Playoff Preview: Can Troy Smith and the Alouettes keep rolling in the East semifinal?

We're bringing back our Playoff Preview series for the 2013 postseason, analyzing each matchup in terms of offence, defence and special teams and predicting a winner. Here's a look at the first semifinal game (1 p.m. Eastern Sunday, TSN/ESPN3), featuring the Montreal Alouettes in Guelph to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Also check out our preview gallery of potential impact players.

Montreal offence: Four Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks.

The Alouettes' offence was absolutely dreadful to start this year, which played a major role in the firing of Dan Hawkins, and it didn't get much better immediately even after that firing led to the elevation of Doug Berry to play-caller and the return to the West Coast principles that had worked so well for Montreal under previous head coach Marc Trestman (who left for the NFL this offseason). A large part of that was about the quarterbacks; once Anthony Calvillo went down in August with what later proved to be a season-ending (and potentially career-ending) concussion, Tanner Marsh and Josh Neiswander delivered inconsistent performances. Midseason signing Troy Smith, the former Ohio State quarterback who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy was elevated to the starting job late in October, though, and so far, the results have been promising.

Yes, Smith is inexperienced in the CFL game, and yes, his accuracy needs some work, but he has excellent mobility and a strong arm, and he's making things happen so far. He also has a great cast of receivers; even with Jamal Richardson out for the year, his receiving corps still includes S.J. Green, Duron Carter, Arland Bruce III, Brandon London and others. Running back Tyrell Sutton has stepped up down the stretch too, filling in nicely for the injured Brandon Whitaker. This isn't the Alouettes' offence we expected to see at the start of the year, but it's still quite a promising unit. Despite their poor start that had them last or next to last in most offensive stats, Montreal finished in the middle of the CFL pack on the season in points per game (fifth, 25.2). If Smith can keep this offence rolling the way he has the last few weeks, there are enough pieces here to do something impressive.

Montreal defence: Five Most Outstanding Player nominees.

It's rare to see a defensive player selected as a team's top performer on the season, but Alouettes' linebacker Chip Cox was fully deserving of that nod this year, becoming the first Montreal team MVP since 2001 not named Calvillo or Cahoon. He also was named as the East Division's top defensive player for a season where he recorded a league-high 114 tackles, notched 12 sacks (fourth-best in the league and the best of any non-lineman) and added four interceptions. This Montreal defence isn't just about Cox, though, as they also have great players in the secondary (CFL interception leader Geoff Tisdale had seven picks this year, while Jerald Brown tied for third with five) and up front (John Bowman had 11 sacks and the team as a whole had 59, second-best in the league). The Alouettes' defence was also good in yardage categories, allowing the lowest yards per game in the league (314.3), the least yards per rush (5.0), the second-best yardage per pass (7.4) and the least first downs (320). They'll be tough to move the ball against.

Montreal special teams: Three curling games.

The Alouettes' special teams were solid but not spectacular this year. Sean Whyte delivered a reasonable performance in the kicking game, with his 170 points putting him third in the league and his 82.0 per cent success rate ranking him fourth, but his punting average (41.8 yards per punt) left a fair bit to be desired. Returner Tyron Carrier was fifth in the league with 1,117 combined return yards and had some great showings, but his averages (24.2 yards per kick return, 6.9 yards per punt return) were decent, not amazing.

Hamilton offence: Four deceptive plays.

The Tiger-Cats' offence has had superb moments, but has been inconsistent overall. Quarterback Henry Burris led the league with 4,925 passing yards and posted a solid 65.8 per cent completion rate, but tossed 24 touchdowns against 19 interceptions and wasn't great down the stretch. Running backs Chevon Walker and C.J. Gable each had amazing games, but also games where they were all but invisible, and the same could be said for most of the Hamilton receivers. This team did well at moving the ball (their 373.1 yards of offence per game was the league's second-best total), but less well at punching it in (they scored just 25.2 points per game, third-worst in the league). One really bright spot is the play of substitute quarterback Dan LeFevour, though; he's been a very effective change of pace in run-focused packages, and that could be difficult for Montreal to prepare for.

Hamilton defence: Three movable objects.

The Hamilton defence was particularly bad early in the season, and although it's improved over time, it's still far from great. They gave up a lot of big plays, in particular; the 49 touchdowns they allowed were third-worst in the league, and barely that good (basement-dwellers Winnipeg and Edmonton had 51 and 50 respectively). The Tiger-Cats also recorded a league-low 35 sacks and didn't have a single East Division all-star on defence.

Hamilton special teams: Four Australian punters.

Punter Josh Bartel has been terrific for the Tiger-Cats all season long, and his 43.7 yards per punt (while quite good) doesn't tell the whole story. He kicks with more hang time than most, allowing his return team to get downfield and limit the gain, and he's also quite good at directional kicking, something likely enhanced by his Aussie Rules experience. The kicking game has been more iffy, though, with Luca Congi struggling early on, being briefly replaced by Brett Lauther, and then the team cutting Lauther and going back to Congi. Congi has made just 75 per cent of his field goals on the season. Returns have also been an issue; Lindsey Lamar looked terrific for a while, but was knocked out with a concussion, and the team hasn't found a great replacement. However, the team does have one of the CFL's best cover men in Marc Beswick, who led the league with 24 special-teams tackles this season.

Add them up: Montreal 12, Hamilton 11.

X-Factor: Home turf. This game's going to be played in Guelph before one of the tiniestplayoff crowds in recent history thanks to the stadium's small capacity. While Hamilton's fans have been supportive, they may not get a huge home-field burst.

Prediction: Montreal 28, Hamilton 24.