OK Tire Labour Day is officially upon us and both divisions currently have a major battle on their hands for the right to host their respective Division Semi-Final.

Thankfully for fans of chaos and poetic matchups, both of the standings matchups in question will be featured this weekend!

The QEW rivalry between Hamilton and Toronto comes Monday, but first up it’s a Sunday showdown in Saskatchewan as the Blue Bombers visit Regina.

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Here are five things to know as both attempt to track down Edmonton and fight off the likes of BC and Calgary.

KING QUARTERBACKS

In the landscape of CFL passers, Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris are widely respected not just for their performance, but longevity. Both have been through the inevitable ups and downs that come with a long football journey. They’ve gone through injury, benching, countless transactions and their fair share of championship triumphs.

When the two come together, it’s worth noting just how lucky we are to still have them in the CFL, playing at a high level and displaying their master craftsmanship with each snap. What I love the most about watching Zach and Trevor is their pre-snap command at the line of scrimmage, from huddle to snap. It’s a masterclass in the CFL game and it will be featured prominently on Sunday.

TOMMY TIME

With 12 rushing touchdowns, Saskatchewan quarterback Tommy Stevens sits one back of BC’s running back Zander Horvath for the CFL lead, but it’s his relentless use and packaged precision that has caught my eye.

Sure, banging it in at the goal line is nice, but on any part of the field when offensive coordinator Marc Mueller wants to send a message or control the game, he calls on Stevens to pound the rock. This will demand maximum preparation and physicality from the Blue Bombers’ front. Perhaps the best response is to assert their own dominance in the form of Brady Oliveira when on offence.

SCORE ZONE SEPARATION

As we all know, games can be won and lost on score zone execution and these two teams could not be more different. The Roughriders lead the CFL in score zone chances (43) and trail only Montreal in touchdowns created inside their opponents’ 20-yard line.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg has just 18 score zone touchdowns on the year, which is last and explains Sergio Castillo’s high workload. A big part of this is their eighth-ranked score zone chance metric. Winnipeg gets deep in opponent territory less and converts at a lower rate, but this is Labour Day, where most trends are thrown out the window as games take on their own story.

DISCIPLINE DEFINES THE DAY?

With Mike O’Shea- and Corey Mace-coached clubs, you would expect an emphasis on avoiding penalties and being held accountable, but this has been taken to another level in 2026, with one important discrepancy.

It’s true that these are the two lowest-penalized clubs in the CFL in penalties per game taken (WPG – 5.9, SSK – 6.1), but Winnipeg is eighth in the CFL at offensive penalties taken (31) while Saskatchewan is near the bottom in CFL rankings on special teams penalties taken (22). Where and when these penalties rear their ugly head in a pressure-packed matchup could be a defining moment.

KICKING GAME QUESTIONS

Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo has the most attempts (42) and makes (36) on the season while knocking through as many 50+ yard attempts as the five kickers ahead of him in make percentage COMBINED. He’s on a different planet with the deep ball, but Alex Hale has largely held his own until a strange performance against Toronto at home last week. If that lingers, could Castillo steal the show?

In terms of field position, there is about a three-yard-per-punt difference between Jamieson Sheahan and Oscar Chapman, so advantage Winnipeg, but James Letcher Jr. should be more than able to make up for that in the return game.