Hamilton @ BC preview
BC Place
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2019 ) BC 34, Hamilton 35
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats look to stay on track for their first East Division title since 2014 when they visit Vancouver to take on the struggling BC Lions Saturday. The Tiger-Cats shut down the Ottawa Redblacks 21-7 in Week 10 to maintain their six-point lead at the top of the division and hope to keep rolling by knocking off the Lions for the second time in two weeks following a thrilling 35-34 comeback victory on Aug. 10.
"It's more of what improvement do we want to see from last week versus a team that we played previously " Hamilton coach Orlondo Steinauer told reporters. "The mentality of this team currently is just to win football games." BC is in the midst of one of its most difficult seasons in recent memory after getting doubled up 32-16 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 10. Mike Reilly was sacked seven times en route to the Lions' seventh straight loss to a West Division rival as they fell to 1-8 for the first time since 1996, and hope to stem the bleeding by picking up their first home win of the year. "We know where we're at and nobody is going to feel sorry for us," BC coach DeVone Claybrooks told reporters. "We have to learn how to win and we have to learn how to make plays."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, TSN
ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (7-2): Dane Evans completed 24-of-39 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown in the win against Ottawa to improve to 2-1 as a starter since Jeremiah Masoli went down with a season-ending knee injury on July 26. Fullback Nikola Kalinic was back practicing after he was taken off the six-game injured list and is expected to play for the first time since suffering a foot injury on Aug. 1. Offensive lineman Ryker Mathews is likely to return to the lineup after missing the previous game while fullback Cameron Walker, who won a Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017, and defensive end Eddy Wilson were released Tuesday.
ABOUT THE LIONS (1-8): Reilly went 16-of-28 through the air for 177 yards against Winnipeg to move within 224 passing yards of becoming the 17th player in CFL history to reach 30,000 for his career. BC added defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome, who has registered 50 tackles and seven sacks in 42 career CFL games, and defensive back Oshane Samuels to the practice roster while defensive end Ebo Ogundeko was released Tuesday. Hall of Fame wide receiver Geroy Simon, who was named a CFL all-star seven times in his career, and slotback Darren Flutie will be added to the BC Lions Wall of Fame during a ceremony Saturday.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Hamilton has won five of its last six regular-season games against West Division opponents.
2. BC has surrendered an average of 36.6 points during its five-game losing skid.
3. Reilly has been sacked a league-high 36 times.
PREDICTION: Lions 27, Tiger-Cats 24