Ottawa @ Hamilton preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 19, 2018 ) Hamilton 31, Ottawa 35

The Ottawa Redblacks can clinch the East Division title when they visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the back end of a home-and-home set Saturday. The Redblacks rallied from a double digit deficit en route to a 35-31 victory against Hamilton in the nation's capital to move two points clear at the top of the standings and need a win in one of their final two games to secure their third division title in the last four years.

"If we can beat them three times in a row in the regular season then that would be special," Ottawa coach Rick Campbell told reporters. "All I know is every other team in the East is behind us and I would like to give our players some credit." The Tiger-Cats are left to wonder what could've been after penalties and special team miscues proved costly as they let a 16-point lead slip away. Things went from bad to worse for the Tiger-Cats with the news that Brandon Banks, who leads the team in receptions (94), receiving yards (1,423) and touchdowns (11), will miss the remainder of the year after suffering a broken clavicle against Ottawa, and they hope to overcome the loss of their star receiver by downing the Redblacks for the first time in more than a year. "That's a big loss for us as he's our leader, our playmaker and we're going to miss him," Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli told reporters. "The next guys need to step up."

TV: 4 p.m. ET, TSN

ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (9-7): Trevor Harris was named one of the CFL's Top Performers of the Week after completing 24-of-32 passes for 341 yards and a touchdown in the comeback win against Hamilton. Short-yardage quarterback Dominique Davis rushed for three touchdowns while Brad Sinopoli caught eight passes for 113 yards to move within four receptions of breaking Ben Cahoon's single-season record (112) for most catches by a Canadian. Lewis Ward made a 52-yard field goal in the first quarter against Hamilton to set a professional football record for most consecutive attempts without a miss, eclipsing the previous mark of 44 in a row by Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts.

ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (8-8): Masoli threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns against Ottawa to register his 12th 300-yard game of the season, which is two shy of the CFL record set by Doug Flutie in 1991. Banks hauled in eight passes for 133 yards and a touchdown before falling awkwardly on his shoulder as he was trying to make a catch, but still registered his league-leading 10th 100-yard receiving game of the season. Terrell Sinkfield, who was signed last week, will likely make his season debut with two of Hamilton's top three pass catchers on the injured list.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Ottawa has won eight of the last 10 overall meetings with Hamilton.

2. Hamilton WR Luke Tasker has caught six touchdown passes in his last three games.

3. Harris has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of his last five outings.

PREDICTION: Redblacks 27, Tiger-Cats 26