It’s Week 12 and the first thing you have to think about, if you want to pick winners this week, is West vs. East. West usually wins.
In fact, in 16 meetings between Western Conference and Eastern Conference teams this season, the West leads the season series 13-3.
This week, Montreal plays in Calgary while Hamilton plays in Edmonton. Take the Western teams in both meetings. If, for no other reason than this: Avon Cobourne is not playing for Montreal and Edmonton is simply a better team than Hamilton.
In the other two games, take the home teams. Home teams are up 22-18 this season, but remember one important thing, in West at East matchups, the West is 6-2 — on the road. Take those games out of the equation and home teams beat road teams 20 out of 32 times.
This week, we have two Western teams at home and those teams will win. We have an Eastern team at an Eastern team and the home team will win and we have a Western team at a Western team and the home team will win.
This week, if we stick to our theories, we should go undefeated.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-8) at Toronto Argonauts (4-6)
Friday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN
The Bombers head into Toronto with a revamped defence featuring Stanford Samuels at DB, Kelly Malveaux and Zeke Moreno at linebacker and Kai Ellis at rush end. It’s certainly a new look, but not as fearsome as the new look in Toronto. Don Matthews is back. How scary is that? Here’s the difference, Toronto won 19-11 the last time the two teams met in Toronto and Winnipeg’s offence isn’t any better than it was two months ago. However, the underlying story of this game is, once again, Winnipeg slotback Milt Stegall. Stegall can become the Canadian Football League’s all-time leading receiver tonight as 14-year Bomber veteran is just 17 yards shy of the league’s all-time pass receiving record of 14,891 yards, currently held by Calgary’s Allen Pitts. That should give the Bombers a little incentive. Too bad he didn’t need 117 yards. Toronto is a dreadful football team but Matthews will make them better.
Pick: Toronto
Montreal Alouettes (7-3) at Calgary Stampeders (6-4)
Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN
Most outstanding player candidate, tailback Avon Cobourne, is not playing tonight and that will obviously hurt the Alouettes. But will it hurt them enough to lose this football game? Calgary has won three of its last four and had an impressive 38-33 win IN Edmonton last week. Montreal has won five in a row, but their last loss, a 36-34 defeat, took place at B.C. Place. The Stamps beat the Alouettes 23-19 back in Week 3 in Montreal. It’s two months later and it’s still hard not to like the Stamps.
Pick: Calgary
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-8) at Edmonton Eskimos (6-4)
Saturday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN
This one is a no-doubter. Ricky Ray, A.J. Harris, Kelly Campbell… Edmonton by three touchdowns. Not even Marcel Bellefeuille, who replaced the fired Charlie Taafe this week, can stop the implosion in Hamilton.
Pick: Edmonton
Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-2) at B.C. Lions (5-5)
Saturday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN
This could be the game of the week. Saskatchewan is playing with a pre-season roster and yet behind a terrific performance by quarterback Michael Bishop, they overcame a 31-14 deficit in Winnipeg last week, scored 20 unanswered points in the final quarter and won 34-31. B.C., meanwhile, went into Hamilton and blasted the Ticats 35-12. It was a terrific road win and this week, the Lions add small, feisty and gifted tailback Charles Roberts. Saskatchewan can’t continue to win with 14 players in the injured reserve. Can they?
Pick: B.C.
Last Week: 2-2
Season: 21-11