Same story, different week for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. A quarterback change, a defense that played well enough to win, and a fourth quarter that fell apart all over again. Hamilton had this one for stretches on Saturday, and then it slipped away — and everyone from the head coach to the backup quarterback to the leader of the defense had to answer for it afterward.

Head coach Scott Milanovich made the call to go to Harrison Frost during the first half, and while he wouldn’t get into every detail of why, he made one thing clear — he’s not about to throw the guy he pulled under the bus.

“There’s a number of reasons. And when a guy gets replaced, the last thing I’m going to do is kick him while he’s down,” Milanovich said.

The Switch Comes Mid-Game

Frost said he got the word he was going in right around the three-minute warning of the first half, and even though he hasn’t had a ton of practice reps since returning to the roster, he didn’t feel like a guy walking into something unfamiliar.

“I’ve been here for the last couple of years, so I feel like I know the offense,” Frost said.

He said he treats every week like he could be the guy called on, whether or not the writing’s on the wall in a given game. “You always try to prepare like you’re going to be out there,” Frost said. And for a stretch in the third quarter, it looked like the move was going to pay off — Frost said it himself, calling it “a very fine third quarter” that had Hamilton snatching the momentum back.

Two-and-Outs Kill You

Then the fourth quarter happened. Again. Milanovich confirmed this is now five games this season where his offense has struggled to finish, and turnovers have been the headline issue. He pointed to one sequence in particular as the game’s biggest swing.

“We got stopped on a second and 4 where we thought we were in 3-down territory, lost yards. I thought that was a big, big play in the football game. It was still a 1-score game at that point. And then they got the ball and went down and scored and then it was catch-up time,” Milanovich said.

Frost didn’t hide from his own part in it, either. Asked why the offense keeps stalling late, he kept it simple and put it on himself.

“Just got to make plays when they’re there. And I didn’t do that tonight,” Frost said.

He pointed to the two-and-outs as the moment the game tilted back the other way. “Two and outs just kill you, you know. Had to find a way to get some completions there, maybe move on to the next read and make the plays when they’re there,” Frost said.

Milanovich also owned a mistake from the end of the second quarter, when a sack-fumble on Frost came off a play call he took responsibility for. “The sack fumble on Frosty, I called the play wrong. And that’s on me. We still have to protect better, obviously. But there’s a little bit of miscommunication on the call and on the protection,” he said. He added that the earlier interception was a full seven-point swing, and that there were “3 or 4 other” plays on tape that bothered him — though he joked he didn’t want to get into specifics and risk a fine.

Defense Left Hanging

Linebacker Jamal Peters made the same point Milanovich did from the other side of the ball — it’s rough watching your offense go two-and-out after you just got a stop.

“It’s just hard, you know, when you lose the momentum, it’s hard to gain it back. And you just try to keep the team together. I mean, it’s still, we got a fourth quarter, 15 minutes left. Even though I feel like the fourth quarter is the longest quarter in the game,” Peters said.

Milanovich didn’t shy away from calling out how deflating that can be for a defense that’s holding up its end. “That’s frustrating. I’m sure to some degree it’s demoralizing for the defense. They’ve got to find a way to finish,” Milanovich said, adding that he heard players like Wynton talking loudly in the moment about exactly that.

Peters pushed back a little on the “demoralizing” framing, though, saying the group just needs to lock in and control what it can control. “Sometimes offense is going to have some good games. Sometimes defense is going to have a good game. We just got to stay as one,” Peters said. “We know the offense going to put up points and we just got to go in tomorrow, look at what we messed up on and get ready for BC.”

The One Thing That Actually Worked: Stopping the Run

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Hamilton’s front finally did what it set out to do against a dangerous ground game. Peters made it clear the defense knew exactly what was on the line after getting gashed the week before.

“DeAndre’s probably one of the best running backs, if not the best running back in the league. We just tackle by population. We knew we had to fit our gaps this week. Just run to the ball and a lot of hats to the ball and to the tackle,” Peters said. “We knew that we weren’t gonna let Deejay get going because we know if he get going, it’s gonna be hard to stop the offense.”

Milanovich agreed the run defense — and his own run game, for that matter — took a step forward. “I thought we ran the ball better. That was a big challenge to our offensive line, was that we needed to be better with our double teams and firing off the ball and being physical. So that was a good start,” he said.

He also confirmed that running back Rountree got dinged up early, which is why Johnny saw extra reps, calling it a minor tweak rather than anything serious.

What’s Next

Milanovich made no promises about who takes the snaps going forward, saying flatly that figuring out the quarterback situation “is always a concerning thing.” Whatever answer he lands on, both sides of the ball know the issue isn’t really about talent right now — it’s about finishing. Peters summed up where Hamilton’s head needs to be before it hosts BC.

“All in all, we’re going to be all right,” Peters said.

Whether that’s true depends on whether Hamilton can find a fourth quarter that doesn’t blow up in its face. Check the full schedule and standings to see how much longer they can afford to wait.

Watch the Full Videos

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Scott Milanovich | Media Availability | August 1, 2026

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Harrison Frost | Media Availability | August 1, 2026

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Jamal Peters | Media Availability | August 1, 2026