Edmonton Elks can clinch first place in West Division in Week 19

Photo: Edmonton Elks

The Edmonton Elks can officially clinch first place in the West Division in Week 19, the CFL confirmed on Tuesday.

The Elks can secure the top spot in the standings with a win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night, provided the B.C. Lions lose to the Ottawa Redblacks later that same day.

Edmonton is coming off a bye but defeated the Tiger-Cats by a score of 37-35 the week prior. Vincent Blanchard set a new CFL record with nine field goals in the game, while Cody Fajardo threw for 298 yards and one interception, and rushed for 28 yards and one touchdown.

It might seem like a long shot for the Lions to lose to Ottawa, but the Elks can still clinch a home playoff game even if B.C. wins this week.

In order to finish no lower than second-place in the West Division standings, Edmonton must win over Hamilton or the Saskatchewan Roughriders must lose to the Montreal Alouettes.

The Elks most recently appeared in the postseason in 2019, when they won the East Semi-Final over the Alouettes before losing the East Final to Hamilton. Edmonton hasn’t hosted a postseason game since 2015, when they went on to defeat the Redblacks in the 103rd Grey Cup.

As has been previously announced, the Elks have already clinched a playoff spot alongside the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts, while the Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been eliminated from playoff contention.

The B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders can clinch playoffs berths in Week 19, while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders cannot clinch or be eliminated from postseason contention this week.

The Edmonton Elks (11-4) will visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-11) on Friday, October 9 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Elks are coming off a bye week, while the Tiger-Cats won a relatively one-sided game over the lowly Ottawa Redblacks.

The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 880 CHED in Edmonton and the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton.