By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders meet in a first-place showdown in the marquee game of Week 18.

A win by Calgary will clinch first place and the right to host the West final, something they have done twice under head coach/GM John Hufnagel (2008, 2010).

A win by the Riders will pull the Roughriders to within two points of Calgary heading into the final week of the regular season. The win would give Saskatchewan the tie-breaker against the Stamps and allow the Riders a shot at first should they win and Calgary lose in Week 19.

The Stamps (13-3) are the hottest team in the CFL right now, beating the Eskimos 27-13 last week for their fourth straight win. It’s the third time this season Calgary has won four straight games. Saskatchewan (11-5) is the league’s other hot team, winning three straight after dumping the Lions 35-14 at home.

The teams split the two previous games this season. The Riders beat the Stamps by 15 points — 36-21 back in Week 2 in Regina, only to have Calgary return the favour by beating the Riders by 15 points at McMahon in Week 7 — 42-27.

Calgary has won five straight home games against the Riders.

Calgary is 7-1 at home while the Riders are 5-3 on the road and both teams sport a 6-2 record against West teams. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Saturday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Television: TSN, ESPN3
Radio: News Talk 770, Sirius Satellite Channel 157, XM Satellite Channel 160
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders 

Calgary will match up its league-leading rushing attack against the Riders’ No. 2 run defence in what could be the biggest component of the game. The Stamps have been tearing it up on the ground lately, averaging 185.2 yards per game during their current four-game winning streak, while the Riders have been stingy against the run, riding a six-game streak of not giving up more than 100 yards.

Calgary has protected the ball well over the past four games, with only five giveaways and a plus-5 turnover differential during the streak.

Calgary uncovered yet another fine-looking import receiver as rookie Jeff Fuller had four catches for 75 yards in his CFL debut. Calgary has now had 19 different players catch passes this season and 14 different offensive players have scored at least one touchdown.

Calgary’s O-line continues to impress as the Stamps lead the league in rushing and fewest sacks allowed. The line features centre Brett Jones, a leading candidate for the West nomination for Most Outstanding Rookie. Jones and OT Stanley Bryant are the only two offensive linemen to play in all 16 games this season. 

Who to watch:          

Jon Cornish, RB, #9
2013 stats – 234 carries, 1,690 yards rushing, 7.2 yard average, 11 rushing TDs – leads CFL rushing, yards from scrimmage and touchdowns (13); needs 207 yards to set new club record for rushing yards in a single season
Last Week – 19 carries, 145 yards, 7.6 yard average, 0 TDs vs Edmonton – 597 yards rushing on the last four weeks; named CFL Canadian Player of the Week
2013 vs Ssk. – 24 carries, 217 yards, 9.0 yard average, 4 rushing TDs in two games

Kevin Glenn, QB, #15
2013 stats – 310 attempts, 207 completions, 66.8% completion rate, 2,545 passing yards, 17 TDs, 6 INTs, 102.2 QB rating – second in CFL in QB rating
Last Week – 26 attempts, 16 completions, 61.5% completion rate, 237 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 104.2 QB rating vs Edmonton – moved into 10th all time in CFL passing, needs 789 yards to hit 40,000 passing yards for career
2013 vs Ssk. – 35 attempts, 25 completions, 71.4% completion rate, 245 passing yards, 1 TDs, 1 INT, in two games (one start, Week 7 at home)           

Marquay McDaniel, SB, #16
2013 stats – 70 receptions, 959 receiving yards, 13.7 yard average, 8 TDs – leads team in receiving, 6th in CFL receiving
Last Week – 4 receptions, 77  receiving yards, 19.3 yard average, 1 TD  versus Edmonton – led team in receiving, needs 41 yards for first 1,000-yard receiving season
2013 vs Ssk. – 9 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 8.2 yard average in two games

Juwan Simpson, MLB, #12
2013 stats – 48 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 6 pass knockdowns, 1 fumble return, 2 forced fumbles  – third on team in tackles and sacks
Last Week – 6 tackles vs Edmonton – season high in tackles
2013 vs Ssk. – 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble in two games

Brandon Smith, HB, #28
2013 stats – 49 tackles, 1 special teams tackle, 3 pass knockdowns, 1 fumble return, 1 forced fumble – second on team in tackles
Last Week  – 4 tackles vs Edmonton
2013 vs Ssk. – 7 tackles, 1 fumble return, 1 forced fumble in two games played

The Roughriders                                                               

The Stamps will be facing one of the league’s best defences this week, a defence that leads the CFL in fewest points allowed and fewest touchdowns. The Riders defence has allowed 17 or fewer points in four straight games and has allowed more than 30 points in a game only twice this season.

It’s a tale of two seasons for the Riders offence however as it has struggled of late after a terrific first half. Saskatchewan has averaged only 22.3 points per game and 313.8 yards while turning the ball over 23 times in the last seven games compared to the first nine games when the Riders averaged 34.6 points per game, 418.5 yards and turned the ball over only eight times.

Turnovers are a key stat for the Riders as they are 8-0 when ending the game with fewer turnovers than the opposition and 1-4 when they have more.

SB Weston Dressler (#7) and SB Chris Getzlaf (#89) are both on the verge of 1,000-yard seasons while on defence DE John Chick (#97) is joined by newly acquired Alex Hall (#99), the league’s co-leader in sacks, on a solid D-line. LB Craig Butler (#28), LB Weldon Brown (#35) and DB Dwight Anderson (#33) are all key members of the defence. 

Who to watch:

Darian Durant, QB, #4
2013 stats – 500 attempts, 308 completions, 61.6% completion rate, 3,952 passing yards, 30 TDs, 11 INTs, 97.2 QB rating – leads CFL in TD passes
Last Game – 29 attempts, 13 completions, 44.8% completion rate, 187 passing yards, 1 TDs, 1 INT, 63.4 QB rating vs BC – three of last four games under 65.0 QB rating
2013 vs Cgy – 66 attempts, 46 completions, 69.7% completion rate, 536 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTS in two games

Kory Sheets, RB, #1
2013 stats –  276 carries, 1,556 rushing yards, 5.6-yard average, 12 TDs – leads CFL in rushing TDs, second in CFL in rushing
Last Game –  25 carries, 148 rushing yards, 5.9 yard average, 1 TD vs BC – second straight game with more than 100 rushing yards
2013 vs Cgy – 40 carries, 266 rushing yards, 6.6 yard average, 1 TD in two games

Tyron Brackenridge, S, #41
2013 stats – 41 tackles, 6 special teams tackles, 2 tackles for losses, 3 INTs, 5 pass knockdowns, 4 forced fumbles
Last Game  – 1 tackles, 1 special teams tackle vs BC
2013 vs Cgy – 9 tackles, 1 pass knockdown in two games      

Stats

Here are the two teams’ offensive and defensive totals and league rankings after last week’s games

The CFL this Week

Thursday, Oct. 24, 5:30 p.m. – Winnipeg (3-13) at Toronto (10-5)
Friday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. – Edmonton (3-13) at BC (9-7)
Saturday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. – Montreal (7-9) at Hamilton (8-8)