The new schedule has some significant modifications, compared with recent seasons.
The East v. West matchups will not include Home & Away games with every team. Each team will only play 8 inter-divisional games, which leaves 10 games versus teams in their own division.
What are some of the repercussions:
Hamilton will not visit Vancouver in 2021; the Lions will visit THF;
Hamilton fans will not have an opportunity to see the Saskatchewan Roughriders at THF this year; the Tiger-Cats will make the trip to Regina;
Because there is one fewer team in the East Division, Ottawa / Montreal will play each other 4 times, and Toronto / Hamilton will play each other 4 times.
As much as we love you guys, playing each other 6 times, to include 2 in the pre season, is horrible.
We all agree right about now we will take any and all CFL games no matter how many times, but this is a ridiculous schedule all around.
I like the idea of more divisional games, tbh. Rivalries sell. Plus, maybe we won't get that dreadful crossover with more divisional games. I vote to keep it this way moving forward. Even if/when Halifax joins the League, I'd have teams play their divisional opponents three times and play six interdivisional games.
I don’t want to speak for him, but I think his schedule would look like anything but playing the same team for 30% of the schedule (6 out of 20 games…not including playoffs…which could make it as much as 33% of the games)
First point: 2 of those 6 games are preseason games so complaining about that is typical for Argo fans who don’t go to the games anyways, I bet that game in TO will be mostly Ticat fans!
Perhaps it’s because every year I make a post complaining that HAM always gets a 10:00pm ET start time in BC, while inevitably some of their earlier-starting home games are played against other opponents. The league could no longer stand the pressure of my ongoing disapproval.
Exactly.
Just like previous years, then when Halifax comes in straight forward home and away for 18 games.
I get this is all about money cost cutting and all, but it sucks.
Just like a baseball schedule same team for the weekend.
We only play Sask once , also . 4 fewer plane flights and fewer hotel days could be finance related as well as Covid related . Just seeing a schedule suggests that football is back and that’s good .
Simple math . . . each East Division team will play 8 games versus West Division teams. There are 5 teams in the West Division. This means that each East Division team plays 3 of the Western teams home&away, and then plays the remaining 2 teams once each.
I am assuming the identity of the teams that we only play once each season will change each year.
BTW it is a little more complicated from the western perspective.
If the CFL schedule includes 32 inter-divisional games, 32 / 5 = 6.4. So I believe 3 of the Western teams will play 6 games v. Eastern opponents, and the remaining 2 Western teams will play 7 games v. Eastern opponents. I haven’t gone any deeper than that, to figure out the detailed scheduling logistics.
This “unbalanced” schedule will mean that “Strength of Schedule” will become a real factor in playoff races, as it is in most other sports leagues.
This schedule will hopefully be a “one off” . If we’re back to normal in 2022 , then we’re probably back to the 10 game - 8 game format for east and west , as in the past . When you have a 15- 3 record , strength of schedule really doesn’t matter much in the Hammer .
