Scott Milanovich: Hamilton Tiger-Cats remember last year’s Blue Bombers blowout

Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography

Thing didn’t go well for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the last time they visited the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Princess Auto Stadium, and though a new season is upon us, head coach Scott Milanovich doesn’t think his team has forgotten about last year’s beatdown.

“Going to their place, great place to play a team with a championship pedigree. I think our guys remember what happened the last time we went there a year ago, so a great challenge for us,” Milanovich told the media in Hamilton on Monday.

“Looking forward to getting on the road, honestly, and kind of just getting everybody in the hotel, on the plane, spending a little time together early in the season, and playing on Thursday night against a good football team.”

The Tiger-Cats visited Winnipeg on Sept. 27, 2025 riding a three-game winning streak. The Blue Bombers were 1-3 in their previous four contests with the lone victory coming against Ottawa, a game in which Chris Streveler threw for a measly 54 yards.

Though a few pundits picked Winnipeg to beat Hamilton, nobody thought the matchup would be high-scoring or one-sided. The betting line was almost even.

What transpired was shocking.

Trey Vaval returned the opening kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown, then Zach Collaros hit Dillon Mitchell for a 44-yard touchdown pass on Winnipeg’s first offensive possession. It was Mitchell’s only touchdown of the year.

Collaros finished the game with a season-high 367 passing yards and Streveler scored three second-half rushing touchdowns as the Blue Bombers won 40-3. The score was 17 points more lopsided than any other loss Hamilton sustained all year.

Milanovich, who coached Collaros with the Toronto Argonauts over a decade ago, still thinks highly of the veteran quarterback.

“Zach’s a Hall of Famer, so you know how much respect I have for him,” said Milanovich. “Problem is, they also have a running back that’s pretty good.”

Hamilton opened this season with a 30-27 loss at home to the Montreal Alouettes.

The Tiger-Cats led 24-10 into the late stages of the third quarter but were unable to maintain the lead. Montreal scored on a pick-six from Robert Kennedy III, then Tyson Philpot made a highlight-reel touchdown catch.

The game went to overtime, when Keric Wheatfall lost a fumble on Hamilton’s first possession. Three plays later, José Maltos Díaz kicked a 17-yard game-winning field goal for the Alouettes.

“We didn’t play a bad game — played pretty well for two-and-a-half quarters. We had a couple turnovers we shouldn’t have had, gave up a couple of explosions defensively that we shouldn’t have given up, and we didn’t block particularly well on special teams,” said Milanovich.

“Against good teams, it comes down to those five plays I’m talking about, and they made them and we didn’t, so you gotta give them credit, but I feel like we’re better than that.”

The Tiger-Cats will have a chance to prove they’re better than that — and exorcise last year’s crushing loss — when they visit the Blue Bombers on Thursday.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-1) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-0) at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday, June 11, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Tiger-Cats are coming off an overtime loss to the Montreal Alouettes, while the Blue Bombers got a walk-off game-winning field goal from Sergio Castillo to beat the Calgary Stampeders.

The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 21 degrees and a 30 percent chance of rain. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in to the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.