History not on the Toronto Argonauts side heading into Labour Day Classic against Tiger-Cats

Labour Day remains one of the greatest traditions on the CFL calendar and it’s a matchup Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans always have circled on their calendars.

For both teams, this game is a crucial one but for very different reasons. Toronto is looking to maintain top spot in the East Division. Hamilton is not only fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive but also trying to avoid the basement of the CFL standings with the Ottawa Redblacks putting together two-straight wins.

Coming into this game, history is certainly in favour of the home team as the Tiger-Cats have dominated the Labour Day matchup with a 37-13-1 record in the 50 meetings. A sellout crowd is expected at Tim Hortons Field which is not surprising given how this game is unlike any other on the CFL’s regular season calendar.

“Labour Day is special,” Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer told reporters. “I’ve always said this. I wouldn’t do it a good enough job just to talk about it. You just kind of have to be here. They call it classic for a reason. It’s always an electric thing.”

The last time Toronto won the Labour Day Classic was back in 2012 when Chad Owens had 402 combined yards (thirs most in a single CFL game) in a come-from-behind 33-30 victory.

It’s not just the Argos’ Labour Day record that makes this a challenging game but also their record at Tim Hortons Field. The Tiger-Cats have won the last seven Labour Day Classics at Tim Hortons Field and have a 2-9 record overall since 2014.

This is why the Tiger-Cats are a slim -1 favourites going into this game even if they have a 3-8 record overall this season. The Argonauts also lost their last game in Hamilton 34-27 and you have to think their opponent will try to replicate that formula on Monday.

What allowed the Tiger-Cats to win that game was their ability to control the line of scrimmage. They outrushed Toronto 149-69 with Sean Thomas-Erlington scoring the winning touchdown on a 23-yard run. Michah Johnson also had a big game with two of the Ticats three sacks on defence.

For Toronto, they are hoping to replicate a similar gameplan to their 37-20 win at home in the third meeting between both clubs. The Argos defence forced four turnovers including three interceptions from Jamal Peters which provided the offence a short field to work with which they took advantage of with three touchdowns that ended up being the difference in the game.

Injury update

Both teams are banged up as the Argos will likely not dress a fullback for a second straight game with Declan Cross and Joe Carbone dealing with leg injuries.

Here is the latest injury report for Toronto with Trevon Tate and Isaiah Cage still sidelined. One player’s status to keep an eye on is Dariusz Bladek who looks like he is still dealing with a knee injury.

Hamilton will likely be turning back to Dane Evans at quarterback with Matthew Schiltz sidelined long-term with a wrist injury on his throwing hand. Veteran offensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl also returned to practice after missing time with a hip injury.

Final thoughts

The Argos have shown that they can beat the Tiger-Cats at BMO Field during the regular season but winning on the road in Hamilton hasn’t come easily for this team.

Don’t expect Evans to turn the ball over four times and the Ticats will likely try to have backup quarterback Jamie Newman take some snaps as a running quarterback. The Argos defence has struggled against the run at times so that will likely be a focal point in Hamilton’s offensive game plan.

This is a big game for the Argos offence to show that they can play to the level that they showed in the second half. While the running game is still trying to overcome the loss of Andrew Harris, it can’t be abandoned either.

The offensive line will have their hands full again against a strong Hamilton defensive line which will look to feast on a favourable matchup. It was the Argos defence that had four sacks against the Tiger-Cats who only registered two but expect the home crowd to make it a hostile environment.

Unless McLeod Bethel-Thompson can find a way to get the ball out of his hands quickly and keep the chains moving consistently, it’s not going to be an easy game for Toronto to win. What will make this a winnable game, however, is if the offence can avoid turnovers and the defence keeps the score close if Toronto gets off to a slow start.