CROSSED OUT
The fate of a fifth-place team was not top of mind when the CFL created its crossover rule more than two decades ago. It’s something the league might want to consider.
The rule gives a fourth-place team a crossover playoff spot when the club finishes with more points than the third-place team in the other division. This time around, the B.C. Lions (9-9) finished with a better record than the 5-13 Montreal Alouettes, who were third in the East.
However, for the first time in the rule’s history, the Edmonton Eskimos — who were at the bottom of the five-team West at 9-9 — missed the playoffs despite owning a better record than the East’s second-place team, the 8-10 Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, there is no provision for when the five teams in the West have better records than all but the firstplace team in the East.
“I feel like we’re as good as anybody, I really do,” Edmonton head coach Jason Maas said at his season-ending availability. “I know our record doesn’t necessarily prove that, except that there are two playoffs teams with the same record and a lesser record in the playoffs right now.”
It’s unclear whether the issue will be explored in the off-season. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie was not immediately available for comment.
This is the fourth time the crossover has been needed in the last five years.
It can be tough to ensure playoff balance in a nine-team league, especially in a year when one division is far superior to the other. The crossover rule was implemented to try to maximize meaningful and competitive games down the stretch and to reward the better teams with playoff spots.
“I love the way they’re doing it,” TSN broadcaster and former CFL star Milt Stegall said from Atlanta. “I think the pros outweigh the cons, it adds some intrigue.”
The West Division, led by the 13-5 Calgary Stampeders, did not have a club with a losing record while the four-team East had just one squad — the 11-7 Ottawa Redblacks — finish above the .500 mark. Hamilton, Montreal and the 4-14 Toronto Argonauts were all well behind.
B.C. won the season series against Edmonton to secure the final West playoff spot.
Proponents of adding a fifth playoff team out of the West could argue the Redblacks should qualify out of the East and that all five West clubs should be rewarded for their records. In such a scenario, divisional winners could get regular first-round byes but the No. 2 team would host the No. 5 club in the West while the No. 3 team welcomes the fourth-place side.
Such a change would also eliminate a regular gripe about the crossover rule: that the fourthplace team has to travel for the division semifinal even if that club owns a better record than its opponent.
This year, B.C. has to make the cross-country jaunt to Hamilton to play outdoors at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday rather than in the cosy confines of BC Place. If the Lions win, they likely would return home for a few days before making another long trip to Ontario for the East final against Ottawa.
Another option would be to get rid of the divisional playoff structure altogether and simply seed the top six teams at season’s end. Seeds No. 3 through No. 6 could play off to set up league semifinals against the top two seeds and the winners would advance to the Grey Cup.
The NHL did something similar for a couple years by seeding the top 16 teams for first-round matchups before switching to a divisional playoff structure in 1982.
CFL purists often point to the history of the East versus West playdowns as a reason to eschew further change.
However, that tradition was essentially upended when the crossover was introduced. After all, the Vancouver-based Lions
are two wins away from being crowned East Division champions.
A crossover rule explainer note on the CFL website points out that the format keeps the entire league competitive, rewards the top six teams with playoff berths and is sensitive to the East-West rivalry. But there is no mention of the scenario that the league finds itself in now, where a fifth-place team in the West has a better record than the second-place team in the East.
This week’s West semifinal pits the 12-6 Saskatchewan Roughriders against the visiting Blue Bombers (10-8). The East and West finals are set for Nov. 18 and the Grey Cup goes Nov. 25 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.