The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will be chasing top spot in the East Division when they travel to Winnipeg on Wednesday night to face the Blue Bombers in Week 7 action at Investors Group Field.
The Ticats currently sit two points back of the Toronto Argonauts, who have a bye this week, and one point back of the Ottawa Redblacks. Both teams have played one more game than the Ticats.
The Black and Gold are coming off of a bye week and are still riding the momentum of their 37-31 comeback win over the Edmonton Eskimos in Week 5. The Ticats trailed by 25 points at the beginning of the third quarter but made up the deficit with four unanswered second half touchdowns while holding the Esks pointless during their 31-point run. Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli also broke the CFL record for most consecutive pass completions during the come from behind victory. The impressive performance earned Masoli Shaw CFL Performer of the Week honours; the third time through five weeks of play that a Ticats player has been awarded the accolade.
Andy Fantuz had two touchdowns in the win while Luke Tasker led all receivers with 146 yards in the air. On the defensive side, Simoni Lawrence had a game leading eight tackles while Courtney Stephen registered two tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
The long awaited return of Ticats starting pivot Zach Collaros will have to wait at least another week as Head Coach Kent Austin said that Collaros is still not cleared by doctors to make his first start of the 2016 season. Although Austin has not confirmed a return date for Collaros, he says that the franchise quarterback is “really close” to playing again.
“When Zach’s ready to play, he’ll play,” said Austin. “We have confidence in all of our guys and everybody knows that if they’re in the lineup, they’re expected to play at a high level. Jeremiah has done awesome with this opportunity. He’s trustworthy and he’s proven that.”
Masoli will look to build off of his record setting performance from two weeks back when he is under center against the Bombers.
Winnipeg replaced struggling quarterback Drew Willy with backup pivot Matt Nichols in their Week 6 matchup against the Esks. The move appeared to pay off as the Bombers defeated the reigning Grey Cup champions 30-23. Nichols threw 26-for-33 for 304 yards and a touchdown in the winning effort.
Limiting Nichols and the Bombers’ offence is one of the keys to leaving Winnipeg with a win, according to Austin.
“Matt’s got experience,” said the Ticats head coach. “He’s accurate. He throws the ball well. They did a really good job up front last week. They ran the ball well, and we have to try and make them as one dimensional as much possible.”
Nichols will not have the option of throwing to two of the team’s top targets on Wednesday night as neither Darvin Adams or Weston Dressler will suit up for Winnipeg. Both Adams and Dressler caught for over 100 yards against the Esks on Thursday before leaving with injuries.
The Bombers will look to Andrew Harris in the absence of their two top receivers to have another standout performance. Harris was extremely active in the Bombers offence in Week 6, rushing for 127 yards on 22 carries including a one-yard rushing major. The veteran running back credited the Bombers offensive line for his success against the Esks.
“It starts and finishes with them [the offensive line] for sure,” Harris told BlueBombers.com. “They’re the guys that get it going whether it’s pass blocking or run blocking… I remind them of that all the time, as much as possible, that they’re the heartbeat of this offence. When they’re going and they’re making plays, they’re the unsung heroes for sure.”
This is the second and final matchup between the Bombers and Ticats in the 2016 season. A win for Hamilton would tie the season series at one game apiece.
Quick Facts:
- Both teams are coming off of wins against the Edmonton Eskimos. Starting pivots Jeremiah Masoli and Matt Nichols were teammates with the Esks in 2012.
- In 2016, QBs have passed for 300+ yards in a game 25 times, a frequency of more than half of the starts made through 24 games. In all of 2015, there were only 40 games of 300+ yards recorded by CFL QBs.