Teams continue to gain their footing as Week 3 has completed in the CFL. In the Thursday night game, Trevor Harris threw for 296 yards and James Wilder Jr. rushed for 127 yards as the Edmonton Elks spoiled the BC Lions home opener, winning 21-16.
On Friday night, Calgary defeated Montreal 28-22 at home for their first win of the season. Jake Maier made his CFL debut as the starting quarterback for Calgary, replacing the injured Bo Levi Mitchell, and passed for 304 yards and a touchdown for his first career win. Montreal almost came back to win it, but Calgary managed to stop them at the goal line as time ran out on the clock.
In the early game on Saturday, top-ranked Winnipeg travelled to Toronto for the first game to be held in the East this year. Toronto surprised the Blue Bombers with a 30-23 win for the hometown team. Nick Arbuckle, the Toronto quarterback, completed 23 of 32 passes for 310 yards to pick up the win for the Argos.
And in Saturday’s late game, Saskatchewan never trailed as they dominated Ottawa 23-10. Cody Fajardo passed for 321 yards, but it was the Rider defense that starred. Saskatchewan is now the only undefeated team in the CFL, and the win has moved them into the top spot in the McDonald CFL Power Rankings.
The big story next week is the Edmonton game in Toronto on Thursday night. It’s been postponed due to a number of Elks players testing positive for COVID-19 (14 at press time). As per the CFL’s COVID protocol, the game has been postponed, but a new date for the game has not been announced yet. If the CFL can’t find a date to play the game, Toronto will be awarded a 1-0 win. Our McDonald CFL Power Ratings team was giving Toronto a 57% chance of winning the game.
In Friday night’s game, Hamilton visits Montreal. Although we’ve got Hamilton rated higher than Montreal, we’re giving Montreal a slight edge to win this game due to home field advantage, with a 54% chance of winning. Hamilton is looking for their first win of the season, while if Montreal wins, they’ll move into a tie for first place in the East with Toronto.
Saturday’s early game has BC travelling to Ottawa. These teams are ranked at the bottom of our Power Ratings, so they’re both looking for a critical victory to get their season on track. We’re giving Ottawa the edge here, with a 56% chance of winning the game.
In the final game of the weekend on Saturday, Calgary travels to Winnipeg. Winnipeg is looking to bounce back after their loss to Ottawa last week, while Calgary is looking for their second straight victory. The McDonald CFL Power Rating boys are predicting a Winnipeg win, with a 61% chance of that happening. With a win, Winnipeg can retake the top ranking over the idle Saskatchewan Roughriders.
McDonald CFL Power Ratings
We’ve got a new top-ranked team this week. With Saskatchewan’s win over Ottawa, and Winnipeg’s loss to Toronto, Saskatchewan has now taken over top spot in the McDonald CFL Power Rankings, with Winnipeg dropping to second. Both teams are rated much stronger than the rest of the league. Other moves up include Toronto, moving up from 8th to 6th, and Edmonton, from 9th to 7th, while drop downs include British Columbia (6th to 8th) and Ottawa (7th to 9th). Ottawa is now our lowest ranked team.
| Ranking | Team | Rating | Record |
| 1 (▲1) | Saskatchewan | 1557 (▲8) | 3-0, 1st West |
| 2 (▼1) | Winnipeg | 1541 (▼13) | 2-1, 2nd West |
| 3 | Hamilton | 1511 | 0-2, 4th East |
| 4 (▲1) | Calgary | 1505 (▲11) | 1-2, T-3rd West |
| 5 (▼1) | Montreal | 1496 (▼11) | 1-1, T-2nd East |
| 6 (▲2) | Toronto | 1487 (▲14) | 2-1, 1st East |
| 7 (▲2) | Edmonton | 1484 (▲15) | 1-2, T-3rd West |
| 8 (▼2) | British Columbia | 1469 (▼15) | 1-2, T-3rd West |
| 9 (▼2) | Ottawa | 1468 (▼8) | 1-1, T-2nd East |
Grey Cup Predictions
Saskatchewan is now our favourite to win the Grey Cup, at a whopping 23% chance. The next closest team is Winnipeg, who we’re giving a 16% chance. The top Eastern team is Hamilton with a 13% chance, followed closely by Montreal at 12% and Toronto at 11%. We’re giving a 55% chance of a Western division team winning the league championship, versus a 45% chance of an Eastern team, no change from last week.
| Grey Cup Ranking | Team | Rating | Win Grey Cup |
| 1 | Saskatchewan | 1557 | 23% (▲4) |
| 2 | Winnipeg | 1541 | 16% (▼4) |
| 3 | Hamilton | 1511 | 13% |
| 4 | Montreal | 1496 | 12% (▼2) |
| 5 | Toronto | 1487 | 11% (▲3) |
| 6 | Ottawa | 1468 | 8% (▼2) |
| 7 | Calgary | 1505 | 7% (▲2) |
| 8 | Edmonton | 1484 | 6% (▲2) |
| 9 | British Columbia | 1469 | 5% (▼2) |
Our Full Predictions
| Team | Rating | Make Playoffs | Host Playoff Game | Win Division | Make Division Final | Make Grey Cup | Win Grey Cup |
| Saskatchewan
3-0 |
1557 | 92% | 76% | 50% | 73% | 41% | 23% |
| Winnipeg
2-1 |
1541 | 82% | 58% | 28% | 57% | 29% | 16% |
| Hamilton
0-2 |
1511 | 63% | 43% | 20% | 44% | 23% | 13% |
| Montreal
1-1 |
1496 | 72% | 53% | 27% | 50% | 26% | 12% |
| Toronto
2-1 |
1487 | 77% | 58% | 30% | 53% | 26% | 11% |
| Ottawa
1-1 |
1468 | 66% | 46% | 22% | 43% | 20% | 8% |
| Calgary
1-2 |
1505 | 51% | 24% | 9% | 30% | 14% | 7% |
| Edmonton
1-2 |
1484 | 48% | 21% | 7% | 26% | 11% | 6% |
| British Columbia
1-2 |
1469 | 49% | 20% | 6% | 25% | 10% | 5% |
Week 4 Game Predictions
Edmonton (42%) at Toronto (57%) — POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19
Hamilton (45%) at Montreal (54%)
British Columbia (43%) at Ottawa (56%)
Calgary (38%) at Winnipeg (61%)