CFL Super Power Rankings: Road to Grey Cup goes through Calgary; ranking one-game wonders

Welcome to the new 55-Yard Line CFL super power rankings. Every Thursday we'll look back at the previous week and look ahead to the upcoming week, and rank the best teams, quarterbacks or anything else we see fit to rank.

As it stands now, the Calgary Stampeders are the class of the CFL and appear to be an unstoppable force. A lot can happen over the final eight regular-season and playoff games, but putting money on the Stamps being in the Grey Cup game in November appears to be a safe bet.

After back-to-back wins over their Alberta rivals, the Stamps cemented themselves as the CFL's best team. They're 9-1 and getting better. And healthier. That alone makes them Grey Cup favourites. Their closest rival, the Roughriders, have lost quarterback Darian Durant for the rest of the season. The Eskimos' only three losses of the season have come against Calgary. The Lions are the only team to beat the Stamps this year (a 25-24 nailbiter) but they too are without their best player. Surely nobody in the East can touch them.

Barring a major injury meltdown or upset, the road to the Grey Cup will almost certainly go through snowy Calgary.

Team rankings:

1.

Calgary Stampeders (9-1; Previous: 1) - Jon Cornish has back-to-back 100+ rushing yard games and a total of 346 yards in three games since returning from the injured list. He makes an already dominant team even better.

2.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-2; Previous: 2) - Their league-best seven-game winning streak will be put to the test now with Durant out for the rest of the season. They have one of the league's best defences, which should keep them near the top.

3.

B.C. Lions (6-4; Previous: 5) - Their 7-5 win over the Redblacks last week was ugly, and it cost them Travis Lulay. But Kevin Glenn has been the defacto starter at QB all season long, so they shouldn't take much of a step back.

4.

Edmonton Eskimos (7-3; Previous: 4) - The bad news is they lost two in a row against the Stampeders -- in fact their only three losses have all come against Calgary. The good news is they don't face the Stamps again. Three more games against East Division teams could make up for those three Calgary losses.

5.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-5; Previous: 3) - The Stampeders are to the Eskimos what the Roughriders are to the Blue Bombers. The Bombers are 0-3 against the Riders this season and riding a two-game losing skid after losing the Banjo Bowl. This week's battle with the Lions is an important one for the standings.

6.

Montreal Alouettes (3-7; Previous: 8) - Amazing what a two-game winning streak can do for a team in the lowly East Division. Two weeks ago this team was a dumpster fire, left for dead in what looked like a season to forget. Now they're tied for first in the East, have an emerging quarterback in Jonathan Crompton, and have dreams of hosting the East final.

7.

Toronto Argonauts (3-7; Previous: 7) - After three losses in a row and a bye week they get the pleasure of heading to Calgary to face the Stamps. Could be worse, however. The snow should be gone by then and it's expected to be 13C on game day.

8.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-7; Previous: 6) - They appear incapable of winning back-to-back games. For all their woes, they're a pretty respectable 2-2 at home. They host the Roughriders this week at Tim Hortons Field.

9.

Ottawa Redblacks (1-9; Previous: 9) - In their last four games the Redblacks have scored 8, 7, 10, and 5 points. That's bad. Defensively, they allow a league worst 408.1 yards per game. That's bad, too.

Quarterback rankings:

1. Bo Levi Mitchell, Stampeders (Previous: 1) - After throwing for two touchdowns and running in for two more last week, Mitchell is now 12-1 in his career as a starter.

2. Ricky Ray, Argonauts (Previous: 4) - He's coming off his worst game of the year and a bye but gets a bump due to all the uncertainty around the rest of the league.

3. Matt Nichols, Eskimos (Previous: T6) - Despite the loss to the Stampeders, Nichols was great. He threw for 333 yards, tossed three touchdowns and rushed for another. Edmonton is unsure if Mike Reilly will return for Friday's game against Montreal.

4. Kevin Glenn, Lions (Previous: 5) - He didn't play a single down last week, but the starting job is his again. Needs to cut down on the turnovers and the Lions will be fine.

5. Drew Willy, Blue Bombers (Previous: T6) - Two losses in a row, but he bounced back nicely last week with 360 yards in the air and two touchdowns. The INTs are piling up though.

6. Jonathan Crompton, Alouettes (Previous: 9) - Two starts and two wins for the former Tennessee Volunteer. He's far from being a star but he's getting the job done for the Als.

7. Zach Collaros, Tiger-Cats (Previous: 2) - Had a nice game in the Ticats' loss, throwing for 338 yards and two touchdowns. Has his work cut out for him this week against Riders' D.

8. Henry Burris, Redblacks (Previous: 8) - Burris isn't having a great season, though the Redblacks' offence is pretty crummy overall.

9. Tino Sunseri, Roughriders (Previous: NA) - Rider Nation turns its lonely eyes to Tino. With only 43 career CFL pass attempts under his belt, Sunseri takes over under centre for the Riders with Durant needing elbow surgery and out for the rest of the season. No pressure there.

One-game wonder rankings:

(The CFL season has seen some big performances from a variety of players. But sometimes those impressive games are an exception rather than the rule. Here are five players who had one big game but have done little else otherwise this season.)

1.

Brett Maher, K, Redblacks - In Week 4 against the Argos, Maher went six-for-six on field goals and led Ottawa to its only win of the season. Take away that game and he's 11-for-18 on the season. Overall he has a league-worst 70.8 percent accuracy on field goals.

2. Steve Slaton, RB, Argonauts - In Week 6 against Montreal the former West Virginia star had his best game as a pro. He rushed for 52 yards and had another 48 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the Argos' big win. Of his career 289 all-purpose yards, 100 of them came in that one game.

3. Joe West, WR, Stampeders - West was named offensive player of the week in Week 9 after catching four passes for 129 yards. He has just 12 catches and 286 total receiving yards on the season.

4. Jerome Messam, RB, Roughriders - Messam took a turn as the featured back in Saskatchewan's run-first offence in Week 7 against Winnipeg. He rushed 19 times for 126 yards in the win. In three games since then he has only 21 carriers for 150 yards.

5. Dan LeFevour, QB, Tiger-Cats - In Week 5 against Ottawa, LeFevour threw for 361 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for another 109 yards and a score. He was putting together a decent season before a season-ending injury, so perhaps 'one-game wonder' is a little unfair, but that one game certainly stands out.

Coming up in Week 12:

Montreal at Edmonton, Friday, 9 ET - The Alouettes put their modest two-game winning streak on the line against the Eskimos, who have lost two in a row. Crompton is 2-0 as a starter but faces a much stiffer test in the Eskimos. Montreal is 0-4 on the road. Picks: Eskimos.

Toronto at Calgary, Saturday, 7 ET - The Argos are coming off a bye and expect to have Andre Durie back in the lineup (though likely not Chad Owens). That's good news for Ray and the Argos' offence. The Stampeders are rolling and the snow that hit Calgary this week should be gone by game time. Pick: Stampeders.

Winnipeg at B.C. - Saturday, 10 ET - A big West Division game between the two teams at the bottom. The Lions will have Glenn starting at QB with Lulay out after reinjuring his throwing shoulder. The Lions are coming off an ugly win over Ottawa in which they didn't score a touchdown. The Bombers have lost two in a row and are just 1-4 against West Division teams. Winnipeg played well in the losses to Saskatchewan but special teams struggled. That's fixable. Pick: Blue Bombers.

Saskatchewan at Hamilton, Sunday, 1 ET - The Sunseri era begins for the Roughriders. They are riding a seven-game winning streak and are 4-1 on the road. Collaros has looked good for the Ticats since returning from the injured list. This is the first of four consecutive games against West Division teams for Hamilton, and they need some wins if they are to have any hope of making the playoffs. This feels like a trap game for the Riders. Pick: Tiger-Cats.

Picks -- Last week: 2-2; Season: 25-15.

Bye: Ottawa - Seven losses in a row and coming off a particularly embarrassing 7-5 loss to the Lions. It all has the Ottawa Sun opining about trading Burris. Wouldn't it be something if Burris went back to the Riders?

Disagree with our rankings and picks? Join the conversation on Twitter with @IanDenomme and @YahooSportsCFL.