CFL Rankings: Week 6

Last week's ranking in parentheses.

1. Saskatchewan Roughriders (1) The Riders aren't going to run the table this season but that doesn't change the fact that they've looked awfully good through five weeks, outscoring the opposition by a whopping 96 points in racking up five straight wins. They'll enjoy a week off before facing their toughest test of the season to date, a matchup with the Stampeders in Calgary.

2. Calgary Stampeders (3) With Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn both injured, Bo Levi Mitchell stepped in under centre last week, and the offense didn't miss a beat. Now Tate and Glenn get a week off to recuperate and the Stamps defense gets a chance to get even more in sync before next week's showdown with the undefeated Riders at McMahon Stadium.

3. Toronto Argonauts (4) The Argos picked up a statement win over the Lions on Tuesday night, doing so without their starting quarterback (Ricky Ray) and running back (Chad Kackert), not to mention a key cog at wide receiver (Dontrelle Inman). Zach Collaros isn't about to overtake Ray's starting job, but if Tuesday's performance was any indication, the former college standout has a bright future in the CFL.

4. B.C. Lions (2) Something isn't quite right with the Lions offense. They've topped out at 32 points this season, and that came in a losing effort against Calgary back in Week 1. I do expect the B.C. defense to respond with a big effort this week after getting ripped by the Argos on Tuesday. They still rank number one in the league in total yards allowed and second in points allowed.

5. Montreal Alouettes (7) I'm willing to give the Als a major boost in the rankings this week following the firing of Dan Hawkins on Thursday. His hiring was simply perplexing to me, and to be honest, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. Expect an immediate turnaround from the Als, as the personnel is still in place for this team to compete for the East Division title.

6. Edmonton Eskimos (6) This may be a rebuilding year, but I still feel the Eskimos have the potential to be a solid bet moving forward, provided they can stay healthy. They'll get a chance to pick up their second win of the season against the Ti-Cats on Friday night and after a strong second half in Montreal last week, have some momentum on their side. The Esks are 0-2 at home this season and should be desperate to give the Commenwealth Stadium faithful something to cheer about.

7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5) Credit the Blue Bombers for doing the right thing and officially handing the reins of the offense over to QB Justin Goltz. Buck Pierce is on the downside of his career due to injuries and otherwise, and it's become clear that he's not the man to lead this team back to glory. With that being said, Goltz faces a tough task against an angry Lions squad in B.C. this week.

Sean,

I think you wanted "rematch" instead of matchup against Calgary in your SSK write-up in the # 1 position.

It is interesting to note that this was one of the rare games where they were behind for almost a half but they did a wonderful job running Sheets on almost every 1st and 2nd down in the 2nd H of that game holding CAL to just 8 minutes of possession in the entire half!!

This also set up the odd mismatch with Dressler and Getzlaf (I do not think Bagg was back yet) as CAL was kept honest stacking so many men in the box to limit Sheets.