3DownNation CFL power rankings: Hamilton Tiger-Cats prove kitty’s still got claws

Photo: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography / 3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Week 11 of the CFL season is officially in the books, and be careful who you counted out in the first half of the year.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats proved with a stunning upset over the Saskatchewan Roughriders that they can’t be written off, despite having used four different quarterbacks. Meanwhile, early reports about the death of the B.C. Lions were greatly exaggerated, as they have now won three in a row. Even the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hit the pause button on discussions regarding their decline this week.

3DownNation’s power rankings are created by having our contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. Each team’s most recent ranking is listed in brackets.

Enjoy the rankings and feel free to roast us on social media for anything you think we got wrong.

1) Montreal Alouettes (1)

A week off has done absolutely nothing to reduce the Alouettes’ vice-grip on the top spot in these rankings. As we cross the halfway mark, they boast the presumptive frontrunners for Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Canadian, Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, and Coach of the Year, as well as four other players that we consider All-CFL calibre. The message sent against Edmonton has aged like a fine wine, and this week could feature more fireworks against the Redblacks.

2) Edmonton Elks (3)

If you had questions about the Elks after two straight losses, they chose to answer them in style against Toronto. The defence and special teams combined for six turnovers, five of which came in the second half, as the offence scored 28 unanswered points to end the game. Cody Fajardo looked like he was back in college with a 44-yard scamper, Justin Rankin finally re-emerged with 108 yards from scrimmage, and J.J. Ross had a brilliant day on defence, forcing a fumble and snagging two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

3) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2)

The defending Grey Cup champions don’t tumble far down this list, but an uncharacteristic loss to Hamilton has certainly hurt their rep a little. Trevor Harris had a rare off night, finishing with just 207 yards and two interceptions, bookending the game with one on his first series and one on his last, while the defence struggled to adjust to an impromptu quarterback switch by the Tabbies. You know it’s a bad night when struggling kicker Alex Hale is your best player. If Rider Nation wants a feel-good story this week, they’ll need to look south of the border, where Dohnte Meyers is impressing with the Cincinnati Bengals.

4) B.C. Lions (6)

Despite a couple of hiccups that put the result in jeopardy in the fourth quarter, the Lions were able to regain composure and secure their third straight victory. Nathan Rourke threw for 301 yards, including an 85-yard dime to Jermaine Jackson on the move, while Zander Horvath continued to entrench himself as the bellcow back with 102 yards on the ground. Keon Hatcher found the end zone on the game-winner, his second touchdown of the night, and veteran T.J. Lee sealed it all with a goal line interception.

5) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8)

At this point, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats change quarterbacks like other teams change socks. An injury to starter Harrison Frost forced the Tabbies to go back to Tre Ford in the second half against Saskatchewan, whom they benched two weeks ago. He delivered with a heroic performance off the bench, which included a scrambling cross-body touchdown throw to a diving Keric Wheatfall to take the lead. A Reggie Stubblefield interception secured the massive upset, and now Scott Milanovich will have to spend another week facing questions about who he plans to start.

6) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7)

Winnipeg finally rediscovered their home dominance this week, and solved some of their offensive woes by refocusing the attack on Brady Oliveira. The star Canadian back rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown, while adding another 80 yards through the air to roll over the Redblacks. Zach Collaros absorbed a massive shot in his return from injury, but toughed it out and finished with 222 yards passing. That proved enough to push the Bombers back above .500.

7) Calgary Stampeders (5)

Life in Cowtown has quickly soured, as Thursday’s loss to B.C. represented more than their second consecutive defeat. Franchise quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. suffered a scary-looking head injury that left him sidelined in the fourth quarter, while star running back Dedrick Mills also had to leave the game with a possible concussion. Backup QB Josh Love completed six-of-10 passes for 58 yards and nearly secured an unlikely comeback, but was picked off in the red zone. That will leave big questions to be answered after the bye week.

8) Toronto Argonauts (6)

A 30-point beatdown was not the way that the Toronto Argonauts were hoping to return from the bye week, but that’s what Mike Miller and company received in Edmonton. Turnovers continued to be an issue, as they gave the ball back to the Elks on six occasions, though only one came courtesy of a Chad Kelly interception. The Boatmen scored just three points in the second half, and Damonte Coxie had a tough outing, as he was stripped once and saw a pick-six slip between his fingers.

9) Ottawa Redblacks (9)

More roster cuts and additions couldn’t make a difference for Ottawa in Winnipeg, as they seem cursed to lose no matter what they do. Jake Maier sent a certain touchdown pass off the goalpost, and Jevoni Robinson was tackled by a ghost on another, injuring himself in the process. Add in the regular complement of mistakes, misthrows, drops, and bad penalties, and the Redblacks find themselves at 0-9, setting a record for the longest losing streak in modern CFL history dating back to last season. At least linebacker A.J. Allen was able to rebound from his benching, notching two sacks.