western Semi-Final – and just four of those came in the second half. The four-point total in the second half was the lowest since the 1982 Western Semi-Final (Winnipeg 24, Calgary 3 with just 3 points in the final 30:00 of the game). There have been only four playoff games in the last 10 years with under 30 total points, including last week’s game.
230 net yards: The Eskimos won last week despite not scoring a TD on offence and gaining only 230 yards. The last team to win a playoff game with fewer than 230 yards was 10 years ago in 2004; Toronto gained just 207 net yards in a win over Hamilton. All-time, CFL playoff clubs gaining 230 yards or less are 28-96-1 (.228).
Third straight fourth quarter shutout: After blanking Saskatchewan in the final 15:00 last week, the Eskimos have not allowed any fourth quarter points in the last three games.
Stopping the run / Rider second down conversions: In the Western Semi-Final, the Esks allowed the Riders just 47 yards on 10 carries. That was a big part of a remarkable defensive effort which saw Saskatchewan in second-and-six or less only three times all game (0-for-3). The Riders were put into 2nd-and-long 16 times and converted only six – for a 6-for-19 (32%) day on second down.
John White – Last four games: In his last four games including the Western Semi-Final, White has totals of 96, 91, 122 and 134 yards. His totals are 68 carries for 443 yards (6.5 yard average) and four runs of 20+ yards in that four-game run. In his last six games, White has rushed for 652 yards.
