Ottawa @ Hamilton preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 21, 2016 ) Hamilton 39, Ottawa 36

The Ottawa Redblacks look to win their first game in nearly a month when they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on the road Friday. The Redblacks dropped a 27-20 decision to the unbeaten Edmonton Eskimos to suffer their third straight defeat, but are only three points out of first place in a weak East Division, which does not boast a team at or above .500, and hope to stay within striking distance of the division leaders by topping the Tiger-Cats for the fourth time in five meetings.

"We're going to hang together and we're going to keep working," Ottawa coach Rick Campbell told reporters. "If we can find a way to win a couple of games then all a sudden we're in the thick of it." Hamilton's season of misery continued with a 39-12 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 8. The Tiger-Cats had hoped new defensive coordinator Phillip Lolley would provide the struggling unit with a shot in the arm, but they surrendered 402 yards of offence en route to becoming the 16th team in CFL history to start a season 0-7, and face a stiff challenge shutting down Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris, who leads the league in passing yards (2,468) and touchdowns (16). Hamilton's offence hasn't fared much better as they have averaged 13.7 points over their last three games and quarterback Zach Collaros hopes to end a ignominious streak of 11 straight losses as Hamilton's starting pivot.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (1-6-1): Ottawa released defensive backs C.J. Roberts and Imoan Claiborne, who registered four tackles and an interception against Edmonton. Wide receiver Kenny Shaw, who caught 77 passes for 1,004 yards and five touchdowns for the Toronto Argonauts in 2016, practiced this week and is ready to return after missing the last seven games with a leg injury. Running back William Powell, who leads the team with 272 rushing yards, returned to practice after sitting out a game with a lower-body injury and is likely to receive the majority of the carries Friday.

ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (0-7): All-star defensive end Ted Laurent, who leads the team with four sacks, suffered a hamstring injury on the opening series against Winnipeg and his status is unknown for Friday. Zach Collaros struggled once again as he was limited to 216 passing yards and turned the ball over three times, including his league high-equaling seventh interception, against the Blue Bombers. "The quarterback position is me so I need to do better obviously," Collaros admitted to reporters. "It's tough to win in this league if the quarterback isn't playing well."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Six of Ottawa's seven losses have been by a combined 20 points.

2. Hamilton has surrendered more than 30 points in every game this season.

3. The Tiger-Cats have been outscored 132-41 in their last three games.

PREDICTION: Redblacks 31, Tiger-Cats 26