Montreal @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2018 ) Ottawa 28, Montreal 18

The Ottawa Redblacks look to bounce back from one of the biggest collapses in team history when they host the Montreal Alouettes Saturday. The Redblacks held a 24-point lead late in the third quarter before being outscored 28-3 the rest of the way in the 42-41 setback to the Toronto Argonauts, and hope to put the stunning loss in the rearview mirror by beating Montreal for the sixth straight time.

"This won't define our team," Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris told reporters. "I like the backbone of this team and I think we're a championship team." The Alouettes look to recover from a 50-11 drubbing to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Johnny Manziel's first CFL start. The former Heisman Trophy winner threw four first-half interceptions against the team that traded him on July 22 and hopes to put his disappointing debut behind him by leading Montreal to its first win over Ottawa since a 43-19 victory on Aug. 19, 2016. "It was a humbling experience and moving forward this is only going to motivate me," Manziel told reporters. "There's going to be a lot of people who write us off because of that game but not me as I look at it as a test and challenge."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS, ESPN Plus

ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (1-6): Manziel struggled in his first professional start since 2015 as he finished 11-of-20 for 104 yards before he watched the fourth quarter from the bench. Backup quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who scored Montreal's lone touchdown in the loss to Hamilton, will miss Saturday's clash with a foot injury while defensive end John Bowman is likely to sidelined for over a month with a partially torn bicep. The Alouettes re-signed quarterback Antonio Pipkin, who was released in the first week of the season, to provide depth at quarterback with Adams out and Jeff Mathews still dealing with a foot problem.

ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (4-3): Harris threw for 381 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 17-yard scoring strike to Diontae Spencer, who added an 87-yard punt return TD in the loss to Toronto. Ottawa released defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy, who recorded 29 tackles and an interception in seven games with the club, on Tuesday with Sherrod Baltimore set to replace him at boundary corner. Antoine Pruneau will move from safety to linebacker to fill in for Anthony Cioffi, who recovered a muffed punt for a touchdown before suffering an undisclosed injury in the second half.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Redblacks have won four of their last five games against East Division rivals.

2. Montreal has dropped 17 of its last 18 games overall.

3. Ottawa WR Brad Sinopoli leads the CFL in receptions (52).

PREDICTION: Redblacks 34, Alouettes 21