Weekly Predictor: Who wins in Week 17?

Are we all REDBLACKS fans?

Our household was glued to the Calgary / Ottawa game on Saturday night, and I’ll be honest, half the house is not that big into sports.

There we were gathered, openly riding the highs and lows of Ottawa’s hunt for their first win of the season. Sorry to the Calgary Stampeders, but the consensus within the household was you have six wins already this season.

Then Rene Paredes lined up from 62 yards and while I knew better, most of the house was thinking this is it! Ottawa is going to finally win!

I’ve seen this movie before from Paredes, albeit not from 62 yards, and he flushed it. It was a no-doubter bomb to end the hopes and dreams of Ottawa players, coaches, managers and fans (even the ones jumping on the bandwagon cheering for at least one win).

So, Ottawa, you’ll have the support of at least four Regina residents again on Saturday against Calgary.

Remember I picked Ottawa to win last week and nearly got it. Matt Cauz went for it this week and I’m going to assume more of us will join the chorus that there is no way you go winless in 2026.

TORONTO AT WINNIPEG

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 8:00 P.M. ET TSN, RDS, CBSSN, CFL+

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a question mark around the quarterback position again as Zach Collaros deals with a head injury. It’s awful timing for Collaros to be on the injured list for the second time this season, although Dru Brown defeated the Argonauts earlier in the season.

Toronto has the short week with travel and is going up against a team coming off a bye week. That rarely works out well, but am I the only one who is starting to see the Argonauts as a legitimate threat to the Alouettes in the East Division?

This is a team that nearly beat the Riders twice at Mosaic Stadium this year and also have wins over Edmonton and BC.

The defence has been improving over the last few weeks and if Chad Kelly becomes more protective of the ball, the Argos are definitely a threat.

For the Bombers, they have home wins over Montreal and Saskatchewan in their last two games at Princess Auto Stadium and have looked to be a much more physical group of late.

This feels like a coin flip type game but the Argos are 6-2 in their last eight games and appear to be much more consistent than the W-L-W-L-W-L pattern of the Bombers of late.

PICK: TORONTO

SASKATCHEWAN AT BC

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 10:30 P.M. ET TSN, CFL+

I’ve been waiting for this matchup since the Lions beat the Riders five weeks ago that really sent a message across the CFL West Division.

Now, this is a game for second place in the West. The Riders control their destiny and if they win out, they will finish first in the West. A loss to the Lions and they'll lose total control of not only first but second and, potentially, third place if the Bombers win on Friday night.

The Riders appear to be getting healthy at the right time with A.J. Ouellette, Kian Schaffer-Baker, and Josh Woods back to full participants at practice.

The Lions have two members of their defence on suspension from the Montreal game, but are riding a string of six wins in their last seven games.

The Riders are also on a three-game losing streak away from Mosaic Stadium.

I think it will be another great battle between these two!

PICK: BC

CALGARY AT OTTAWA

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 3:00 P.M. ET TSN, RDS2, CTV, CRAVE, CFL+

The Ottawa REDBLACKS put up 38 points with McLeod Bethel-Thompson making his first start with Ottawa.

That’s the most points of the season for Ottawa, which has to be a great sign that MBT does have a great feel for the system and a bit of chemistry with the receivers. He did miss a few throws, which should be able to get fixed this week with more timing with the receivers.

Calgary remains desperate for wins in the tight fight in the West Division as the Stamps can still potentially get a home playoff game, although they’ll need a lot of help for that.

A loss by the Stamps and they do not have a favourable schedule as this is the first of a three-game road trip.

But I have to feel the desperation for a win and I see a bit of enthusiasm rising on the REDBLACKS sideline that I believe the REDBLACKS will win multiple games down the stretch.

They have too much talent to not start to see some wins.

PICK: OTTAWA

HAMILTON AT EDMONTON

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 7:00 P.M. ET TSN, CFL+

The Edmonton Elks will come home a bit charged up after one of their uglier games of the year in Toronto.

But we need to be honest that the Elks haven’t exactly been putting together consistent efforts despite their wins. They’ve had a lot of mediocre football, but are able to get a good quarter or two together to pull ahead and win football games.

The Tiger-Cats could wake up on Saturday needing a win or be officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Ticats' season is hanging by a thread but they’ve needed wins and look absolutely flat at times.

They’re reminding me of Ottawa a few weeks ago, where nothing was going right and if there was a mistake, they would see the game spiral.

Edmonton, meanwhile, can play a heck of a lot better and at Commonwealth Stadium this year they’ve been nearly unbeatable.

PICK: EDMONTON