The Canadian Press
TORONTO — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have enjoyed stability like no other.
The team has carried the same duo of general manager/head coach since 2014, leading to a greatly successful run that is going on for over a decade.
Kyle Walters and Mike O’Shea joined forces with the Blue and Gold in 2014 and have registered seven playoff appearances, seven double-digit win seasons, three division titles, four Grey Cup appearances and two championships.
Now they are looking for one more mark, their 100th win together. Can the Bombers pull it off as they travel to BC to face Nathan Rourke and the Lions in Week 11?
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99….100
- After joining Winnipeg in 2014, the duo of GM Kyle Walters and Head Coach Mike O’Shea have amassed a record of 99-68 (.596).
- No GM/HC duo has 100 wins together. Their time with the team includes:
- Seven playoff appearances
- Seven double-digit win seasons
- Three division titles
- Four Grey Cup appearances
- Two championships
- Notable past duos:
- John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson | 73-29-2
- Jim Popp and Marc Trestman | 72-54
- Norm Kimball and Hugh Campbell | 70-21-5
- O’Shea can become the 11th head coach to reach 100, while Walters can become the 12th general manager to hit the mark
THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS
- Nathan Rourke has rejoined the BC Lions, where he last played in 2022 en route to winning Most Outstanding Canadian.
- In 10 starts in 2022, he went 8-2, passing for 3,349 yards and 25 TDs, while posting the second-highest passer rating of all-time (123.6). He also added 304 rushing yards and seven majors.
- 2022 milestones:
- Highest pass completion percentage in a season (min. 250 atts): 78.7 per cent (255/324)
- Highest pass completion percentage in a game (min 30 atts): 91.9 per cent (34/37)
- Most completions by a Canadian in a season: 255
- Most touchdowns by a Canadian QB in one game: six (five pass, one rush)
- Most passing yards by a Canadian: 488
- Rourke is 9-3 as a starter
QUICK SLANTS
League-wide
- Home teams are 27-12-1 (.688).
- Three wins separate first from last in the West. The average gap at the midpoint of the past five years was six victories.
- Seven teams have come back to win after trailing for three quarters. Ottawa and Saskatchewan have done it twice.
- Teams with more big plays in a game are 25-8 (.758).
- There have been nine blocked kicks. There were 10 last year.
| Game Notes | |
| Ottawa at Calgary | Download PDF |
| Montreal at Saskatchewan | Download PDF |
| Edmonton at Hamilton | Download PDF |
| Winnipeg at BC | Download PDF |
OTT at CGY
- Ottawa won 33-6 in the teams’ first meeting in Week 8. Ottawa last swept the season series in 2004.
- Ottawa’s 5-2-1 start is their best opening stretch since beginning 7-1 in 1978.
- Jeremiah Masoli is 27-29 as a starter.
- Masoli is reuniting with offensive coordinator Tommy Condell, whom he worked with in Hamilton.
- Calgary is 4-0 at home.
- Reggie Begelton (4,922) needs 78 receiving yards to become the 12th Stampeder to reach 5,000 in his career. He had a season-high 104 yards last week.
- Demerio Houston has two interceptions in his past two games. He has four on the season and 13 in his career.
- Maier leads all quarterbacks with 11 touchdowns in the red zone.
MTL at SSK
- The teams are a combined +21 in turnover ratio.
- Montreal won 20-16 in their first meeting. The Alouettes have not swept the teams’ season series since 2016.
- Montreal is 4-0 on the road.
- Montreal leads the league in big plays (26), while allowing the fewest (eight).
- Davis Alexander has a 73.9 completion percentage for 687 yards with five touchdown passes to one interception this season.
- Charleston Rambo has 10 receptions for 210 yards and three touchdowns in his past two games.
- Darnell Sankey is three defensive tackles shy of 300 in his career.
- Saskatchewan has allowed 383 rushing yards over the past two games. They did not concede more than 86 in any of the previous seven.
- Over the past two seasons, Saskatchewan is 6-2 with Trevor Harris at the helm and 5-13-1 without him.
- In his CFL debut last week, Dhonte Meyers had eight catches for 101 yards.
- Mario Alford is tied for the league lead with eight big plays.
EDM at HAM
- Edmonton is looking for its first three-game winning streak since 2018. The team has won its last two games at Tim Hortons Field.
- Tre Ford is 2-0 against Hamilton as a starter. Ten of his 23 drives this season (43.5 per cent) have resulted in touchdowns.
- In their first seven games, Edmonton did not eclipse 100 rushing yards; in the past two, they have rushed for over 200.
- Javon Leake leads the league with seven yards per carry. He has 13 10+ yard rushes on 55 attempts.
- Hamilton has three of the Top-10 in receiving yards; Shemar Bridges (629), Steven Dunbar Jr. (474) and Tim White (469).
- Taylor Powell is 4-5 as a starter and 0-1 against Edmonton. Last week, he passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
- Last week, Bridges had his second 100+ yard game of the season (103). He has 17 catches in his past two games. He leads all receivers with 24 second-down completion receptions.
WPG at BC
- The teams have split their first two meetings: Week 3, BC 26 – WPG 24 and Week 9, BC 0 – WPG 25.
- The Blue Bombers are coming off a bye. They have won 15 of their past 16 on a week’s rest.
- Winnipeg is 99-83-2 versus BC all-time.
- The Blue Bombers have won four of their past five meetings at BC Place.
- Winnipeg’s defence leads the league in points allowed (20.7), net yards allowed (320.8), offensive touchdowns against (14), passing yards allowed (226.9) and passing completion against (62.5).
- Brandon Alexander needs one more defensive tackle for 250 in his career.
- BC has not lost four straight since 2021.
- Two of Nathan Rourke’s three losses have come against Winnipeg.
- Sione Teuhema is tied for the lead league with five tackles for a loss.
