On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., the Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa RedBlacks will square off at McMahon Stadium in their second and final regular-season meeting of 2016.

The Stamps sport a 9-1-1 record and the RedBlacks sit at 5-4-1 with both teams entering Week 13 as the first-place occupants of their respective divisions. The Stamps have won eight consecutive contests while the RedBlacks have dropped four of their past six.

This weekend’s matinee will be only the third showdown against an Eastern squad for the Stamps this year.

A recent road trip to Edmonton saw the Stampeders down the Eskimos in double-overtime by a score of 34-28. As for Ottawa, a triumph over the Alouettes in Week 11 preceded their second bye of the season.

Back on July 8 at TD Place, these same two foes played to a 26-26 tie. On that occasion, Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris combined for 764 passing yards, Chris Williams of the RedBlacks tallied three receiving touchdowns and the Calgary duo of Joshua Bell and Micah Johnson recovered a pair of Ottawa fumbles.

Since then, the Red and White have not been dealt a single loss.

Due to that early-season deadlock, the Stampeders are looking to secure their fifth season series against a CFL opponent thus far. Dave Dickenson and company have already crossed Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, BC and Edmonton off their list.

Calgary (66 per cent) and Ottawa (66.9) are currently the CFL’s pacesetters in terms of opponent completion percentage. The RedBlacks (9.6) and Stamps (8.8) are also No. 1 and No. 2 in average yards gained per pass.

Brandon Boudreaux, Dan Federkeil, Osagie Odiase, Randy Richards and Cam Thorn are slated as additions to the 46-man roster. Ciante Evans, Roman Grozman, Kamar Jorden and Shane Bergman are expected to be subtracted, accompanied with the loss of Taylor Reed, who signed with Ottawa on Tuesday after his release from the Stampeders.

Saturday also marks Legacy Day which will see former standout running back Jon Cornish honoured in celebration of his prolific playing career. The occasion just so happens to coincide with current starter Jerome Messam leading the league with 764 rushing yards and seven touchdowns along the ground.

Key Matchup

Neither club allowed a rushing score in their first duel – Messam was limited to just eight carries while the RedBlacks feature tailback that day, the since-released Nic Grigsby, managed a mere 65 yards. Whichever side is able to dominate the ground game this time around may very well be in line for a mid-September win.

Download the Stamps’ position chart and roster
Download game notes

Comparative team stats (through Week 13)