CFL Week 13 Recap: Wild West Swing

Before the month of September started, the first clinching scenarios of the season were already posted. No surprise, it was the Montréal Alouettes with a chance to clinch. A great start and already clinching at least third place in the East Division definitely helped. So in Week 13, the final week before the CFL's annual Labour Day Weekend rivalry, the Alouettes had two ways to get in.

One way the Als could clinch: Win and Tiger-Cats loss. That combination would clinch at least second place in the East, which is not only a playoff position, it's a home playoff position. Second place means home field in the Division Semifinals, though it's painfully clear that the Als will eventually finish first and host the Eastern Final. The other way Montréal could clinch: all of the Eastern teams winning. The Week 13 schedule was all East vs West matchups, and the East sweeping the week would prevent the crossover from eliminating the Als.

Yet a funny thing happened to kick off Week 13. The Alouettes lost. I was certain that was outlawed in Montréal.

The Alouettes faced off against a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team who was jockeying for positioning in the West. They were at home against the Als, but it still looked like a foregone conclusion that the Als would take this. The Bombers had other plans; turning a close game into a runaway for the Bombers. Winnipeg won it, 44-28, and as a result, the Alouettes would have to wait another week to get in. Next up was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who were in Calgary against the Stampeders. That game was closer, but the home team won that one as well, 28-23 was the final score. So had the Alouetes won, they'd have been in.

So the East was two down in this week, and next up was the Toronto Argonauts in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This was a good chance for the Boatmen, as both the Alouettes and TiCats lost. Though the battle was close, it went the way of the 2025 champions, 28-24, so no ground is gained by the Argos. Finally, the BC Lions faced off against the winless Ottawa Redblacks, and in a wild taste of irony, the Redblacks were the only East team who played at home in Week 13. Even so, it went as well as one expected. Lions won it, 45-24, increasing Ottawa's overall losing streak to 17 games.

So here's the standings entering Labour Day Weekend, and nothing much has really changed. The West teams won, the East teams lost, and the Crossover is stronger than it was a week prior. The Edmonton Elks were off that week, and they are now just a solid game up on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The BC Lions are holding on to third place via tiebreaker, while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are now two games up in the Crossover position. The East only has the Montréal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts in playoff positions, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have a lot of catching up to do.

Week 14 is not only the final week of the season's core, it's also Labour Day Weekend. That's when the rivalries get together, and it starts on Friday, September 4 with the Montréal Alouettes hosting the BC Lions. On Sunday, September 6, it's the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Labour Day Monday, September 7 has the usual rivalries: the Battle of Ontario (Argonauts @ Tiger-Cats) and the Battle of Alberta (Elks @ Stampeders). Regarding CBS Sports Network, only the Friday game won't be on the channel here in the States.

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