MONTREAL — No. 1 quarterbacks Cody Fajardo and Bo Levi Mitchell will start under centre as the Montreal Alouettes host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday night.
Don't expect either to stay in the game long, however, because it's only a rehearsal for next Saturday's Canadian Football League East Division semifinal.
The Alouettes (10-7) are locked in to second in the division, while the Ticats (8-9) have secured third entering the final week of the regular season. The two teams meet again at Molson Stadium to open the playoffs.
Both coaches are starting their top QBs to help them build some rhythm.
Mitchell, a two-time Grey Cup MVP, has only played in five games this season after suffering a lower-leg fracture on July 28.
"What's best for our football team is to get Bo out there playing a little bit," said Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer. "We need to get some jelling and get some things we want to see. Maybe there's advancements in play-calling, some checks, just a little bit more continuity there.
"This game is perfect for us, this is exactly what we need for where we're at right now."
Fajardo and the Alouettes are coming off a bye week and face the challenge of staying motivated through a low-stakes contest before playing their biggest game of the season.
"I made it very clear to (head coach Jason Maas) that because we had the bye week I wanted to play in this game and get back into rhythm," said Fajardo. "I was playing really good ball going into the bye week and wanted to continue that momentum."
Maas concurred, adding: "I definitely didn't want guys two weeks removed from playing and (going into) a win-or-go-home kind of game next week."
The Alouettes coach says the slight lull in the season hasn't affected his group's motivation.
"We have not approached the way we worked this week any different than we worked the last 17 weeks. Not at all. Not one bit," said Maas, who plans to play every player on his roster on Saturday.
Although the game does not affect the standings, Mitchell thinks a win could help Hamilton gain a psychological edge.
The Alouettes hold the advantage in that department so far, having gone 2-0 against the Ticats by a combined score of 65-26 this season. Neither game featured Mitchell.
"They probably have a really good feeling about playing us," said Mitchell, who has split QB duties with Matthew Shiltz recently. "We have to make sure we do everything in our power to make them feel not as confident about that next week."
Shiltz is among several players out Saturday as multiple Ticats get set to make their season debuts.
A win would actually have some significance for Montreal, which has victories in four straight outings.
The Alouettes haven't won 11 games since 2012 and have finished .500 or lower in eight of nine seasons since.
Reaching that number would be especially notable after many pre-season predictions had Montreal finishing near the bottom due to an off-season derailed by ownership uncertainty.
Maas says getting to 11 wins hasn't been front of mind, however. The team's focal point this week has been simple: getting better.
"At the end of the day, when that win puts us to a total of 11, it'll be great and it'd be great for the organization," he said. "But the focus has been on just getting better this week. That's really what we wanted to do is accomplish that goal, which is to compete against one another in practice, have great meetings this week knowing that we're gonna play this opponent twice."
The Alouettes' season has played out in a clearcut fashion so far — they're a level below the league's best and step above the rest.
Montreal has lost every time out against the league's top three teams — Toronto, Winnipeg, B.C. — and beaten everyone else.
The Tiger-Cats haven't had that same consistency, but they're one of the few teams that's managed to knock off the top three with wins against Winnipeg and B.C. this season.
As for what to expect on the field Saturday, both QBs believe there will be something to gain despite the fact both teams will keep their strategies for the East semifinal under wraps.
"It's a chance on offence and defence and our team and their team to try things out, show things, not show things," said Mitchell. "There's always cat and mouse or playing chess or whatnot. The fact of the matter is it's a competitive game and we're paid to win."
Fajardo says teams can only change their look so much from game to game.
"You can't put in a bunch of new stuff and just play a completely new game. They're gonna play stuff that they played the entire year," he said. "There's going to be good teach tape and stuff that we're going to learn from this game that's going to carry over in the next week.
"This is a good time to try things that you wouldn't normally try. If it works, it's great, maybe you build off of it. If it doesn't work, you throw it away."
— With files from Dan Ralph in Hamilton.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
