Weekly Predictor: Who wins in Week 1?

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

I can’t wait for Thursday night to open the CFL season in 2025!

There are so many changes around the league including new coaches in BC and Edmonton. Nathan Rourke looks to find his game again after struggling in ’24 when he joined the Lions mid-season and the man sent out the door in BC, Vernon Adams Jr., will try to make a debut to remember in Calgary.

Davis Alexander takes the reins in Montreal, as Dru Brown wants to open his sophomore season in Ottawa with a bang in Saskatchewan.

Then there are the defending champion, Toronto Argonauts, with plenty of changes leading them to hit the refresh button with questions around Chad Kelly’s status to open the season.

How this all shakes out will be interesting to watch as eight teams look to make a great first impression this season as the veteran Bombers sit back and relax before starting their quest for a sixth straight division title in Week 2.

I went 2-2 in Week 1 last year, as you’re going off of hunches more than actual results to start the year. I went 3-1 in Week 2 on my way to another Pick ‘Em championship among the expert predictors.

Ottawa at Saskatchewan
Thursday, June 5
9:00 p.m. ET

The season starts in Regina under the lights at Mosaic Stadium. Excitement is building for what the Roughriders can do in Corey Mace’s second season as head coach after seeing progress in his first year as he took them to a Western Final.

AJ Ouellette comes into the season way ahead of where he was last season, starting the year already on the limp. He’s trimmed down, he has a burst and he looks to return to elite back status. Trevor Harris finally has some stability in his life. He hasn’t seen this much consistency within the roster and coaching staff from one year to the other in a while. On defence, the Roughriders return a stacked group ready to dominate this year.

In Ottawa, we’ve seen a few changes around the coaching staff and have exciting additions like Eugene Lewis and William Stanback, while a healthy Adarius Pickett is an added boost to a strong defence.

Dru Brown in year two is an intriguing storyline to follow as many believe he has the makings of becoming an MOP calibre quarterback.

I’ve seen predictions for big things for both these teams from pundits around the league and I agree these two teams will be among the strongest this year.

I’ll give the edge to the home team to kick off the season as strong as they did last year when they started the year 4-0.

PICK: SASKATCHEWAN

Toronto at Montreal
Friday, June 6
7:30 p.m. ET

This is a rematch of three straight Eastern Finals! And both teams look to continue their rule in the East Division.

I believe it won’t be a similar story this season for Toronto and Montreal to end up in a fourth straight division championship as Hamilton and Ottawa will be strong divisional foes.

Toronto likely starts the season without Chad Kelly again. Nick Arbuckle will hope to show his ability to lead a team after being the Grey Cup hero replacing Kelly in 2024.

Some surprises on cutdown day lead to a new lead back in Toronto, while changes around the roster have the Argos looking like a potential work in progress.

In Montreal, they are a complete team across the board, with one exception; quarterback. Sure Davis Alexander went undefeated in limited starts last season but how will he fair as the complete focus of defensive coordinators getting ready to game plan against him this season?

The difference for me in this one is very similar to why I’m picking the Riders in the first game of the week: defence.

The consistency of the roster on an All-CFL calibre defence in Montreal should come out of the gate absolutely frightening for offensive coordinators.

I also believe in Davis Alexander. I said on my radio show if there was a team in need of a quarterback they should absolutely chase down Alexander if the Als were going to roll with Cody Fajardo. Of course, Danny Maciocia and Jason Maas were quick to acknowledge they were well ahead of all of us and give the keys to Alexander… another young quarterback worthy of early MOP discourse.

PICK: MONTREAL

Hamilton at Calgary
Saturday, June 7
7:00 p.m. ET

WOW! The Stampeders are barely recognizable from the team that left the field at the end of 2024. From quarterback to O-line to receivers to a completely rebuilt defence, the Stampeders were ready for the necessary change needed to quickly turn things around.

I do believe this will be an extended preseason for the Stamps to figure out the right recipe for success. They will get there but you can’t have this much change and expect to hit the ground without missing a beat.

The advantage is Vernon Adams Jr., Dedrick Mills, Reggie Begelton and Dominique Rhymes could have the Stamps offence do some damage early.

For the Tiger-Cats, they finished last year with a 5-2 run down the stretch after a dreadful start with a new coaching staff that saw mid-season changes and adversity.

Tim White is still elite and will want to respond after a poor start to the year and the addition of Kenny Lawler gives the Tiger-Cats another big play threat. Oh, and what’s Shemar Bridges going to do for an encore after a great rookie season?

I’m really excited about what I see on the defensive side of the ball for Hamilton!

But the most intriguing player for me in Hamilton is Greg Bell. The running back ran for 625 yards in just eight games last year. If you do the math, that’s prorated to 1,400 yards over an 18 game schedule. I think the Tiger-Cats run their way to a road win in Week 1.

PICK: HAMILTON

Edmonton at BC
Saturday, June 7
10:00 p.m. ET

This is the battle of rookie head coaches to start the season. Buck Pierce has a younger version of Zach Collaros to work with in BC. Let’s be honest, Nathan Rourke and Collaros are a fair comparison on their sneaky good ability to move around and the ability to make all the throws. James Butler returns to BC where he really found his CFL stardom.

The big question is who steps up in a receiving corps that looks a lot different to one Rourke had when he was firing the ball in 2022. Three of those top four receivers are gone, though he didn’t have Justin McInnis who hit All-CFL status in 2024.

Defensively, I’m looking out for Mathieu Betts to lead this team again after a slow return in 2024.

In Edmonton, it’ll be extremely interesting to watch how Mark Kilam and the Elks come together. Ed Hervey spent all the money in free agency he could to bring in the best talent available.

Tyrell Ford, Robbie Smith, Jake Ceresna, Kobe Williams, Royce Metchie, David Beard, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., and Kaion Julien-Grant are all new Elks this season.

I do feel they’re going to rely heavily on new receiving faces out of the gate aside from those veteran Canadians. Will they catch on quick enough to help Tre Ford?

The changes in Edmonton just might be too much not have some early season issues to work through and I may be overrating the preseason too much but damn, did Rourke look good.

PICK: BC

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