CFL Week 12 Power Rankings, Grey Cup Odds: Alouettes Flock to the Top

The 2024 CFL regular season is officially half over. How time flies. It felt like only yesterday that all nine fanbases were gearing up with hopes and aspirations for a memorable campaign. Some are living that, others not so much. Of note, the balance of power in the CFL is shifting to the East Division, long viewed as the league’s little brother. Three teams based east of Manitoba are above .500. In the West…only one!

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1. Montreal Alouettes (9-1, ATS: 7-3)

The Montreal Alouettes have finally arrived at the top. Not that anyone associated with the team is reading this. Regardless, Jason Maas has this club playing its tail off. It looks good on offence with Davis Alexander at QB, it looks good on defence with Tyrice Beverette’s 61 total tackles (leads CFL), and on special teams, with kicker Jose Maltos filling in for the injured David Côté (13-for-15 on field goal attempts). This team doesn’t need help, but here comes WR Austin Mack back from his summer in the NFL anyway.

2. Ottawa Redblacks (6-2-1, ATS: 6-3)

We don’t need to rank the Ottawa Redblacks second to prove the point about the East Division ruling the land. They’ve earned it. Whether they can catch up with Montreal is another debate, but they look very strong in second. Better still, they can finally rely on QB Jeremiah Masoli, who was solid last week versus the Stamps. Deandre Lamont is the defence’s leader, with 55 total tackles (fourth league-wide) and seven passes knocked down (second-best). Kudos to head coach Bob Dyce for having this team believe in itself again.

3. Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-4-1, ATS: 6-4)

The East Division parade had to stop here. As less impressive as the Roughriders are compared to Ottawa and Montreal (to whom they lost at home last week), they’re in first place in the West. Then again, that division is a total log jam. Trevor Harris is back under centre, hopefully for the long run (four games so far this season, only five in 2023). Saskatchewan is the definition of “middle of the pack.” They rank anywhere from fourth to seventh in major offensive and defensive statistical categories (points for and against, overall and net).

4. Calgary Stampeders (4-6, ATS: 6-4)

This is where the Power Rankings get funky. Yes, Calgary is under .500 straight up, but they’re 6-4 versus the spread. Last week they had the Redblacks right where they wanted them until the visitors kicked a game winning field goal. They have a few good players (WR Reggie Begelton, DB Demerio Houston) but no great ones. It’s hard pinpointing what this team’s strength is. Rene Paredes? Don’t get us wrong, he’s a terrific field goal kicker, but the Stampeders aren’t going to win more games because they’re good at scoring three points instead of six.

5. Toronto Argonauts (5-4, ATS: 4-5)

How things have changed. Chad Kelly is back, reinstated by the CFL over the weekend. As per the league, last year’s MVP is on a short leash. Be that as it may, he’s a good quarterback and the Argonauts could use a jolt. At first glance the numbers look good with 28.4 points per game (third) but it’s a different story specifically with offensive points (23.7, seventh) and net offence (309.7 yards, dead last). The ground game is working though, with Ka’Deem Carey’s 611 yards, good for third in the CFL, and a 5.4 average per touch.

6. Edmonton Elks (3-7, ATS: 6-4)

Ooh, what to make of this? Can the Elks carry the momentum of the past three weeks and really make a push in the West Division? Anything is possible, especially since a couple of wins for them and a couple of losses for some rivals would place them in second place. Edmonton doesn’t have a standout WR, but rather three solid ones: Eugene Lewis, Dillon Mitchell, and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. It makes them uniquely difficult to defend against the pass, regardless of who is playing QB.

7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-5, ATS: 3-7)

On the topic of the Elks’ rivals, how about those Blue Bombers? Left for dead a month into the season, they’ve turned things around to a degree. A 4-6 straight up record is nothing to shout about, but they were a 0-4 at one point. The ATS record is still killing them though. Defence runs the roost these days, giving up only 19.1 points per contest. It’s also a collective effort. Tyrell Ford’s four takeaways leads the team alongside his and Evan Holm’s six batted passes. Willie Jefferson has hounded QBs to the tune of five sacks already.

8. BC Lions (5-5, ATS: 4-6)

Uh-oh. To be fair, Nathan Rourke hadn’t donned a CFL jersey in a couple of years before last week’s debacle versus the Bombers. Regardless, the Lions need either him to rekindle his former mojo or Vernon Adams Jr. to get healthy ASAP. BC has gone from being a team no one wanted to play (5-1 at one point) to one ever body can’t wait to bully (5-5 now). The good thing about the CFL is anything can happen since it’s such a small, intimiate league. BC still needs to actually play better football.

9. Hamilton Tigers-Cats (2-8, ATS: 2-8)

Truthfully, if the betting options were between the Tiger-Cats making a comeback and stealing third place in the East or a West club earning that strange cross-over playoff spot, we’d take the latter. How bad are things? Two weeks ago, Bo Levi Mitchell was benched in favour of Taylor Powell. Hamilton lost anyway. Last week, Powell started, got injured, was replaced by Levi Mitchell and the Ticats were obliterated at home by the Elks. At least WR Shemar Bridges is having a nice season (64 catches, 746 yards, four scores), right? Right?!?