2023 Toronto Argonauts season
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| 2023 Toronto Argonauts season | |
|---|---|
 Argonauts 150th Anniversary Logo | |
| General manager | Michael Clemons |
| President | Bill Manning |
| Head coach | Ryan Dinwiddie |
| Home stadium | BMO Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–2 |
| Division place | 1st, East |
| Playoffs | Lost East Final |
| Team MOP | Chad Kelly |
| Team MODP | Adarius Pickett |
| Team MOC | Royce Metchie |
| Team MOOL | Dejon Allen |
| Team MOST | Javon Leake |
| Team MOR | Qwan'tez Stiggers |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The 2023 Toronto Argonauts season was the 65th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 150th year of existence. The Argonauts entered the season as defending champions following their victory in the 109th Grey Cup. The team attempted to win their league-leading 19th Grey Cup championship, but were defeated by the Montreal Alouettes in the East Final.
The Argonauts qualified for the playoffs for a third consecutive season following their week 11 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.[1] In the following week, on September 15, 2023, the Argonauts defeated the Alouettes again to secure first place in the division for the third straight year, which was the first time since 1982–1984 that the franchise captured three straight division titles.[2] The team also started the season with an 11–1 record which was the best start to a season in franchise history.[2] The Argonauts also set a CFL record as the earliest to clinch a first-place finish with six games remaining in an 18-game schedule.[3] The previous record was held by the 2009 Montreal Alouettes, who clinched first place in the East Division with five games remaining.[3] In the final game of the regular season, the Argonauts won their 16th game, tying the 1989 Edmonton Eskimos for the CFL record for most wins in a regular season.[4] However, their season came to a shocking end as they were upset by the Montreal Alouettes in the East Final.[5]
The 2023 CFL season was the third season for head coach Ryan Dinwiddie and the fourth season for Michael Clemons as general manager.[6][7] The team held their training camp at the University of Guelph for the second consecutive season.[8]
CFL global draft
The 2023 CFL global draft took place on May 2, 2023.[9] The Argonauts had the last selection in each of the two rounds after winning the 109th Grey Cup.[10]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Club/School | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Alfredo Gachuz Lozada | K | ITESM CEM |  Mexico |
| 2 | 18 | Emmanuel Falola | LB | Bristol Aztecs |  Great Britain |
CFL national draft
The 2023 CFL draft took place on May 2, 2023.[11] The Argonauts had eight selections in the eight-round draft after acquiring an additional sixth round pick from the Edmonton Elks after trading Jalen Collins and Martez Ivey, but trading their first-round pick to the BC Lions for Jordan Williams.[12][13] The team had the ninth selection in each of the eight rounds of the draft (not including forfeited picks by other teams or traded picks) after winning the 109th Grey Cup.[14]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | Jared Wayne | WR | Pittsburgh | Peterborough, ON |
| 3 | 27 | Adam Guillemette | LS | Holy Cross | Cambridge, ON |
| 4 | 36 | Spencer Nichols | RB | Western Ontario | London, ON |
| 5 | 45 | Edouard Paradis | OL | Houston Christian | Lévis, QC |
| 6 | 47 | Richard Burton | WR | Queen's | Ottawa, ON |
| 6 | 54 | Ife Onyemenam | LB | Wilfrid Laurier | Etobicoke, ON |
| 7 | 63 | Brendan Murphy | DB | Western Ontario | Châteauguay, QC |
| 8 | 72 | Anthony Vandal | OL | Sherbrooke | Sorel, QC |
Preseason
The Argonauts' home preseason game was played at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ontario.[8]
Schedule
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||||
| A | Bye | |||||||||
| B | 1 | Sat, May 27 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 22–27 | 0–1 | None | Tim Hortons Field | 17,500 | Recap |
| C | 2 | Thu, June 1 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | vs. Ottawa Redblacks | L 23–34 | 0–2 | None | Alumni Stadium | 2,230 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.
Regular season
Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 591 | 396 | 10–0 | W4 | Details |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 442 | 392 | 7–3 | W5 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 408 | 461 | 3–7 | L2 | Details |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 415 | 507 | 0–10 | L4 | Details |
Schedule
The Argonauts were the home team for a neutral site game in Halifax for the Week 8 match-up with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[8][17] This was the second consecutive year that the two teams meet in Nova Scotia and the first repeat matchup in the Touchdown Atlantic series.
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||||
| 1 | Bye | |||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Sun, June 18 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 32–14 | 1–0 | TSN/CBSSN | BMO Field | 15,967 | Recap |
| 3 | 2 | Sun, June 25 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | at Edmonton Elks | W 43–31 | 2–0 | TSN | Commonwealth Stadium | 20,817 | Recap |
| 4 | 3 | Mon, July 3 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. BC Lions | W 45–24 | 3–0 | TSN/RDS/CBSSN | BMO Field | 12,473 | Recap |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||||
| 6 | 4 | Fri, July 14 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | at Montreal Alouettes | W 35–27 | 4–0 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 16,151 | Recap |
| 7 | 5 | Fri, July 21 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 31–15 | 5–0 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | 24,312 | Recap |
| 8 | 6 | Sat, July 29 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 31–13 | 6–0 | TSN/RDS2/CBSSN | Huskies Stadium | 11,555 | Recap |
| 9 | 7 | Fri, Aug 4 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | at Calgary Stampeders | L 7–20 | 6–1 | TSN | McMahon Stadium | 19,234 | Recap |
| 10 | 8 | Sun, Aug 13 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Ottawa Redblacks | W 44–31 | 7–1 | TSN/RDS | BMO Field | 12,796 | Recap |
| 11 | Bye | |||||||||
| 12 | 9 | Fri, Aug 25 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 39–31 | 8–1 | TSN/RDS | BMO Field | 17,906 | Recap |
| 13 | 10 | Mon, Sept 4 | 3:30 p.m. EDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 41–28 | 9–1 | TSN/RDS2/CBSSN | Tim Hortons Field | 25,381 | Recap |
| 14 | 11 | Sat, Sep 9 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 39–10 | 10–1 | TSN/RDS | BMO Field | 14,415 | Recap |
| 15 | 12 | Fri, Sep 15 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | at Montreal Alouettes | W 23–20 | 11–1 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 17,626 | Recap |
| 16 | 13 | Sat, Sep 23 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 29–14 | 12–1 | TSN | BMO Field | 15,549 | Recap |
| 17 | 14 | Fri, Sep 29 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 21–31 | 12–2 | TSN/RDS | IG Field | 32,343 | Recap |
| 18 | 15 | Fri, Oct 6 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Edmonton Elks | W 35–12 | 13–2 | TSN/RDS2/CBSSN | BMO Field | 14,246 | Recap |
| 19 | 16 | Sat, Oct 14 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | vs. Ottawa Redblacks | W 40–27 | 14–2 | TSN/RDS2 | BMO Field | 13,888 | Recap |
| 20 | 17 | Sat, Oct 21 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 29–26 | 15–2 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 24,158 | Recap |
| 21 | 18 | Sat, Oct 28 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | at Ottawa Redblacks | W 27–22 | 16–2 | TSN/RDS | TD Place Stadium | 18,742 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.
- # Games played with white uniforms.
Post-season
Schedule
| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||||
| East Semi-Final | Sat, Nov 4 | Bye | |||||||
| East Final | Sat, Nov 11 | 3:00 p.m. EST | Montreal Alouettes | L 17–38 | 0–1 | TSN/RDS | BMO Field | 26,620 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.