It was a quieter week in the CFL last week, as there were only three games played. All five Western teams played, but only Ottawa played from the East.
Thursday night’s game featured the Battle of Alberta, as Calgary travelled north to visit Edmonton. Being ever the gracious hosts, Edmonton was soundly defeated by Calgary, 49-6. Calgary is now 4-0, while Edmonton falls to 1-4. The game was interrupted by a huge rainstorm, but that didn’t slow Calgary down. Bo Levi Mitchell, the Calgary quarterback, completed 17 of 22 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Malik Henry caught 6 passes for 150 yards, one of those being an 89 yard touchdown. On the ground, running back Ka’Deem Carey gained 104 yards on 12 carries, and on defense, Calgary had two interceptions, three sacks, and two fumble recoveries, one of which resulted in a 63 yard touchdown. Edmonton went through three quarterbacks, with two of them leaving the game due to injury.
Friday Night Football saw Ottawa heading to Regina to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Saskatchewan defeated Ottawa 28-13, but the game was marred by an injury to Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli late in the game after a low hit by Rider lineman Garrett Marino. Although the hit didn’t seem intentional, Marino made it worse by celebrating the hit over top of the injured Masoli, then uttered a racial epithet directed at the RedBlack quarterback. Masoli required surgery and is expected to miss 12 weeks, while Marino was suspended for a CFL-record 4 games. To this commentator, the punishment doesn’t seem sufficient to fit the crime; more appropriate would be a season-long suspension.
Saturday saw the final game of the week, with top-ranked Winnipeg heading to British Columbia to face the up-and-coming Lions. Although it was expected to be a test for the Bombers, it wasn’t, as Winnipeg won 43-22 over BC. Bomber QB Zach Collaros went 23 for 30 for 288 yards and three touchdowns, with receiver Dalton Schoen catching 8 of those for 117 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Winnipeg made three interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one sack, and on special teams, Janarion Grant returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. On the BC side, quarterback Nathan Rourke passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, although he also threw two interceptions.
The big game coming up this weekend is the Touchdown Atlantic game, with Saskatchewan and Toronto travelling to Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to play the first CFL game ever in Nova Scotia on Saturday afternoon.
Week 5 Results
Calgary 49 at Edmonton 6
Ottawa 13 at Saskatchewan 28
Winnipeg 43 at British Columbia 22
McDonald CFL Power Ratings
There were no changes to the rankings this week, although Toronto, being idle, closed the gap on BC following the Lions’ loss to Winnipeg. Sadly, only three teams are rated above the 1500 average ranking, and all three of those teams are in the West. The league seems quite unbalanced, with the top 4 teams all coming from the West, and all Eastern teams being ranked below average.
| Ranking | Team | Rating | Record |
| 1 | Winnipeg | 1599 (▲12) | 5-0, 1st West |
| 2 | Calgary | 1565 (▲10) | 4-0, T-2nd West |
| 3 | Saskatchewan | 1554 (▲7) | 4-1, T-2nd West |
| 4 | British Columbia | 1496 (▼11) | 3-1, 4th West |
| 5 | Toronto | 1495 | 1-2, T-1st East |
| 6 | Montreal | 1482 | 1-3, T-1st East |
| 7 | Hamilton | 1472 | 0-4, T-3rd East |
| 8 | Edmonton | 1440 (▼10) | 1-4, 5th West |
| 9 | Ottawa | 1413 (▼6) | 0-4, T-3rd East |
Grey Cup Predictions
Winnipeg continues to be the Grey Cup favourite, now with a 33% chance of winning the Cup, up 4% from last week. Calgary follows with a 19% chance. British Columbia were the only team to change in their chances, dropping 5 percentage points down to 3%, a result of playing in that tough Western Division. Montreal has the most chance of winning it from the East, with an 11% probability.
Overall, there’s a 67% chance of a Western team winning the Grey Cup, up 1% from last week’s report.
| Grey Cup Ranking | Team | Rating | Win Grey Cup |
| 1 | Winnipeg | 1599 | 33% (▲4) |
| 2 | Calgary | 1555 | 19% (▲2) |
| 3 | Saskatchewan | 1554 | 12% |
| 4 | Montreal | 1482 | 11% |
| 5 | Toronto | 1495 | 10% |
| 6 | Hamilton | 1472 | 8% |
| 7 (▲1) | Ottawa | 1413 | 5% |
| 8 (▼2) | British Columbia | 1496 | 3% (▼5) |
| 9 | Edmonton | 1440 | <1% |
Our Full Predictions
Here’s our full predictions.
| Team | Rating | Make Playoffs | Host Playoff Game | Win Division | Make Division Final | Make Grey Cup | Win Grey Cup |
| Winnipeg 5-0, 1st in West |
1599 | 99% | 77% | 50% | 77% | 50% | 33% |
| Calgary 4-0, T-2nd in West |
1565 | 97% | 60% | 29% | 60% | 29% | 19% |
| Saskatchewan 4-1, T-2nd in West |
1554 | 93% | 43% | 16% | 43% | 16% | 12% |
| Montreal 1-3, T-1st in East |
1482 | 70% | 65% | 32% | 65% | 33% | 11% |
| Toronto 1-2, T-1st in East |
1495 | 74% | 71% | 42% | 71% | 28% | 10% |
| Hamilton 0-4, T-3rd in East |
1472 | 44% | 40% | 17% | 40% | 23% | 8% |
| Ottawa 0-4, T-3rd in East |
1413 | 28% | 25% | 9% | 25% | 16% | 5% |
| British Columbia 3-1, 4th in West |
1496 | 77% | 18% | 5% | 18% | 5% | 3% |
| Edmonton 1-4, 5th in West |
1440 | 19% | 1% | <1% | 1% | <1% | <1% |
Week 6 Game Predictions
Thursday: Edmonton (37%) at Montreal (62%)
Friday: Calgary (38%) at Winnipeg (61%)
Saturday: Saskatchewan (57%) at Toronto (42%)
Saturday: Ottawa (35%) at Hamilton (64%)