2023 CFL season preview
June 7, 2023
Two hundred days after the Toronto Argonauts hoisted the Grey Cup in Saskatchewan last November, a new CFL season kicks off with the Calgary Stampeders hosting the BC Lions tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET.
SOURCE: BRENT JUST/GETTY IMAGES
The GIST: Two hundred days after the Toronto Argonauts hoisted the Grey Cup in Saskatchewan last November, a new CFL season kicks off with the Calgary Stampeders hosting the BC Lions tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET. Let’s go, eh?
How it works: Running from June to October, the league’s nine teams (split into the East and West Divisions) will play 18 regular-season games over a 21-week window, before six teams advance to the single-elimination playoffs.
- While it’s likely those six playoff teams will be the top three teams from each division, thanks to the “crossover” rule, a fourth-seed team can qualify instead of the third-place team in the other division if they earned more points in the regular season. Fair is fair.
The favorites: The West’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers fell just short of a third-straight Grey Cup last season, but with 2022 Most Outstanding Player Zach Collaros back at quarterback (QB), the ’Peg is shaping up to be the best in the West, and perhaps the entire league, yet again.
- Over in the East, the reigning champion Argonauts are hoping to celebrate their 150th anniversary with a title defense. And with star running back Andrew Harris postponing retirement to back up young QB Chad Kelly, they just might do it. Are you ready for some football?
