Geoff Robins/CFL.ca
TORONTO — If you like juicy storylines about the most important position in the game, Week 11 is chalk full of storylines for you.
Highlighted by Nathan Rourke‘s return to the BC Lions, we have potentially six changes at quarterback this week. Calgary’s Jake Maier and Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros stand as the only pivots set to hold their starting jobs.
Amidst all of this potential change, teams are trying to continue winning. With the Elks on a two-game win streak and the Blue Bombers just a game behind Calgary for third place, the West Division is tightening up. Out East, the Alouettes have separated themselves from the pack a little, but the surprising Ottawa REDBLACKS and the Toronto Argonauts are battling each other for second in the division, separated by just a point in the standings.
Maier and the Stamps get Week 11 going on Thursday when they host Jeremiah Masoli and the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
On Friday, we’ve got a best-of-the-best meeting between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes.
Saturday has the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Elks both playing through change at QB as they try to improve on their 2-7 records.
The Lions host the Bombers to close out the week on Sunday, with Nathan Rourke expected to start despite being back with his old club for four days before kickoff.
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THE RETURN OF JEREMIAH MASOLI
Ottawa at Calgary | Thursday, Aug. 15 | 9:00 p.m. ET
It’s hard to not root for Jeremiah Masoli. He was an overtime end zone completion away from winning a Grey Cup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2021, only to be cut loose in free agency, where he signed with the REDBLACKS. Just four games into the 2022 season, a dirty hit took him out for the year. He rehabbed and returned in Week 5 of the 2023 season — playing against the Ticats in Hamilton, oddly enough — and went down with an Achilles injury that once again ended his season. On Thursday, Masoli gets to play in just his sixth game as a REDBLACK, taking control of the offence from the injured Dru Brown. Whichever red, black with hints of white team you cheer for, you’ll want to see Masoli have a good game. If Masoli can work himself back to a high level, the REDBLACKS have a great shot at carrying on with their successful season.
BEST MEETS BEST/QB+COACH REVENGE GAME?
Montreal at Saskatchewan | Friday, Aug. 16 | 9:00 p.m. ET
The injury reports have been encouraging this week in both Regina and Montreal, where Trevor Harris has been a full participant in practice both days this week and has taken first-team reps, suggesting he could be in the lineup to face his former team on Friday. In Montreal, Cody Fajardo was limited in the team’s first day of practice on Tuesday, but there’s some optimism that the 2023 Grey Cup MVP could be back in the lineup — alongside head coach Jason Maas, as both would make their return to Mosaic — to face his former team as well. Both the Riders and Als have gotten strong play from each of their backup QBs, so even if we have a Shea Patterson-Davis Alexander battle on Friday, we’re in for a good game. QB history aside, this is a showdown between the best teams in the West and East Divisions. Is it too early to say Grey Cup preview? Certainly, but if you’re a fan of either team it’s a though that’ll enter your head this week.
QB CHANGE APLENTY IN HAMILTON
Edmonton at Hamilton | Saturday, Aug. 17 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Tre Ford is day-to-day after leaving last week’s game early, which leaves his status for his homecoming game (he went to Waterloo and is from Niagara Falls, Ont. so this is as close as it gets) slightly uncertain as the team begins its week of practice. Still, the Elks picked up their second win in a row with McLeod Bethel-Thompson getting back under centre, improving to 2-7. The host Tiger-Cats have the same record and will be rolling with Taylor Powell this week, after head coach Scott Milanovich pulled Bo Levi Mitchell in the first quarter of the team’s loss to the Als. Both teams need wins to make a push into the playoff race. We should see two hungry teams at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday.
NATHAN ROURKE NATHAN ROURKE NATHAN ROURKE
Winnipeg at BC | Sunday, Aug. 18 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Rourke’s reunion with the Lions caught many of us off guard on Tuesday. The whirlwind feeling around his return will extend all the way through this week, as Lions’ head coach Rick Campbell said that he thought Rourke would be ready to play on Sunday. The timing is perfect for a Lions team that’s lost three straight and that sorely missed the offensive punch that the injured Vernon Adams Jr. had brought earlier in the season. The Bombers, meanwhile, handed the Lions a 25-0 loss two weeks ago and have seemed to have the Lions’ number over the last few years. If you want a little playoff intensity under the heat of an August sun, how about this: the winner of Sunday’s game will claim the season series. That could have playoff implications should the West Division continue to tighten up through the second half of this season.
