Next stop: the East semifinal against the Riders
After two close games this year, it’s hard to pick who’s likely to advance to meet Argos
There will be no more weeks off for the Redblacks.
The next bye they get, they’ll be going bye-bye.
With their fate out of their hands, the Redblacks watched the Toronto Argos take top spot in the East Division with a 9-9 record by pounding the B.C. Lions 40-13 in Vancouver late Saturday night.
The decision means Ottawa finishes second at 8-9-1 and must now face the Saskatchewan Roughriders — who are crossing over from the West with a 10-8 mark — in the East Division semifinal at TD Place, Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Redblacks, victims of a ridiculous schedule that left them collecting rust while on byes for two of the last three weeks, would have gone directly to the division final, which they would have hosted, had the Lions won.
Now they must defeat the Roughriders and then beat the Argos in Toronto on Nov. 19, to play in the Grey Cup game at TD Place on Nov. 26.
Trying to become the first Ottawa team to play for the national title on Bank St. since 1940 has become that much more difficult. But, as head coach Rick Campbell will be sure to point out when the Redblacks resume practising on Monday, they’ll be moving ahead one step at a time.
The Roughriders will provide a stiff challenge.
They would have been staying on their own side and faced the 12-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the western semifinal — and the Eskimos would have headed east to face Ottawa — had they not suffered a fourth quarter fade and lost 28-13 to Edmonton on Saturday.
So they lost on purpose then, you’re thinking? Probably not. It’s been 20 years since the playoff format called for the fourth-place team in one division to flip sides and replace the third place team in the other if it has a better record. Nine times a team has crossed over from west to east. And nine times, that team has failed to advance to the Grey Cup.
Saskatchewan has crossed over twice, losing to Toronto in 2002 and Montreal in 2005.
“I’m sure history is like that for a reason,” Roughriders receiver Rob Bagg told Ian Hamilton on the team’s website Saturday night.
“We’ve just got to go down there and play great football.”
The Redblacks and Roughriders are certainly familiar with each other’s recent tendencies. Their two meetings this season have been in the past five weeks.
On Sept. 29 in Ottawa, the Roughriders scored 11 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for an 18-17 victory.
And on Oct. 13 in Regina, the Redblacks scored 13 points in the fourth quarter for a come-frombehind, 33-32 win.
You can’t get much closer than that.
In their loss to the Green and White, the Redblacks had to use third string quarterback Ryan Lindley, as Trevor Harris was still on injured reserve and backup Drew Tate was banged up.
Lindley completed 17-of-31 heaves for 164 yards, finding the end zone once and an opponent’s waiting arms once.
That night, Redblacks running back William Powell set a franchise record with 187 rushing yards.
Harris did play in the victory, but did not have his best game. He completed 17-of-33 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception.
Statistically, Harris was upstaged by Roughriders quarterback, 38-year old Kevin Glenn, who was good on 29-of-30 throws for 387 yards. He had two touchdown tosses and a couple of interceptions.
If head coach Chris Jones sticks to form on Sunday, he’ll start Glenn, who completed 5-of10 for 63 yards against the Eskimos this weekend before being replaced by Brandon Bridge, who was 12-of-18 for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Bridge, a six-foot-five, 230-pound 25-year-old, is also a threat to run.
While Ottawa has won its last two games and Saskatchewan is coming off a loss, the Redblacks had a sorry, 3-5-1 home record this season.
The Roughriders were 5-4-0 on the road.
Waiting for the winner is the Argos, who have won their last two games and are playing their best football of the season. In clinching first place, Ricky Ray completed 26-of-34 throws for 341 yards and three touchdowns, while rookie running back James Wilder Jr. had 18 carries for 136 yards and caught seven passes for 91 yards.
For the East final, highly respected veteran Toronto Sun scribe Frank Zicarelli wrote that “from an attendance perspective, the best draw is Saskatchewan.”
Roughriders fans do travel well, but if there is the Grey Cup fever in Ottawa we’re led to believe, thousands should be making their way down the 401 for the Nov. 19 East Division final.
But first, the Redblacks have to make a reservation to get there themselves.