Game 16: Blue Bombers (8-7) at Elks (6-9)

Kickoff: Saturday, October 11th, 6 p.m. CDT; Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
TV/Streaming: TSN 1/3/4; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB (pre-game begins at 4 p.m. CDT); Play-by-play: Derek Taylor/analyst: Doug Brown; Sirius XM (ch. 167)

Scene Setter

It’s a big number — 13 — and it could be said it has served as a perfect representation of the trajectory the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Edmonton Elks over the past six years.

So, get this: the Blue Bombers and Elks, two storied Canadian Football League rivals, have met 13 times since 2019 and 13 times it was the dudes in blue and gold who exited with a coveted ‘W.’ And over that same run one team has five Grey Cup appearances and two championships — that’s the Blue Bombers for those of you who are new here — and the other, the Elks, has missed the playoffs four straight years and hasn’t posted a winning season over that span.

There’s also this: ask anyone in the Blue Bombers clubhouse about the current run against the Elks and you’ll likely get one of two reactions:

1) A shrug of the shoulders or;

2) A shrug of the shoulders and an answer that includes some combination of the phrases ‘who gives a flying (bleep)?’ or ‘who gives a rat’s behind?’

Yes, there’s an expression in football that seems to fit here: last week’s touchdowns don’t win this week’s game.

Still, it is a layer to the storyline this weekend when the Elks host the Blue Bombers in a game with significant playoff implications for both squads. A Winnipeg win punches its playoff ticket for a ninth consecutive season and would mean the team keeps pace with the B.C. Lions, 9-7 and on a bye this week. And while a loss wouldn’t officially eliminate the Elks, but it would put their playoff hopes on life support.

Again, though, all of this means zilch to the Blue Bombers who have made it their mantra to roll up their sleeves one week to the next and focus only on what’s directly in front of them. Case in point, two of Winnipeg’s coordinators — Jordan Younger on defence and Jason Hogan of the offence — were asked earlier this week to weigh in the different playoff scenarios now unfolding and offered these answers:

Hogan: “If you start doing that, you’ll get lost in it — there are too many scenarios. We just focus on what we can handle, what we can do, and worry about us week in, week out.”

And Younger: “Mike O’Shea has done a great job of getting guys to stick to the process and not look too far ahead. We know right now that playoffs are coming up and there are a bunch of different scenarios. That’s a lot to consider so what you do to try and avoid looking too far ahead is just try and concentrate on the day.

“Let’s make it the best Day 1, let’s make it the best Day 2 and really focus on our opponent and understand what Edmonton is going to so, how they’re going to attack us, what they’re good at. Things have a way of taking care of themselves if you stick with that process.”

That’s vanilla for storytellers like yours truly, but it’s what they do.

Winnipeg won the first meeting between the two clubs earlier this year — a 36-23 decision way back on June 26th — meaning the Elks would need a win and by two touchdowns to capture the season series in case there is a tiebreaker. Yet, like the 13 straight number mentioned at the top, that factoid wasn’t even a topic of discussion in Bomberland this week. Instead, there is a legit respect for what new Elks head coach Mark Killam is building and the work of veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo since he has replaced Tre Ford, who was behind centre when the two teams met back in June.

The Elks, to that point, are 5-3 in their last eight and 6-6 since an 0-3 start to the season.

“They’re so different,” said Younger of the Elks. “You can see the head coach’s spirit coming out in the team. They’re fiery, they play hard, they don’t give up. Cody has settled some things down with his veteran leadership and some of the things he’s good at that maybe Tre Ford wasn’t. That element is a little bit different.

“The receivers, they’re able to do some different things with Cody out there and with the tandem of running backs they have they do a great job of blocking in front of them. They’ve bought in. They’re a different football team. They’re dangerous.”

“It’s an extremely different team there now. What I notice now on their defensive side is they’ve got a lot of effort guys who fly around and make plays,” added running back Brady Oliveira. “We’ve got to expect a battle for four quarters; we’ve got to expect some tough and hard yards in the run game against them.

“It’s a big test ahead of us. We’re excited for it.”

We’ll add this, just to put a bow on the angle presented at the top: 14>13.

THE LINEUP: The Blue Bombers depth chart features one changes from the win over Hamilton before the bye week. Coming on is CB Jamal Parker, Jr. and off is CB Demerio Houston, who has been moved to the one-game injured list. Houston missed the first couple of days of practice this week to deal with a family emergency and was back on the field on Wednesday. Of note: veteran receiver Nic Demski has the ‘GTD’ designation — game-time decision — and we’ll away to see if he can go tomorrow against the Elks

The one-game injured list now includes Houston, along with WR Keric Wheatfall, DB Michael Griffin II, RB/KR Peyton Logan and OL Micah Vanterpool. The six-game injured list includes WR Dalton Schoen, LB Lane Novak, DT Tanner Schmekel, OL Eric Lofton, CB Terrell Bonds, WR Kody Case and DB Enock Makonzo.

FULL DEPTH CHART