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Paul Swanson/CFL.ca We’ve learned a lot through more than half of the 2026 campaign, which is where we are with Week 12 in the books. For instance, 12 weeks is enough for us to determine Montreal is an absolute wagon and to solidify Davis Alexander’s as one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. And despite not sitting first in the West, I think you can also confidently call Saskatchewan a legit threat to repeat as Grey Cup champions. But with plenty of football still to be played, we have four questions that need answering in the second half of the season. RELATED » Rourke, Lions defence shine as Leos roar past Riders » Argonauts weather the storm, take down Tiger-Cats at home » Elks rally past Bombers on Blanchard’s walk-off field goal » Alouettes keep rolling with win over REDBLACKS » Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally WILL THERE BE A CROSSOVER? We might be in store for a torrid finish in the final year of this current playoff format. And if the season were to end right now, we would indeed see a second consecutive crossover. Hamilton currently holds down third place in the East Division at 4-7, one win back of 5-5 Toronto sitting second. With a pair of teams in the West tied for third place, also at 5-5, the possibility of one crossing over is very real. With an impressive 30-16 win over the Roughriders on Sunday, the BC Lions have won four straight and are at .500 for the first time this season. Winnipeg, who crossed over last year, is also 5-5 despite losses in three of their last four. And even though they sit fifth in the division, the 4-6 Stampeders remain a factor and have yet to lose a game by more than one possession. There’s still plenty to be determined here. With five teams in the conversation, there are plenty of head-to-head matchups to help clear this picture up. And then there’s the big question for the Ticats: will quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell return this season? As we watch it all play out in the second half, remember the crossover rules. For a team to move divisions for the playoffs, they can’t rely on tiebreakers. That means the Lions, Bombers, or Stamps must finish with a better record than Hamilton or Toronto at the end of the year. WHO WINS THE RUSHING TITLE? It looks like we’ll have a four-man race for the rushing crown with less than 100 yards separating Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira and Calgary’s Dedrick Mills entering Week 13. And there really isn’t much else separating this impressive group of four, either. | Player | Team | GP | Carries | Yards | Average | TD | | Brady Oliveira | Winnipeg | 10 | 139 | 850 | 6.1 | 4 | | Justin Rankin | Edmonton | 11 | 136 | 791 | 5.8 | 8 | | Travis Theis | Montreal | 10 | 120 | 788 | 6.6 | 7 | | Dedrick Mills | Calgary | 10 | 129 | 756 | 5.9 | 3 | Oliveira, with two rushing crowns already on the resume, is back in a familiar perch thanks to an impressive recent run. Oliveira has gone over 100 yards in three of his last four games, totalling 427 yards during that stretch. If Oliveira’s usage stays steady (averaging 15 carries over the last four games), he’s got a great chance to finish on top of the rushing table for a third time. The numbers for Travis Theis are even more impressive when you subtract Week 1 when he wasn’t on top of the depth chart. Since assuming that spot, though, Theis is averaging almost 87 rushing yards per game as he continues to see more action in Montreal’s high-octane offence. Don’t sleep on the other two, either. In addition to sitting second overall in this conversation, Justin Rankin has an additional 527 receiving yards to league the lead with 1,318 yards from scrimmage. And knowing he won last year’s title, Calgary’s Dedrick Mills is still in this thing. CAN EDMONTON WIN THE WEST? At first, I had this labeled as “is Edmonton the real deal?” And then I did a double take and revised because the Elks have already proven they’re for real. But to win the division after five years out of the playoffs would be a real statement in Edmonton, on top of getting that automatic bye to the Western Final. And the Elks are very much in the driver’s seat. Friday’s 22-19 comeback win over the Bombers moved Edmonton to 8-3, which puts them two games clear of Saskatchewan after their loss to the Lions to wrap Week 12. Edmonton boasts one of the league’s best defences to go along with a balanced offence and elite special teams. Yes, the Elks still have some tough remaining games on the schedule, including the annual OK Tire Labour Day Weekend back-to-back with Calgary. But a division crown would be a nice addition to their first playoff berth since 2019, which is almost set in stone. WILL TYSON PHILPOT MAKE HISTORY? The Tyson Philpot record tracker is alive and well as we move towards the stretch drive. Philpot recorded 75 more receiving yards in Montreal’s 46-16 win over the REDBLACKS on Thursday, bringing his league leading total to 1,229 with eight games remaining. So where does that place Philpot historically? Philpot is currently on pace for 2,212 receiving yards, which would shatter the all-time mark of 2,036 set by Allen Pitts in 1994. Furthermore, Philpot is a little more than 400 yards from setting a new standard for single season receiving yards by a Canadian. The current record is 1,662 set by Terry Evanshen in 1967. There’s one more to keep an eye on, too. With a pair of touchdowns Thursday, Philpot is up to nine on the season. That gives him an outside shot of setting another Canadian record for single season touchdown catches. At 17, Evanshen owns that record too, also set in 1967; Philpot is currently on pace for 16.2.