Welcome back CFL Fans! The Divisional Semi-Finals of the 2022 season are concluded, and it’s time to calculate the CFL Power Rankings and Predictions for the Divisional Finals. @TheBrysh Power Rankings (PR’s) are calculated using a proprietary algorithm, @TheBrysh Power Rankings are also used to calculate weekly Predictions; Divisional Semi-Finals Predictions for @TheBrysh were 1/2, for a season total of 57/83 or 69% on straight up wins. Point spreads are courtesy of draftkings.com and are accurate at the time of writing.
CFL SEMI-FINALS: RECAP
DIVISION SEMI-FINALS RESULTS
The Montreal Alouettes hosted the |Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Percival Molson Stadium this Sunday to determine who would move on to challenge the 1st place Toronto Argonauts in the East Division Final. The Alouettes demonstrated superiority from their opening drive, starting with a 49 yard kick return by Chandler Worthy and a TD pass to WR Jake Wieneke. The Tiger-Cats never got back into contention, the Alouettes won the game 28-17 and will now have to prepare for the Argonauts next week in Toronto.
BC Lions Canadian QB Nathan Rourke was a question mark going into the West Division Semi-Final on Sunday, was he fully recovered and ready for the challenge? The Calgary Stampeders were out to test the young QB with all sorts of pass rushing pressure, amounting to 4 QB Sacks. The heavy pressure didn’t faze the 24 year old Rourke as he passed for 321 yards, 2TD’s and a 73% completion rate, to lead the BC Lions to a win 30-16 over the Stampeders and a shot at the West Division Title against the Blue Bombers.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES @ TORONTO ARGONAUTS(-3.5)
The Toronto Argonauts are coming off of an impressive 2022 regular season with an 11-7 record and the toughest defense in the East allowing only 24 points per game. The Argo’s are benefitting from a bye week, and they will need it, taking on the Montreal Alouettes who boasted the East Division’s most potent offense, scoring 476 points in the regular season. The Alouettes have eclipsed the Argonauts in the Power Rankings, taking 3rd place while Toronto settles for 4th
The Montreal Alouettes may have a momentum swing on their side, but Toronto did take a 2-1 lead in their 3 matchups in their regular season series. The Toronto Argonauts have a strong record of 31-16 at home in the playoffs, while the Alouettes have struggled in playoff road games, 11-25. This looks to be a great competition between 2 evenly matched teams, fighting for a Grey Cup appearance and @TheBrysh predicts a slim victory for the Argo’s 30-29.
BC LIONS @ WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS(-5)
This is the game that West Division fans have been waiting for all year, the 2 strongest teams in the division (maybe the entire CFL) battling for a Grey Cup shot. The BC Lions looked great in their 30-16 win over the surging Calgary Stampeders, and QB Nathan Rourke erased doubts about his potential health with a strong performance. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are coming off of their best regular season in history (15-3) and a huge point differential, outscoring their opponents by an average of 9.3 points per game.
The Blue Bombers finished the season in the 1st place spot in the PR’s, which they held for the majority of the 2022 regular season, and the 3 game series between these teams went in the favor of the Bombers 2-1 by a point differential of +28 for Winnipeg. Historically, the Blue Bombers have a home record of 41-19 in the playoffs, while the Lions playoff record on the road is only 11-24. In the end, the BC Lions will put up a great fight but the Blue Bomber powerhouse that we recognized all season will come through with a 30-26 victory on route to the Grey Cup in Regina.
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Written by: Jack Cameron @TheBrysh
