By Mike Hardiman
Stampeders.com

The Pregame

For the 50th time in their storied rivalry, the Calgary Stampeders will play host to the Edmonton Eskimos on Labour Day.

The teams have met annually on the holiday Monday since 1982 and the Stamps hold a 23-25-1 record in the Labour Day games played against the Eskimos.

Calgary (7-2, first place in the West) won its fourth straight game with a 36-8 road win over the Blue Bombers while Edmonton (6-3, second place) is 2-2 in its past four games after beating Toronto 38-15 at home. Calgary swept the Eskimos in 2014, winning all three regular season games including a 28-10 victory on Labour Day. Calgary has won 11 straight games against its provincial rival dating back to 2012 and has an 18-5 overall record against Edmonton since 2008.

The Stamps are 8-3 at home when playing Edmonton under head coach John Hufnagel including a 5-2 Labour Day record.

The Stamps have a league-best 5-0 record at home in 2015 and are also unbeaten against Western teams at 3-0 while the Eskimos are 2-2 on the road and 2-1 against Western opponents. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Monday, Sept. 7 at 2:30 p.m. MDT at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Television: TSN, ESPN3
Radio: Newstalk 770, SiriusXM Channel 167
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders

Calgary’s offence continues to impress after scoring 36 points against the Bombers, the third straight instance of the Stamps scoring more than 30 points.

Calgary averages 28.3 points per game on the season but it has been the average of 39.3 points over the past three games that has pulled that overall average up to second in the league. Calgary’s offence has changed from a year ago when the Stamps led the CFL in rushing with 143.9 yards per game and were seventh in passing at 234.0 yard per game. The emergence of SB Eric Rogers is a big reason why. Rogers is on pace for over 90 catches, 1,600 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, numbers the Stamps have not had from a receiver since the glory days of Allen Pitts and Dave Sapunjis in the mid-’90s.

SB Marquay McDaniel is also on pace for more than 1,000 yards and should he get to that mark, it will be the first time since 2010 Calgary has had two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.

QB Bo Levi Mitchell has two straight 300-yard passing games and is on pace for 4,900 yards, which would be a career high. The Stamps’ per-game passing average of 281.1 yard is its highest since 2010 when Calgary averaged more than 300 yards per game.

Calgary’s defence is also on the upswing as it slowly moves up the defensive rankings, holding opponents to less than 10 points in two of its past three games. Calgary has only allowed opponents to score more than 30 points in one game so far in 2015.

Calgary’s secondary will match up against Edmonton’s fifth-ranked passing attack, but an attack that has averaged 335 passing yards per game over its past three games. DBs Keon Raymond and Jamar Wall each picked up a pick last week and are tied for the team lead with two interceptions apiece. 

Who to watch:

Eric Rogers – SB, #80
2015 stats – 46 receptions, 812 receiving yards, 17.7-yard average, 7 TDs; leads team in receiving; leads CFL in receiving yards and TDs
Last game – 7 receptions, 142 receiving yards, 21.7-yard average – Week 10 at Wpg.; led team in receiving, fourth 100-yard receiving game of 2015
2014 vs Edm. – did not play

Bo Levi Mitchell – QB, #19
2015 stats – 280 attempts, 183 completions, 65.4% completion rate,  2,482 passing yards, 14 TDs, 7 INTs, 99.7 QB rating – third in CFL passing yards and passing TDs
Last game – 26 attempts, 19 completions, 73.1% completion rate, 314 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT,  122.9 QB rating –  Week 10 at Wpg.; fourth 300-yard passing game in past five games
2014 vs Edm. – 82 attempts, 46 completions, 56.1% completion rate, 592 passing yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT – three games                                       

Brandon Smith – HB, #28
2015 stats – 28 tackles, 1 special teams tackle, 1 sack, 1 INT, 2 pass knockdowns – third on team in tackles
Last game – 3 tackles – Week 10 at Wpg.
2014 vs Edm. – 17 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass knockdown, 1 forced fumble – three games

Fred Bennett – CB, #8
2015 stats – 16 tackles, 1 INT, 2 pass knockdowns, 1 forced fumble
Last game – 1 tackle – Week 10 at Wpg.
2014 vs Edm. – 10 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass knockdown – three games

The Eskimos                                             

The Eskimos finished the 2014 season in second place in the West behind Calgary, but both teams had identical 12-3 records against the rest of the CFL. It was the inability to beat the Stamps in three tries that cost the Eskimos first place so this is a huge game for them if they have designs on toppling Calgary for first.

Edmonton lost starting QB Mike Reilly to injury early in the season but settled on rookie James Franklin (#14) to guide the offence in his absence. Rookie RB Shakir Bell (#33) has also had to fill in for injured RB John White and sits fourth in CFL rushing. SB Adarius Bowman (#4) is the big target for Franklin but rookie WR Derel Walker (#87) has had a scorching start to his CFL career with 31 catches in his first three games.

Edmonton’s defence is statistically the best in the CFL and is filled with veteran playmakers. DE Marcus Howard (#91) and DE Odell Willis (#41) are tied for the team lead with six sacks each while MLB J.C. Sherritt (#47) and LB Dexter McCoil (#45) are both former CFL award winners for top defensive player and top rookie respectively. CB Pat Watkins (#9) and DB Aaron Grymes (#36) are players to watch in the secondary while rookie CB John Ojo (#26) is tied for the league lead with four interceptions. 

James Franklin – QB, #14
2015 stats – 105 attempts, 71 completions, 67.7% completion rate, 868 passing yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT,  108.0 QB rating – one start in 2015
Last game – 38 attempts, 29 completions, 76.3% completion rate, 335 passing yards, 1 TD , 0 INT,  111.2 QB rating –  Week 10 vs Tor.; first CFL start, CFL Top Performer for Week 10
2014 vs Cgy. – did not play, 2015 CFL rookie

Derel Walker – WR, #87
2015 stats – 31 receptions, 472 receiving yards, 15.2-yard average, 1 TD; three games, second on team in receiving
Last game – 7 receptions, 164 receiving yards, 23.4-yard average, 1 TD – Week 10 vs Tor., CFL Top Performer for Week 10
2014 vs Cgy. – did not play, 2015 CFL rookie

Pat Watkins – CB, #9
2015 stats – 35 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INTs, 2 pass knockdowns, 1 TD – leads team in tackles
Last game – 4 tackles – Week 10 vs Tor.
2015 vs Cgy. – 5 tackles, 2 pass knockdowns – two games

Stats (through Week 10)

Week 11 in the CFL

Thursday, Sept. 3 – BC 25 at Montreal 16
Sunday, Sept. 6, 2 p.m. – Winnipeg at Saskatchewan
Monday, Aug. 7, 11 a.m. – Toronto at Hamilton

Bye – Ottawa