The Corbett Report, September 7, 2024

Introduction

If this is the week after Labour Day then this must be Banjo Bowl weekend.  The most wonderful day of the year on a Bomber fans football calendar. A weekend when there’s a run on watermelons at the local co-op.  When a broad swath of combines trundle across the prairies in search of football glory.  When cousins and spouses (often the same person) arrive in Winnipeg and marvel at the tall buildings and paved roadways. Coming as it always does after the Labour Day Classic in Regina the Banjo Bowl is never short on intriguing story lines and pure football drama.

This year is the 20^th anniversary of the Banjo Bowl so here are some fun facts about the first 19 editions of the game:

• Bombers hold an edge in the overall record with 12 wins vs. the Riders 7
• Only once has the Banjo Bowl not been a sell out.  That was game #1 in 2004
• The last time the Riders won the Banjo Bowl was September 8, 2018 when they defeated the Bombers 32-27
• Since the 2018 loss, the Bombers have won 4 straight Banjo Bowls and have outscored the Riders 173-45

Are you getting the picture?  No wonder Bomber fans look forward to this weekend.  It’s usually a pretty good time with a pretty good outcome for the home side.  In fact, a most wonderful time.

Welcome to week Fourteen.  Welcome to the Corbett Report.

Bombers

All eyes this week were of course, on Zach Collaros and in particular, whether he would be able to play this week after a high hit to his head by Miles Brown in the first half of the Labour Day game sent him to the sideline.  Good news is he practiced all week and will get the start on Saturday.  A good thing too I must say after watching Chris Streveler in the second half of the LDC.  Unfortunately, the news isn’t as good for a few other players on the Bombers.  Stanley Bryant will likely miss his second game in a row and Adam Bighill has been placed on the 6 game injury list.  Both players are leaders on the team and will leave big holes to fill.  Bighill’s injury in particular is a concern.  Rumour is that it’s season and perhaps even career ending.  Injuries though come with the territory this time of year and the Bombers look like they’ll be fielding a highly competitive unit again this week.

Players to watch:

• Sergio Castillo: making 50+ yard field goals routine
• Zach Collaros: the first half in Regina last week was a thing of beauty
• Willie Jefferson: Willie love’s Winnipeg and the home crowd gets him pumped up
• Brady Oliveria: Establishing the run game is often a key to victory

Riders

An interesting quote out of Regina this week attributed to Trevor Harris.  “This team has a Grey Cup winning DNA”.   Uhmmm, did he not notice that after starting the season 5-1 the Riders haven’t registered a victory and are now 5-6-1.  Maybe he meant to say “Grey Cup WATCHING DNA”.

The Riders last week almost managed a come back but another loss must leave their confidence shaking.  They too are struggling with injuries.  Particularly on the O-Line where four of their linemen are on the 6-game injury list.  Can you say bring on Willie?  Still the Riders remain a solid team. As long as Trevor Harris is healthy (3 TDs vs no INTs last week) they’ll be in the game.  The Bombers are well advised not to take them lightly.

Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	Pts for	Pts Against
West
Winnipeg	12	6	6	0	12	269	253
BC	12	6	6	0	12	298	294
Saskatchewan	12	5	6	1	11	312	304
Calgary	11	4	7	0	8	266	325
Edmonton	12	4	8	0	8	348	326
East
Montreal	11	10	1	0	20	309	232
Ottawa	11	7	3	1	15	273	283
Toronto	11	6	5	0	12	304	284
Hamilton	12	3	9	0	6	310	388

WTF Winnipeg is in first place!!!!! I have no words

Keys to the game

For the Bombers to win

• Score early to rattle the Riders already shaky confidence
• Keep Zach upright
• Take to the air

For the Riders to win

• Remember to put oil in the tractor (show some energy)
• Roll large bales of hay onto the field (win the line of scrimmage)
• Hang around until the last crop is harvested (remember last week’s comeback)

The predictions

The Corbett Report has been on a bit of a streak of late and is now a respectable 26-26 after 13 weeks.  So, you might want to pay attention.

Looks like it’ll be a hometown sweep this weekend.  Pick:

Montreal over BC

Ottawa over Toronto

Edmonton over Calgary

And of course, in our marquee matchup, the Riders won’t be able to overcome the Bomber home crowd and will head back to Regina after yet another Banjo Bowl loss.

Bombers 26 Riders 13

Be sure to check out jcorbettreport.com