FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

1 STOP THE RUN ... AND SHOOT

Bombers DB Chris Randle says the key to stopping the Ticats’ run-and-shoot offence is by controlling the run part. If the Bombers can contain the trio of Alex Green, Mercer Timmis and Sean Thomas-Erlington, it should limit what QB Jeremiah Masoli is able to do in the passing game as well.

2 TICATS DINK AND DUNK

Masoli killed the Bombers on June 29 with a bunch of underneath passes and the Bombers played way too loose, which allowed the Ticats to rack up big yardage en route to a 31-17 win. First and foremost, the Bombers will need to get pressure on the Tiger-Cats quarterback and then will need much tighter coverage in the secondary.

3 SHOWTIME FOR NEW ‘D’

Bombers RB Andrew Harris had his run of 100-plus yard games stopped at three on July 27 against Toronto — he was held to just 28 yards on the ground — but he still leads the CFL with 638 yards through seven games and is on pace for a career-high 1,640 yards. The Bombers will look to get him going again and the Tiger-Cats will need big performances from linebackers Larry Dean and Simoni Lawrence to slow him down.

4 THE STAIRMASTER

Canadian WR Nic Demski of the Bombers had the best game of his career in the July 27 40-14 win over the Argos. He caught five passes for 82 yards and ran another three times for 34 yards. He scored touchdowns through the air and on the ground. He’s emerging as a powerful weapon in the offence led by Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols. The Bombers will be very happy if they see him running up the stairs in the end zone, as he did twice in the last game, earning the nickname “Stairmaster” from TSN announcer Chris Cuthbert.

5 BYE BYE BLUES

The Blue Bombers are coming off a bye week and lately they have performed well in that situation. The Bombers have won three of their past four games coming off the bye week. They went 2-0 last season, beating Saskatchewan and Ottawa and went 1-1 in 2016, beating Montreal and losing to Ottawa.