Week 10 in the CFL was nuts. It started with a tie which almost never happens in this league, followed by the Argos beating the Stamps in Toronto, which led into Montreal winning with Davis Alexander again, capped off with BC continuing a 3-game losing skid. Nathan Rourke also came back into the league with a huge deal, which puts the future of Vernon Adams Jr. into question. With all that said, let's take a look at this week's power rankings.
#1: MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Again, the Alouettes are proving they can win with their backup QB, and that might change this week with Cody Fajardo being listed as available this week against Saskatchewan. Right now, it seems like there's no stopping the Als.
#2: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
The Riders ended up tying a game they should have won because of command centre interference. Granted, there was another iffy call on the RedBlacks that extended the Riders' drive, but the consensus was pretty much that the Riders were robbed. Still, with all the injuries they've had, they have held their own and with Trevor Harris on his way back, the Riders could start being scary.
#3: OTTAWA REDBLACKS
The RedBlacks could also say they were robbed by the command centre, with them almost securing a win but it getting called back from pass interference. They ended up getting a second chance and forcing a tie, which led them to a 5-2-1 record.
#4: BC LIONS
The Lions lost another one against Edmonton and extended their loss streak to three. The reason they're not lower on this list is because they just signed star QB Nathan Rourke to a deal to return to the league, and it looks like he will be starting vs the 3-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
#5: TORONTO ARGONAUTS
The Argos pulled out another win against the Stamps and now, with Chad Kelly nearing a return, the Argos could be moving up the ladder soon if they can get some better quarterback play.
#6: WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
They had a bye! Amazing!
#7: EDMONTON ELKS
The Elks are making a huge resurgence after a bad start to the year, winning 2 straight by beating the 2 best teams in the league. It looks like the Elks have a new quarterback this week as Tre Ford is day-to-day with a rib injury. They also have a new owner who apparently has a desire to change the Elks to the Esks. We'll see how that pans out in the coming weeks.
#8: CALGARY STAMPEDERS
The Stamps have been kept winless on the road this season which pushed them to 4-5 on the season. Now below .500, the Stamps will have to regroup and revitalize themselves if they want to stave off the rapidly resurging Elks and the 3-6 Bombers who are just outside of a playoff spot.
#9: HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
The Tabbies have fallen to 2-7 on the season after dropping one to the Alouettes. Scott Milanovich decided to bench Bo Levi Mitchell in favour of Taylor Powell, who will now be the team's starter going forward. They have to play the Elks next week and they will hope to get a win to finally get their season going in the right direction.
GAME OF THE WEEK: CALGARY STAMPEDERS AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS
This game was very high scoring and exciting, and the teams seemed evenly matched right until the end. Janarion Grant continued to make his case to become the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, with another TD run to help his team edge out the Stamps 39-25.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CHARLESTON RAMBO
Rambo had more than just a great name in his win over the Ti-Cats, catching 6 passes for 124 yards and adding 2 majors on the day. Rambo could be making a case for Rookie Of The Year, with some tough competition such as Shemar Bridges, Khalil Pimpleton and Ajou Ajou.
PLAY OF THE WEEK: JANARION GRANT TAKES IT ALL THE WAY
Janarion Grant is an absolute beast this year, and many Blue Bombers fans have to be shaking their heads after Grant was not re-signed for the 2024 season. He continues to make a splash for the Boatmen as he added to his league-best return touchdown total.
THE QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL
With Nathan Rourke returning to the Lions this week, the future of a lot of quarterbacks are in question, specifically Vernon Adams Jr. If Rourke tears it up in his first two games and Vernon Adams is ready to come back, who do you start? Rourke is signed for three years and it would be next-to-impossible to keep both of them on the roster without significant losses elsewhere. If Vernon Adams Jr. does walk, who does he go to? If he goes to Hamilton, do we see BLM continue to play somewhere else or retire? If Trevor Harris retires after this season, do the Riders make a huge push for Adams or stick with Shea Patterson? If the Argos want to get rid of the Chad Kelly drama, will they make a pitch for Adams? Is Winnipeg confident enough in Zach Collaros to keep him over VA? Does Calgary keep Jake Maier over trying to get Vernon Adams? It'll be an interesting offseason this year, because Rick Campbell has already said VA will not be traded this year.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
Will Jerimiah Masoli get a win in his first start of 2024?
Will both Fajardo and Harris be back for the Montreal-Saskatchewan clash?
Will Taylor Powell be able to get the Tiger-Cats back on track?
How will Nathan Rourke perform against the Bombers?
By Bruce Chimirri-Olson
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