| 2013 CFL season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | June 27 – November 2, 2013 |
| East champions | Hamilton Tiger Cats |
| West champions | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 101st Grey Cup | |
| Date | November 24, 2013 |
| Venue | Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, Regina |
| Champions | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| CFL seasons | |
← 2012 2014 → | |
The2013 CFL season was the 60th season of modern-dayCanadian football. Officially, it was the 56th season of theCanadian Football League.
The pre-season began on June 12, 2013 and the regular season began on June 27, 2013.[1]Regina, Saskatchewan hosted the101st Grey Cup on November 24, with the Cup won by theSaskatchewan Roughriders.
According to a new collective bargaining agreement, the 2013salary cap was set at $4,400,000. As per the agreement, the cap is fixed and does not vary with league revenue performance. The minimum team salary was set at $4,000,000, with individual minimum salaries set at $45,000.[2]
The 2013 season schedule was released on March 5, 2013, with the regular season opening on June 27 at the newInvestors Group Field inWinnipeg, Manitoba.[3] This was the first time Winnipeg had opened the regular season since1998 and the first brand new Canadian stadium in the CFL since Toronto'sSkyDome opened in1989 (theAlamodome opened in 1993 with the now defunctSan Antonio Texans playing there in 1995). For the second time in three years, theToronto Argonauts andHamilton Tiger-Cats did not play in theirLabour Day Classic matchup, due to scheduling conflicts for both teams. Following the previous year's experiment, the league held all division matchups not only in the last week, but for the final four weeks in total, hoping for a tight playoff race. There were 15double headers, with one on a Thursday, three on Fridays, nine on Saturdays, one on a Sunday, and the traditionalThanksgiving contests on a Monday.[4]
For the second consecutive year, the teams'bye weeks occurred in the sixth and seventh weeks of the season, earlier than the usual eighth and ninth week setup that had been in place since2007. These began over the AugustCivic Holiday, suggesting that this was done to accommodate for fans' vacation plans.
TheHamilton Tiger-Cats played 2013 home games atAlumni Stadium inGuelph, with the exception ofTouchdown Atlantic (see below). The team's previous venue,Ivor Wynne Stadium, was demolished during the offseason, and its replacement,Tim Hortons Field, would not be ready until at least2014. For the first time in decades, the Tiger-Cats did not host theLabour Day Classic and instead traveled to Vancouver to face theBC Lions that weekend. BecauseOntario University Athletics (of which Alumni Stadium's primary tenants, theGuelph Gryphons, are a member) also has a tradition of playing football games on Labour Day, finding a suitable venue within Southern Ontario would have been impossible. The Toronto at Hamilton matchup was instead played as the nightcap in the 2013Thanksgiving Day Classic.[5]
TheWinnipeg Blue Bombers finally took residence at the newInvestors Group Field. The stadium was supposed to have been readiedin 2012, but construction delays pushed back the opening to the 2013 season. TheToronto Argonauts hosted theMontreal Alouettes at theUniversity of Toronto'sVarsity Stadium for their preseason game, the first Argonauts game at Varsity Stadium in 55 years.[6]
After a one-year hiatus in 2012,Touchdown Atlantic returned for the 2013 season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting theMontreal Alouettes on September 21, 2013. This was the third regular season instalment of the game and the second to feature the Tiger-Cats. This was the first appearance for the Alouettes and it was also the first matchup to feature division opponents.[7]
On March 21, 2013, the CFL announced it had renewedits exclusive contract withTSN to televise all CFL games through 2018; the contract included the national radio rights to the Grey Cup, which would air onTSN Radio andThe Team. The contract had originally been set to expire at the end of the 2013 season.
As with the previous contract, the league had no games broadcast on terrestrial television, prolonging an absence dating to2007 and making it the largest league in North America without over-the-air television broadcasts.
On June 21, 2013, the CFL announced it had renewed its distribution deal withNBC Sports Network for United States broadcasts and thatESPN2 would also pick up five additional games for live broadcast.ESPN3 continued to serve as the league's online broadcaster.
On April 10, 2013 the CFL Board of Governors approved 2 new rules. The first stated that coaches would be allowed to challenge the result of afield goal attempt orextra point attempt. The second rule gave coaches more flexibility on when they can use their timeouts. Coaches could now use both of theirtime outs at any point during regulation time of a game, as long as they didn't use more than one after the three-minute warning was sounded in the second half of the game. In the past coaches were only allowed to use one time out per half.[8]
Immediately following the close of the2012 CFL season it seemed probable that there would be no head coaching changes in the off-season.
However, after a disappointing 6–12 regular season theHamilton Tiger-Cats firedGeorge Cortez. The expectations on the Ticats were very high after the off-season acquisitions ofHenry Burris andAndy Fantuz which Cortez failed to live up to. The Tiger-Cats replaced Cortez withKent Austin. Austin, who won the95th Grey Cup with theSaskatchewan Roughriders, had been the offensive coordinator at theUniversity of Mississippi and the head coach ofCornell University for 3 years each.
In mid-January, 2013, theMontreal Alouettes lost their head coachMarc Trestman to theChicago Bears of theNFL. Trestman won two Grey Cups in five seasons as the head coach of the Alouettes from 2008 to 2012. On February 19 the Alouettes announced thatDan Hawkins would be the new head coach. Hawkins had been the head coach ofWillamette University,Boise State andUniversity of Colorado from 1993 to 2010.
Dan Hawkins was fired on August 1, 2013, after a 2–3 start to the season. Longtime general managerJim Popp was interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Tim Burke was fired on November 12, 2013 after theWinnipeg Blue Bombers finished last in the league with a dismal 3–15 record.
The deadline for teams to complete trades was Wednesday October 9 at 3:59pm EDT.
Teams played eighteen regular season games, playing two of the three divisional opponents three times, the other four times, and teams from the opposing division twice. Teams were awarded two points for a win and one point for a tie. The top three teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, with the first place team gaining a bye to the divisional finals. A fourth place team in one division could qualify ahead of the third place team in the other division (the "Crossover"), if they earned more points in the season.[1]
If two or more teams in the same division were equal in points, the following tiebreakers applied:[2]
Notes:
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
Teams inbold are in playoff positions.
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 549 | 413 | 28 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 519 | 398 | 22 | Details |
| BC Lions | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 504 | 461 | 22 | Details |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 421 | 519 | 8 | Details |
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 507 | 458 | 22 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 453 | 468 | 20 | Details |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 459 | 471 | 16 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 361 | 585 | 6 | Details |
| Abbreviation and Color Key: BC Lions - BC •Calgary Stampeders - CAL •Edmonton Eskimos - EDM •Hamilton Tiger-Cats - HAM Montreal Alouettes - MON •Toronto Argonauts - TOR •Saskatchewan Roughriders - SAS •Winnipeg Blue Bombers - WBB Preseason Win • Preseason Loss • Regular Season Win • Regular Season Loss • BYE • Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A | B | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | ||||||||||
| BC Lions | CAL | EDM | CAL | TOR | EDM | EDM | TOR | WBB | BYE | CAL | MON | HAM | HAM | MON | SAS | WBB | SAS | CAL | SAS | EDM | CAL | |||||||||
| 29–27 | 27–22 | 44–32 | 24–16 | 17–3 | 31–21 | 38–12 | 27–20 | 26–22 | 39–38 | 29–26 | 37–29 | 36–14 | 24–22 | 53–17 | 31–17 | 40–26 | 35–14 | 43–29 | 26-7 | |||||||||||
| Calgary Stampeders | BC | SAS | BC | SAS | MON | MON | WBB | BYE | SAS | BC | TOR | EDM | EDM | HAM | TOR | HAM | WBB | BC | EDM | SAS | BC | |||||||||
| 29–27 | 24–23 | 44–32 | 36–21 | 22–14 | 38–27 | 37–24 | 42–27 | 26–22 | 35–14 | 37–34 | 22–12 | 26–22 | 33–27 | 35–11 | 38–11 | 40–26 | 27-13 | 29-25 | 26-7 | |||||||||||
| Edmonton Eskimos | SAS | BC | SAS | HAM | BC | BC | MON | HAM | BYE | TOR | SAS | CAL | CAL | WBB | WBB | TOR | MON | SAS | CAL | BC | SAS | |||||||||
| 31–24 | 27–22 | 39–18 | 30–20 | 17–3 | 21–31 | 27–32 | 30–29 | 33–36 | 30–27 | 34–37 | 22–12 | 7–25 | 35–27 (OT) | 34–22 | 47–24 | 9–14 | 27–13 | 29–43 | 30-26 | |||||||||||
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | MON | WBB | TOR | EDM | WBB | SAS | SAS | EDM | BYE | WBB | WBB | BC | BC | CAL | MON | CAL | TOR | TOR | MON | MON | WBB | |||||||||
| 33–26 | 33–26 | 39–34 | 30–20 | 25–20 | 37–0 | 32–20 | 30–29 | 37–18 | 37–14 | 29–26 | 37–29 | 26–22 | 28–26 | 35–11 | 33–19 | 24–18 | 36–5 | 27–24 | 37-7 | |||||||||||
| Montreal Alouettes | HAM | TOR | WBB | WBB | CAL | CAL | EDM | BYE | TOR | SAS | BC | TOR | TOR | BC | HAM | SAS | EDM | WBB | HAM | HAM | TOR | |||||||||
| 33–26 | 24–20 | 38–33 | 19–11 | 22–14 | 38–27 | 32–27 | 38–13 | 24–21 | 39–38 | 20–9 | 37–30 | 36–14 | 28–26 | 17–12 | 47–24 | 34–27 | 36-5 | 27-24 | 23-20 | |||||||||||
| Toronto Argonauts | WBB | MON | HAM | BC | SAS | WBB | BC | BYE | MON | EDM | CAL | MON | MON | SAS | CAL | EDM | HAM | HAM | WBB | WBB | MON | |||||||||
| 24–6 | 24–20 | 39–34 | 24–16 | 39–28 | 35–19 | 38–12 | 38–13 | 36–33 | 35–14 | 20–9 | 37–30 | 31–29 | 33–27 | 34–22 | 33–19 | 24–18 | 26–20 | 36–21 | 23-20 | |||||||||||
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | EDM | CAL | EDM | CAL | TOR | HAM | HAM | BYE | CAL | MON | EDM | WBB | WBB | TOR | BC | MON | BC | EDM | BC | CAL | EDM | |||||||||
| 31–24 | 24–23 | 39–18 | 36–21 | 39–28 | 37–0 | 32–20 | 42–27 | 24–21 | 30–27 | 48–25 | 25–13 | 31–29 | 24–22 | 17–12 | 31–17 | 14–9 | 35-14 | 29-25 | 30-26 | |||||||||||
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | TOR | HAM | MON | MON | HAM | TOR | CAL | BC | BYE | HAM | HAM | SAS | SAS | EDM | EDM | BC | CAL | MON | TOR | TOR | HAM | |||||||||
| 24-6 | 52-0 | 38-33 | 19-11 | 25–20 | 35–19 | 37–24 | 27–20 | 37–18 | 37–14 | 48–25 | 25–13 | 25–7 | 35–27 (OT) | 53–17 | 38–11 | 34-27 | 26–20 | 36–21 | 37-7 | |||||||||||
The Calgary Stampeders were first to clinch a playoff berth, in Week 12 of the schedule. Toronto and BC followed in Week 14, followed by Saskatchewan and Hamilton in Week 15, and the final playoff spot was clinched by Montreal in Week 17.[10] Three of the four home playoff hosts were determined in Week 17.[10]
TheSaskatchewan Roughriders are the 2013Grey Cup Champions, winning their fourth title on home turf atMosaic Stadium at Taylor Field by defeating theHamilton Tiger-Cats, 45–23. Roughriders' running backKory Sheets was named theMVP, while Roughriders' slotback,Chris Getzlaf was named theGrey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.
| November 10: Division Semi-Finals | November 17: Division Finals | November 24: 101st Grey Cup Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field –Regina | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 36 | ||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||
| E1 | Toronto Argonauts | 24 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Alouettes | 16 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 19* | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 23 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 45 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 35 | ||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| W1 | Calgary Stampeders | 13 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | BC Lions | 25 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 29 | ||||||||||||
*-Team won in Overtime.
Source[11]
| Month | Offensive Player of the Month | Defensive Player of the Month | Special Teams Player of the Month | Outstanding Canadian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | Kory Sheets | Kyries Hebert | Rene Paredes | Jon Cornish |
| August | Darian Durant | Chip Cox | Christopher Milo | Marc-Olivier Brouillette |
| September | Zach Collaros | Adam Bighill | Rene Paredes | John Cornish |
| October | Jon Cornish | Chip Cox | Rene Paredes | Jon Cornish |
Source[12]
