CFL Week 17 Recap: Crossing Over

I've been watching the Canadian Football League for 13 years now, and I'm still learning about Canada's version of the game we love. Among the many things I quickly learned about so the crossover rule, which is part of the CFL's playoff format. The rule is simple. The top three teams in each division qualify for the Grey Cup Playoffs, with the first place team getting a bye straight to the Division Finals at home, while 2nd and 3rd place face each other in the Division Semifinals. However, in the event that a fourth place team in one division has a better record than the third place team in the other division, that team moves over to the other division's side of the playoffs. That is the crossover rule.

I had known about the crossover rule since I started watching the CFL, and I have seen it happen quite a bit. What I didn't know, until now, is how long it had been in effect. 1996. That's when it really started. So this is the 31st season of this current crossover rule, but it's also the final one. However, Week 17 of this year featured scenarios that could guarantee that the crossover will be utilized one last time. The centerpiece of the scenarios had the Hamilton Tiger-Cats losing, and should they lose, one of two things would lock in the crossover. One, wins from both the Blue Bombers and Lions, or two, a Stampeders win.

The Bombers lost 30-28 to the Argos in a close one, which made Roughriders fans happy, because that was part of their clinching scenarios for that week. However, later that same evening, the Lions defeated the Riders, 31-24, so Saskatchewan will have to wait to get a playoff spot. Saturday's action saw the Stampeders trounce the Ottawa Redblacks, 45-31, keeping Ottawa winless at 0-14. So Calgary did their part, now it's the other Alberta team's turn, as the Edmonton Elks hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who were playing for their lives. It was wild and back and forth, and it actually needed overtime! Field goals were traded in both mini-games, resulting in the two-point conversion duel that was won by the Elks. 37-35 in OT in favor of Edmonton.

The result:

For the final time in the CFL, the crossover will happen. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, having lost 10 of their last 12 games, are eliminated from playoff contention, so we will see four West teams in this year's Grey Cup Playoffs. The Elks and Alouettes still lead their respective divisions, and in the West, the BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders are tied at 8-6, but it's BC with the head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning that at this point, their potential Western Semifinal will be in Vancouver. The defeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers lead the Calgary Stampeders by a half game for the crossover spot, with whoever holding that spot heading to Toronto for the Eastern Semifinal.

And again, this is the final season under this format, as next year will see all but one team in the playoffs, as well as new playoff rounds. Round 1 will include the Division Showdown (between the top two teams in each division) and the Play-In Games (which feature the other four teams, ranked 5 through 8). Round 2 is the Elimination Games, pitting the Play-In Game winners against the losing teams from the Division Showdown, and the two winners will face the Division Showdown winners in the Grey Cup Semifinals, and those winners will face off for the Grey Cup. But that's starting next year.

Week 18 will kick off on Friday, October 2 with the Hamliton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Redblacks battling it out in an East Division clash, and that's followed by a Western battle between the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On Saturday, October 3, the Toronto Argonauts will host the BC Lions, and that's followed by the Montréal Alouettes hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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