Safimod’s 2018 Power Rankings – Week 20

Safimod’s 2018 Power Rankings – Week 20

Published: Monday, Oct 29th 2018, 3:10pm

By: Stephen Safinuk (@Safimod)

1 – Winnipeg (10-7)

2 – Saskatchewan (12-6)

3 – Ottawa (10-7)

4 – BC (9-8)

5 – Calgary (12-5)

6 – Hamilton (8-9)

Everyone say farewell to the Edmonton Eskimos, as they drop off our rankings following Winnipeg’s 29-21 victory over the falling Calgary Stampeders. All 6 playoff spots have been spoken for, and the home playoff games will go through Ottawa, Hamilton, Calgary, and Saskatchewan. The only question left to ask is where Winnipeg will play in the Western Semi Final on November 11^th.

We got an early glimpse of Hamilton’s life without Brandon Banks, and it certainly wasn’t pretty. The Ti-Cats fell 30-13 in a game that never really felt like it was in question. Trevor Harris had himself a day, going 23/30 for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the flip side, likely Eastern nominee for MOP, Jeremiah Masoli, went 25/48 for 243 and 2 interceptions. The Ti-Cats will need to rebound quickly as BC will come to town on November 11^th looking to be the first Western team in CFL history to make the Grey Cup through the East.

Winnipeg remains atop the standings after beating the Calgary Stampeders 29-21 on Friday night, to keep Saskatchewan’ 1^st place hopes alive. Matt Nichols, Adam Bighill, and company will be a tough team to beat when the semis kickoff next week, but they will wait to see if they will travel to McMahon Stadium or Mosaic Stadium on the 11^th. Earlier on in the year, there was talk of them being the most complete team in the league right now, and I think that is closer to the truth today than it was at the midway point of the season.

Speaking of the Stamps, they are on quite the slide right now. Not sure anyone would have predicted 4 weeks ago that they would have to wait until the final game of the season to lock up 1^st place in the West (or fall to 2^nd). A lot of their problems can be blamed by injuries, but there isn’t a lot of help coming on the horizon. Calgary may be going in to the CFL playoffs as underdogs for the first time in a while.

The Riders took that 31-0 butt-kicking by Winnipeg to heart, and have turned around and beaten both the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions in dominating fashion over the past two weeks. In Calgary, their offense stole the show, but Saturday night in Regina it was all about their defense. Zach Evans and Ed Gainey both found themselves in the end zone to help the Riders tie a CFL record for most defensive/special teams touchdowns in a single season. The health of Zach Collaros is the only thing that saw them remain at 2, rather than move up to 1^st in the rankings this week. Nothing I have seen from Brandon Bridge in 2018 gives me any faith that he can lead us to the Grey Cup if Collaros is out. Having said that, if he is the guy in the playoffs, I hope he proves me wrong. Nothing would make me happier than eating a big helping of crow directly from the Grey Cup