Ticats host Redblacks in important East Division contest for both teams

HAMILTON — For Scott Milanovich and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, what's understood need not be discussed.

Hamilton (3-9) hosts Ottawa (8-3-1) on Saturday afternoon in an important East Division matchup for both teams. The Ticats enter weekend action six points behind third-place Toronto (6-6) while the Redblacks can clinch their first post-season berth since 2018 with a victory.

And with Toronto visiting the B.C. Lions (7-6) on Friday night, Hamilton will have a clearer indication of its situation Saturday.

But Milanovich, in his first season as Hamilton's head coach, has steadfastly maintained his club's most pressing duty is to win the next game on its schedule.

"There's too many games left, we're too far away to start thinking about these things," he said. "I certainly don't think I have to impress upon (Ticats players) the importance of this game.

"They're well aware of it."

Ottawa won the first meeting of the season 24-22 at TD Place on June 30. Before that, though, Hamilton had won 10 straight over the Redblacks.

Hamilton comes off a bye week following its 31-28 Labour Day win over Toronto on Sept. 2. That gave the Ticats the season series with the two teams slated to meet once more (Sept. 20 at BMO Field).

The reality is Hamilton will need help to overtake Toronto for third and reach the CFL postseason. Ottawa, on the other hand, controls its playoff fate entering Saturday's contest.

The Redblacks are 2-1 within the East Division but 2-3 away from TD Place. Hamilton is 2-3 versus its conference rivals and just 2-4 at Tim Hortons Field.

Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 347 yards and two TDs in the Labour Day win. He'll start against Ottawa even though youngster Taylor Powell came off the injured list after suffering a head injury in the Ticats' 47-22 home win over Edmonton on Aug. 17.

Mitchell has a career record of 10-3-2 against Ottawa. And over the Ticats' last two games, receiver Tim White has 13 catches for 314 yards (24.2-yard average) and two TDs.

With the bye week, Hamilton will play 12 days after its rivalry win over Toronto. Ideally, the Ticats would've been able to ride the momentum of that victory into the following week but Mitchell said during a long CFL regular season players take their downtime whenever it comes.

"Yeah, I definitely think guys wanted to build off this momentum," he said. "We still will but we also know momentum is very subject to the moment.

"You might have momentum going into a game but they feel the same way and that all changes basically after the first kickoff."

Rookie running back Greg Bell will make a fifth start and fourth straight ahead of veteran James Butler. The six-foot, 200-pound American has rushed for 204 yards and three TDs on 33 carries (6.2-yard average) in his last three contests while adding 11 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The five-foot-nine, 210-pound Butler ran for 1,116 yards last season, his first with Hamilton. And over eight contests in 2024, Butler rushed for 440 yards and a TD on 92 carries (4.8-yard average) while also recording 37 receptions for 312 yards and a touchdown.

"I know what it looks like, this is not an indictment on James Butler whatsoever," Milanovich said. "He's a good back.

"I just felt like we wanted Greg's juice out there a little bit."

Milanovich said Butler and Bell are very different players.

"James is more of a power runner, the first guy is not going to bring him down," Milanovich said. "James is an elite pass protector and also a good receiver.

"He (Bell) is explosive ... he's kind of a slasher. When he does see the hole he hits it and he's a threat receiving. Certainly, there are things he needs to continue to work on but he's a threat out there, he's somebody guys have to worry about."

At first glance, an easy solution would seem to be having both players in the lineup. But Milanovich said it's not that simple.

"It's just it's hard right now with where we're at with the roster," he said. "It's hard to get another American on who's not going to play a major role offensively or defensively."

Bell will make his second appearance versus Ottawa, running for 52 yards on 13 carries back in June. And Bell isn't getting preoccupied with the importance of Saturday's contest.

"No pressure," he said. "We've all been doing this our whole lives so it's just football.

"Just run hard, follow my blockers. If they open a hole I'm going to hit it hard."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press