B.C. Lions can clinch second place in West Division with win over Edmonton Elks

Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions

The B.C. Lions (11-5) can clinch second place in the West Division on Friday with a win over the Edmonton Elks.

The Leos got a leg up in the standings this past week with a 40-32 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, while the Calgary Stampeders (10-6) fell to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on a last-minute touchdown pass to Tim White.

B.C. won the season series between the two teams by virtue of their 2-1 head-to-head record, giving them the inside track to host the West Semi-Final on Sunday, Nov. 13 at BC Place Stadium. The Lions can also clinch second place in the West Division with a loss to Edmonton this week if Calgary loses to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Lions haven’t hosted a playoff game since 2016 when they completed a dramatic comeback against Winnipeg in the West Semi-Final, defeating the visitors 32-31. The club has missed the postseason in three of the last four seasons. They are expected to be the heavy favourite to beat Edmonton this week as Taylor Cornelius will not play due to a spleen injury.

The Toronto Argonauts (10-6) can clinch first place in the East Division this week with a win over the Montreal Alouettes (8-8) on Saturday. The Argos currently lead the season series between the two teams 1-0, though they are scheduled to meet again in the final week of the regular season. As such, the Als could still host the East Final if they are able to beat Toronto in both contests.

Montreal clinched a berth in the postseason this past week following a 34-30 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. The club can finish no lower than second place in the East Division.

The third and final playoff spot in the East Division remains wide open as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-10), Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-10), and Ottawa Redblacks (4-12) all remain eligible for it.

Hamilton would clinch the spot this week if they defeat the Redblacks and Saskatchewan loses to Calgary. The Ticats got off to a poor start this season but have recently shown signs of improvement, winning three of their last four games.

Saskatchewan has to finish at least one point ahead of Hamilton and Ottawa in order to make the playoffs by virtue of the crossover rule. As such, they cannot clinch a playoff spot this week even with a win and a Hamilton loss. The earliest they could potentially make the postseason is Saturday, Oct. 29, which is the final day of the regular season.

The Redblacks can only earn a postseason berth if they sweep their upcoming home-and-home against Hamilton and Saskatchewan loses back-to-back games against Calgary. Ottawa has not made the postseason since 2018 when they beat Hamilton in the East Final before losing to Calgary in the 106th Grey Cup.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (14-3) have already clinched first place in the West Division, while the Edmonton Elks (4-13) are no longer in postseason contention.