Hello, Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n
My, aren\u2019t you feeling good now. I counted the \u201chip, hip, hoorays\u201d from your post-game locker room video and it was eleven! Eleven \u201chip, hip hoorays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleven \u201chip, hip hoorays\u201d for eleven wins. But my understanding is that those traditionally come in threes, so, really, technically, it ought to have been 33 total \u201chip, hip hoorays,\u201d three for each win.<\/p>\n
I feel I may be getting into the weeds a bit, here, so\u2026 three cheers for moving on to the Week 21 takeaways.<\/p>\n
RELATED HUSTLE AND HEADS-UP CAN TURN \u201cINEVITABLE\u201d ON ITS EAR<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It looked, for all the world to see, like a virtuoso touchdown romp for Edmonton\u2019s Justin Rankin during the first half of Friday night\u2019s loss to Calgary. But he finished his symphony with a clanger of a note when the ball Rankin was lugging popped loose just prior to him getting to the goal line.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just me not finishing,\u201d Rankin told TSN at halftime and his relaxing on the play was part of the equation.<\/p>\n But just part.<\/p>\n Hip, hip hooray to Calgary defensive back Bailey Devine-Scott<\/a>, who sprinted after Rankin, getting to a point where he could pull off a diving punch-out of the ball just prior to the goal line.<\/p>\n Hip, hip, hooray to fellow DB Dolani Robinson, who decided to scoop the ball up even though the officials on the scene had mistakenly signalled a touchdown.<\/p>\n Had Rankin scored that major, the Elks would have cut into a 13-nothing Stamps\u2019 lead. Instead, Calgary got the ball and marched down the field for a field goal that would make the score 16-nothing in a game they would ultimately win, 20-10.<\/p>\n Always be closing, I guess, is the moral of the story. Rankin didn\u2019t. Devine-Scott and Robinson did.<\/p>\n And so hustle and heads up turned \u201cinevitable\u201d on its ear.<\/p>\n BONUS TAKEAWAY: \u201cHustle and Heads Up\u201d is the name of Bailey Devine-Scott<\/a> and Dolani Robinson\u2019s new buddy-cop show.<\/p>\n ACHIEVEMENT: UNLOCKED. LIKE, REALLY UNLOCKED<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When Brent Monson was hired as the DC for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last off-season, he had something on his mind as he looked ahead to his new job.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Calgary, we didn\u2019t create enough turnovers the last couple of years,\u201d Monson told Ticats.ca, last December. \u201cThat is something that needs to happen here. You\u2019ve got to have game-changing plays.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday night, Monson\u2019s defence shook up the Ottawa offence with six interceptions, placing a giant, bold exclamation mark on a season where the Ticat defence led the league in points off turnovers (134 after collecting nine against Ottawa).<\/p>\n The night of picks also resulted in Hamilton finishing atop the total takeaways tote board, with 44.<\/p>\n HE SEEMS READY FOR THE PLAYOFFS<\/p>\n Julian Howsare comes up big with the sack! \ud83d\udcaa#CFLGameday<\/a> \u2014 CFL (@CFL) October 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Sticking with the Ticats\u2019 defence for a sec, defensive end Julian Howsare<\/a>, fresh off being named his team\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, turned in a rather gaudy performance in the Ticats\u2019 win over Ottawa.<\/p>\n Six tackles, two sacks and a knockdown.<\/p>\n He seemed to be rather ornery throughout the game but with numbers like that, we can say the end justified the mean.<\/p>\n BONUS TAKEAWAY: Advantage, Hamilton. Kicker Marc Liegghio went 7-for-7 on field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on converts on yet another windy night at Hamilton Stadium. Whatever tricks the gales off the Niagara Escarpment hand him, he\u2019s used to it. A visiting kicker? Perhaps not so much.<\/p>\n NEXT WAVE IS LOOKING PRETTY GOOD<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In resting veteran defensive ends Willie Jefferson<\/a> and James Vaughters<\/a> for their regular season finale against the Montreal Alouettes, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers got a chance to look at a trio of young pass rushers in game action for the first time.<\/p>\n And they looked pretty, pretty, pretty good, you\u2019d have to say.<\/p>\n \u201cOur young pass rushers got after it pretty damn good,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea during his post-game media conference.<\/p>\n 22-year-old Matt Jaworski and 23-year-old Kydran Jenkins \u2014 both of them signed just a couple weeks ago on October 6 \u2014 each tallied a sack and a tackle, and 24-year-old Kemari Munier-Bailey, a Global draft pick last May, chipped in with a defensive tackle as well as one on specials.<\/p>\n Could there possibly be room for any of them to see action in the Eastern Semi-Final?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said O\u2019Shea, notoriously protective of his roster decisions during the week leading up to a game.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll deal with that on Day Three-and-a-Half, whenever that is.\u201d<\/p>\n DEPTH, DEPTH, DEPTH<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible for two teams to be happy with the outcome of a game and that\u2019s mostly true for the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, who ended the season with a pretty decent tilt on Saturday night.<\/p>\n With the win, the Lions avoid a 3,700 kilometre trip and three-hour time zone switch in visiting the Alouettes in Montreal, instead playing host to Calgary in the Western Semi at BC Place.<\/p>\n The Riders lost, yes, but gave the Lions and their full complement of starters all they could handle in a 27-21 decision, even though their own roster was laced with non-starters, especially after QB1 Trevor Harris<\/a> was lifted mid-way through the second quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys, they\u2019re down to fight,\u201d said a satisfied head coach Corey Mace afterward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a ton of really good football players in our locker room, who I believe have the skillset to play winning football.\u201d<\/p>\n Against a team with serious motivation on their side, the Roughriders displayed just how deep that roster of theirs is.<\/p>\n AND FINALLY: \u201cThere\u2019s somethin\u2019 brewing here.\u201d \u2014 Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo<\/a> after his team\u2019s season-ending loss to Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u00bb Division Semi-Final Saturday heads to Montreal and BC<\/a>
\u00bb 3 stats that defined BC\u2019s Week 21 win over Saskatchewan<\/a>
\u00bb 3 stats that defined Winnipeg\u2019s Week 21 win over Montreal<\/a>
\u00bb 3 stats that defined Calgary\u2019s Week 21 win over Edmonton<\/a>
\u00bb 3 stats that defined Hamilton\u2019s Week 21 win over Ottawa<\/a>
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