Preview: Tiger-Cats at Argonauts

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8-9

And so it has come to this. With the final week of the CFL season here, the Ti-Cats are in a win or else situation in regards to their playoff hopes. Win and the team will still have a chance; lose and the season is over. But just a win tonight won't suffice; the Ti-Cats also need the Calgary Stampeders (quarterbacked by some guy named Kevin Glenn) to beat the Eskimos on Friday night. So if Hamilton leaves Toronto tonight with a 'W', they live for at least another 24 hours.

The Tabbies catch a bit of a break playing an Argo team with nothing to play for. Toronto knows they'll be hosting the East Division Semi-Final on Remembrance Day and a win or a lose will not change that. In fact, these two teams would meet again for that game if everything falls the Ti-Cats way. The Argos are choosing to rest a number of their starters, including quarterback Ricky Ray, running back Chad Kackert and former Tiger-Cat receiver Maurice Mann. Jarious Jackson will get the start, but will only play about one quarter before giving way to Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros. This will basically be a glorified exhibition game for the Argos. But the Ti-Cats can't get too cocky knowing they will be playing a lot of backups. Those guys are looking to prove to the coaching staff that they have a future in Toronto and will be playing hard.

Last week's emotional final game at Ivor Wynne Stadium ended with a Hamilton win, and a rather convincing one at that. The offense did enough in the early part of the game, but it was the defense that set the tone. The object of much scrutiny throughout the season, the Tiger-Cat defense has stepped their game up considerably the last two weeks. They held Winnipeg's offense in check for almost the entire game last Saturday and even managed to find the end zone themselves. Another defensive performance like the ones we've seen the last two weeks will probably be enough to let the Ti-Cats live one more day.

Expect a large contingent of Tiger-Cat fans to make their way to the Rogers Centre SkyDome for tonight's game. Ti-Cat fans always travel well to Toronto, so this could end up being a de facto home game for the Black & Gold. The game gets underway at 7:30PM.