Week 11 was another week with a couple of upsets as Montreal picked up their second win of the season and Edmonton dropped their game to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Calgary took care of business and the Riders got past B.C. This week is my favourite regular season week of the schedule every year. Labour Day Weekend brings out the best of the CFL rivalries. You can throw records out the window when the September long weekend matchups go down. Let’s take a look at how I see week 12 playing out.

(2-8) Montreal Alouettes @ (6-3) Ottawa Redblacks Friday 7:30pm ET

The Als are coming off their second win of the season after squeezing past the Toronto Argonauts last week thanks to Antonio Pipkins stellar play. I would look for him to get the start again for Montreal this week to give Johnny football’s brain a little bit more time to rest. If Montreal has any chance this week they are once again going to need stellar quarterback play and their defence needs to keep the team in it again. For Ottawa this is a game they should win as the number one team in the east. Trevor Harris has really picked up is game the past couple of weeks and that should continue against this Alouettes defence. William Powell is another player I expect to have a big game on Friday. He is second in the league in rushing with 714 yards this season to go along with four touchdowns on the ground. If the Redblacks offence can keep the ball rolling they should come away with a win.

Prediction: Redblacks win 34-24

(5-5) Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ (5-4) Saskatchewan Roughriders Sunday 3:00pm ET

This is one of my favourite rivalries to watch in the CFL. The Labour Day Classic in Regina is usually an entertaining game (unless it ends 52-0) and is one of the best crowds of the regular season. Bombers and Rider fans are relentless towards each other in the lead up to the game and it can get a little unruly in the stands but that is what makes this game so fun. This year the teams are tied for wins going into the game. This LDC has a little more meaning to both teams standings wise than it has in years previous and that could make for an even better game. The Riders defence continues to hum along and their offence is starting to find a groove with quarterback Zach Collaros back for three games now. Shaq Evans had his best game as a Rider last week and the new look Rider receiving core looks to be making a name for themselves. For the Bombers they have lost two in a row and their offence is sputtering a little bit. Matt Nichols did not take kindly to being booed but also didn’t show much in the Calgary game to make the fans feel like the booing wasn’t warranted. If the Bombers offence wants to do anything against the stingy Rider defence I would look for Andrew Harris to have his hands on the ball 30 times on Sunday. I just think the Riders are on a roll and will continue to roll on Sunday.

Prediction: Roughriders win 31-26

(6-4) Edmonton Eskimos @ (8-1) Calgary Stampeders Monday 3:00pm ET

The Esks lost a tough one to Hamilton last week in a game they looked to be in control of. It certainly doesn’t get any easier playing the league’s best team two weeks in a row starting on Monday. Edmonton’s offence is fine. They have the best player in the CFL in Mike Reilly and two of the leagues top three receivers when it comes to yards in Duke Williams and Derel Walker. It is when you flip over to the defensive side of the ball that there is some trouble. The Esks defensive backfield just hasn’t player well this year and were the main culprits in the loss to Hamilton last week. They will have to be infinitely better this week to give their offence a shot. For Calgary they were a little slow out of the gates last week but found their groove and cruised to a win over Winnipeg. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for over 450 yards for the first time in his career and Kamar Jorden had 249 yards receiving which is a new Stamps record. I think their passing game clicking mixed with their stout defence means trouble for the Eskimos.

Prediction: Stampeders win 37-28

(3-6) Toronto Argonauts @ (4-5) Hamilton Tiger-Cats Monday 6:30pm ET

The Argos dropped their trap game against Montreal last week. I don’t really know what went wrong except the fact that Mcleod Bethel-Thompson and the offence couldn’t exploit a weak Alouettes defence and they let Antonio Pipkin throw all over them. Toronto will be looking for redemption and it all starts with coming out of the gates a little better. Bethel-Thompson has been a second half QB since taking the team’s starting job over and that will need to change this week. Look for James Wilder Jr. to be established early in the game to try and get the offence going. For Hamilton they are in sole possession of second in the east and can build a bit of a buffer with a win on Monday evening. Jeremiah Masoli played well against Edmonton last week but the only criticism I have is his lack of scoring through the air. He puts up big yards throwing but it seems like he only has one, maybe two, touchdowns every week. This week I would like to see him punch it in a little more. Alex Green has been an absolute beast lately for Hamilton and that should continue on Monday. It should be an awesome running back battle this week but I am looking for a Argos bounce back win in this rivalry game.

Prediction: Argonauts win 29-27

I can’t wait for this week to start. There is so many standings implications in week 12 and with the majority of the games being big rivalries it should be great football to watch. If I had to pick a game of the week this week it would be Winnipeg at Saskatchewan. They always play good games on Labour Day and this could become an instant classic. I think most games should come right down to the wire and I would look for Bo Levi Mitchell to have another career game passing if Edmonton’s DBs can’t get it together. Thanks for reading!