Toronto @ Hamilton preview
Tim Hortons Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2019 ) Hamilton 64, Toronto 14
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats look to stay on course for their first East Division title in five years when they host the Toronto Argonauts in the annual Labour Day Classic on Monday. The Tiger-Cats have won three consecutive games, including a 13-10 victory against the BC Lions in Week 11, to improve to 8-2 for the first time since 1998 and hope to keep rolling by knocking off the Argonauts on Labour Day for the sixth consecutive year.
"I think Toronto has belief, but they haven't come out on the scoreboard favourably and that's tough," Hamilton coach Orlondo Steinauer. "We're more concerned with where we're heading, where we're at and how we're going to get there." Toronto's slim playoff hopes suffered a major blow after it blew a 16-point lead in the 28-22 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the Touchdown Atlantic series in Moncton, New Brunswick last week. The Argonauts have dropped back-to-back games since upsetting the West Division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Aug. 1 and look to salvage their season by taking down the Tiger-Cats on Labour Day for the first time since 2012. "If anybody can do it this team can do it and I believe that with all my heart," Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson told reporters. "We're the strongest willed team in this league and if anyone can do it we can."
TV: 1 p.m. ET, TSN
ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS (1-8): Bethel-Thompson completed 36-of-47 passes for 464 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the loss to Montreal to surpass 300 yards in the air for the fifth time in his last seven games. Running back/kick returner Chris Rainey is questionable after suffering a leg injury on the final play of the game against the Alouettes, which could open the door for James Wilder Jr. to return after he was a healthy scratch for the previous two games. Toronto signed seven-year-old running back Darius Raso, who is currently battling acute lymphocytic leukemia, to a one-day contract.
ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (8-2): Dane Evans threw for 194 yards and backup quarterback David Watford scored a rushing touchdown against BC to give him three in three games since joining Hamilton in early August. Defensive end Dylan Wynn was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Month after recording 10 tackles and six sacks in four games during August. Defensive end Adrian Tracy has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a triceps injury in pre-game warmups against BC and wide receiver Luke Tasker could miss his second consecutive contest after he was absent from practice.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Hamilton has won seven of the last eight Labour Day Classics.
2. Toronto has dropped 13 consecutive road games since the start of the 2018 season.
3. The Tiger-Cats beat the Argonauts 64-14 in Week 2.
PREDICTION: Tiger-Cats 26, Argonauts 20