Pre-Game Breakdown: Week 20 at Ottawa

The Tiger-Cats (10-7) travel to Ottawa to take on the Redblacks (11-6) in the second of back-to-back battles for first place in the East Division.
The Ticats lost the first of the two meetings between the East Division foes, losing the only game in the entire CFL season to not feature a single touchdown. The game’s lone touchdown, a Brandon Stewart pick six, was negated by two penalties that were later deemed inappropriately flagged by VP of CFL officiating Glen Johnson. The blown calls costed the Ticats a potential 13-12 lead late in the game, but the team had more to be disappointed about than the improper flags. The Black and Gold’s defence held the Redblacks’ high-octane offence to just 271 net yards and 12 points, including a number of big stops in their own territory, turning touchdowns into field goals. However, the Ticats offence was held to 267 yards themselves, turning the ball over three times and allowing six sacks in the contest.
Quarterback Jeff Mathews was injured down the stretch in Sunday’s game, meaning that a tandem of Jacory Harris and Jeremiah Masoli will play quarterback for the Ticats in the Week 20 matchup. Both quarterbacks are likely to see time in the Ticats final regular season game, but Harris is listed as the team’s starter on the depth chart.
With both teams still in contention for first place in the East Division heading into this week’s game, here are the potential playoff scenarios:

• If Hamilton wins the game by six points, the Ticats and Redblacks each finish with records of 11-7. Based on Hamilton’s superior record against East Division opponents (5-3), the Ticats would clinch first place in the East Division and would play host to the winner of the Redblacks and Argos in the East Final on November 22.
• If Hamilton wins the game by more than six points, the Ticats and Redblacks would each finish with records of 11-7. Based on aggregate points in the two games, Hamilton would clinch first place in the East Division and would play host to the winner of the Redblacks and Argos in the East Final on November 22.
• If Ottawa wins the game (or loses by fewer than six points), the Redblacks would finish with a record of 12-6, while the Ticats would finish at 10-8. The Ticats would play host to the Argos on November 15 in the East Semi-Final, with the winner advancing to play in Ottawa in the East Final on November 22.

This afternoon’s road game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. ET at TD Place in Ottawa. To catch all the action tune into TSN 1, 3 and 5 on TV or listen to the play-by-play on TSN 1150 with Andy McNamara and Coach Sal. To further enhance your game-watching experience sign up for Ticats All Access to play the Gameday Predictor Challenge!

NOTABLE NOTES

Takeaways from this week’s Game Notes, provided by the CFL stats crew.

• This is the first time since 1957 that Hamilton and Ottawa have faced off on the final weekend of the regular season to decide first place. Hamilton won the game by a score of 13-12, winning the division with an 11-4 record.
• With both Zach Collaros and Jeff Mathews sidelined this week, the Ticats will start three separate quarterbacks for the second straight season (Zach Collaros, Dan Lefevour and Jeremiah Masoli in 2014).
• The Ticats have yet to lose three straight games in 2015, snapping their first two-game losing skid with a 30-15 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
• Hamilton’s eight defensive touchdowns in 2015 are the team’s second-most all-time in a single season. The Ticats team record was set in 1971, when they recorded 10 defensive scores.
• The last time Ottawa defeated Hamilton in a season series was in 2005 when they won two of three games against the Ticats.
• After each surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in last week’s contest, both Terrell Sinkfield (7) and Luke Tasker (2) could cross the 75-reception barrier in Saturday’s game.
• With two special teams tackles this week, Ticats linebacker Frederic Plesius could become just the third player in the league with at least 20 special teams tackles this season.

TIGER-CATS HISTORY AGAINST OTTAWA

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Win the turnover game: The Ticats ran into trouble in the turnover game again last week, losing the turnover battle to the Redblacks. The Black and Gold offence gave the ball away three times in the game, dropping the team’s turnover ratio in seven losses to -13. In the team’s 10 wins, they’ve manufactured a turnover ratio of +28; if they hope to avoid their only three-game losing streak of the season and win the East Division they will need to get back into the positive column in the turnover game this week.
Get to the quarterback: Much like interceptions, the Ticats’ success in 2015 has been dependent on the ability to sack the opposing quarterback. In their 10 wins, Hamilton has racked up 28 sacks, while they’ve hardly averaged one sack per game in their seven losses, totalling just eight sacks in those seven games. Henry Burris’ mobility should remain limited in this week’s game as he continues to battle a knee injury; the Ticats must exploit this and get to the veteran quarterback in the pass rush.

TICATS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

• CJ Gable, RB – With Jacory Harris and Jeremiah Masoli likely splitting reps at quarterback for the Ticats, Gable’s ability to produce on the ground becomes more important than ever. The third-year CFL back has the ability to be a game-breaker, and he needs to be that for the Ticats in Ottawa this week. He’s got a tough matchup against the league’s top running defence, and he’ll likely face a loaded box, but Gable must find a way to bring balance to the offence and take pressure off of the Ticats quarterbacks.

• Terrell Sinkfield, WR – Sinkfield proved his versatility yet again in last week’s game, racking up 55 yards receiving and 37 rushing yards on just four carries. He crossed the 1,000-yard threshold in last week’s contest while showing his dynamic playmaking ability from the running back position as well. The Ticats have found a number of ways to get Sinkfield involved in the offensive gameplan this season, and getting him the ball in the final week of the regular season should prove to be the recipe for success yet again.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Eric Norwood, DE – After recording six sacks in his first five games of 2015, Norwood has not managed to bring down the opposing quarterback in either of the last two games. The team desperately needs to get to Henry Burris on Saturday afternoon and Norwood must be a catalyst in this process.
• Cleshawn Page, DB – Page had a very impressive performance in his third career CFL game last week, providing the team with a spark on some hard hits and locking down his receivers in coverage. The rookie defensive back is carving a role out for himself in this defence with his play and he’ll be called upon to have another big game against a strong Redblacks receiving core.

REDBLACKS PLAYERS TO WATCH:

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Henry Burris, QB – After uncertainty regarding his health last week Burris wound up starting for the Redblacks in spite of his knee injury. He started (and finished) the game, but the Ticats made it tough on the veteran quarterback, holding him to his lowest single-game passing total of the season (187 yards) while keeping him out of the end zone entirely. With another week of rehab for his knee, Burris will look to rebound this week against the Black and Gold defence that has the lowest opponent quarterback rating in the league this season (74.7).

• Chris Williams, WR – In last week’s game, Williams brought in six catches for 42 yards but he seemed out of sync all day. Williams dropped at least three catchable balls and he took a number of big shots from the Ticats defence. The Redblacks receiver has the ability to be one of the more dynamic weapons on the roster, but he was effectively negated in last week’s matchup. The Redblacks appeared to be set on getting Williams involved in the gameplan last week and it will be interesting to see whether that plan remains the same this week or if they move elsewhere.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Abdul Kanneh, DB – Kanneh had quite the game for himself last week in Hamilton, forcing a fumble and intercepting an end zone-bound pass to prevent a touchdown. The rookie defensive back added six tackles in the game to round out an impressive performance.

• Shawn Lemon, DE – Lemon was a menace on the Redblacks pass rush last weekend, bringing down Jeff Mathews for two sacks while managing to strip the ball from the Ticats quarterback on both occasions. The Ticats must find a way to slow down the Redblacks pass rush in this game if they hope to win, and that starts with slowing down Shawn Lemon.