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Game Day Notes - Grey Cup Winners' Slow Starts: The recent trend in the CFL is for Grey Cup winners to start slowly the next year. The all-time slowest 'next season' starts by GC winners (1945 to 2017) shows only THREE clubs with less than two wins and the average 6-game start for these 72 clubs being .618. Toronto's 1-5 start in 2018 matches the slowest-ever by a Grey Cup winning club (Montreal in 1950): Lewis Ward: Comes into Week #8 with the following accomplishments among ALL 1st-year players in CFL history:  Highest FG made %: 95.2%  Most FGs made 1st year player (tied)  3rd-longest FG made streak (17, 4 back of the record) McLeod Bethel-Thompson: The Argos have suggested that Bethel-Thompson will start at QB this week - he would become Toronto's 8th different QB starter since Oct 23/15, a span of 45 games and none have had a winning record (16-29): P- Debut QB Starts Since 2014: The last 5 CFL QB debuts have all resulted in losses for their clubs (Chris Streveler in 2018, Andrew Buckley, Matthew Shiltz and Ryan Lindley in 2017 plus Brock Jensen in 2016. The last QB to win his first career start was Vernon Adams Jr. on Oct 22/16. Since 2014, debut QB starters have gone just 9-17 .346. Toronto has bucked this trend though as their debut QB starters since 2013 have all won - Logan Kilgore on Jul 31/16, Trevor Harris on Nov 7/14 and Zach Collaros, a winner on Jul 30/13. The REDBLACKS are on 2-game win streak while Toronto comes into this contest riding 3 consecutive losses. This 3-game East Div. disparity in Ottawa's favour is the LARGEST EVER coming into a head-to-head meeting with Toronto. In 10 previous meetings Ottawa had never been more than one win ahead. Greg Ellingson 33 straight: Last week extended his consecutive game streak with a reception to 33 games in a row. Over his last 3 games however he has just 10 catches for under 100 yards (10 for 97, 0 TDs). - Brad Sinopoli 1600+/135 catch pace: Sinopoli trails only Duke Williams (672) with 552 receiving yards and is on pace for 1,656 this season. That would be a new Ottawa record - well ahead of Greg Ellingson's 1,457 yards set in 2017. Sinopoli has made a CFL-best 45 receptions on pace for 135 which would be the #2 mark in CFL history. Rivalry to the end: Although Toronto has won seven of 10 meetings against the REDBLACKS going back to 2014, eight of those games were decided in the final three minutes. This is Toronto’s first game against an East Division team in 2018. There is a three-win disparity between Toronto and Ottawa is the largest ever ahead of a head-to-head meeting between the two clubs. In their 10 previous games the REDBLACKS have never been more than one win ahead.