CFL picks: Mitchell gives Stamps a big edge over Ticats

Just six games into the regular season and the Hamilton TigerCats are already on their third starting quarterback.

Veteran David Watford tops Hamilton’s depth chart for Friday night’s home game against the Calgary Stampeders (TSN, 7 p.m.). He replaces Dane Evans, who suffered an oblique injury in last week’s 17-16 road loss to the Toronto Argonauts and went on the six-game injured list.

Jeremiah Masoli, listed as Watford’s backup, opened the season as the starter before a rib ailment.

By comparison, Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell will make a second straight start, the 100th of his CFL career. He returned to the Stampeders’ lineup last week after missing three games with a fractured fibula, completing 22 of 41 passes for 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 32-16 win over Edmonton.

The 2-4 Stampeders also have history on their side. They’ve won 11 of the past 12 meetings with Hamilton and are 19-2 overall since October 2009, although the teams split the season series in 2019.

But Mitchell, twice the CFL’s top player, is a perfect 12-0 in head-to-head matchups with Hamilton and a stellar 78-20-2 over his career north of the border.

Hamilton, 2-3, returns to Tim Hortons Field riding a 10-game home win streak, four short of its all-time mark (1957-59). But receiver Brandon Banks, the CFL’s outstanding player in 2019, will miss a second straight start. The Ticats are 1-6 without Banks, compared to 24-10 with him in the lineup, since 2018.

Watford will make his first CFL start after completing six of 10 passes for 78 yards in the second half against Toronto. He’ll face a Calgary defence that forced two turnovers and recorded seven sacks against Edmonton.

> Pick: Calgary

ARGOS AT ROUGHRIDERS

Friday, 9:45 p.m. (TSN)

Cody Fajardo is listed as the starter for the 3-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders after suffering a concussion in last week’s 33-9 road loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Riders have won the last seven meetings, with Toronto’s last win coming in June 2016. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle has led 3-2 Toronto to wins in two of its last three games. After being held without a sack in his first three games, Shawn Oakman has three over his last two contests. > Pick: Toronto

LIONS AT ALOUETTES

Saturday, 7 p.m. (TSN)

The 3-3 Montreal Alouettes will be without head coach Khari Jones, who tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Andre Bolduc, the club’s assistant head coach and running back coach, will handle sideline duties. The Als are coming off a bye and 1-0 this year after a week off. Mike Reilly threw four TD passes last week in leading 3-2 B.C. past Ottawa 45-13, matching a career high. Willie Whitehead’s 119-yard TD off a missed field goal was the longest of its kind in the CFL since 2017.

> Pick: B.C.

BLUE BOMBERS AT ELKS

Saturday, 9:45 p.m. (TSN)

The 2-3 Edmonton Elks will be without starting quarterback Trevor Harris (neck). That could result in Taylor Cornelius, a six-foot-five, 232-pound rookie from Oklahoma State, making his first CFL start. Linebacker Derrick Moncrief, a 2019 all-star with Saskatchewan, is expected to make his Elks debut. Winnipeg, 5-1, is coming off a solid Labour Day sweep of Saskatchewan. The defending champions are a stellar 3-0 within the West Division. The Bombers have won three straight.

> Pick: Winnipeg

RECORD

2-2 last week, 10-13 overall