The hottest team....really?

I've been reading blogs and articles (http://www.tsn.ca/) about the upcoming game. The majority seem to believe that BC is the hottest team going into the playoffs. I thought it made sense to put this into perspective.

Lets start by saying they are 6 of 9 over the last two months or so. No doubt that on paper that is a hot team. But, lets dig a little bit deeper:

Sept 11 - win over Toronto
Not sure if this needs any analysis? Toronto is a terrible team. Lemon is just that, a lemon.

Sept 18 - loss to Hamilton
A tight game but Hamilton was a team with something to play for - home playoff spot and at the time, within striking distance of Montreal.

Sept 25 - win over Calgary
Calgary's worst game of the year..their complete dominance of teams started to fall apart here.

October 2 - win over Winnipeg
Ok, Winnipeg, they are like the Riders from the early 80s in the sense that they cannot win a game if there life depended on it.

October 11 - loss to Winnipeg
Oh wait, maybe they can win a game. Lets face it losing to the Bombers is just sad (i.e. the Banjo bowl)

October 16 - loss to Edmonton
Finally playing a team with something to play for. When BC needed to win, they couldn't.

October 22 - win over Calgary (a favorite of mine)
Calgary already had first place locked up at this point. So there was nothing to play for; however, this game also showed how Calgary was starting to lose some steam. Burris could not get it done at the end and forced a pass into double coverage for a pic to end the game. Calgary was still in it despite BC throwing everything they had at the Stumps.

October 31 - win over Saskatchewan
Brutal game by the Riders. 4th loss in a row. At this point BC needed the win for survival. The Riders needed a win to survive their fans. But another uninspired game by the Riders full of mistakes. Winnipeg would have won this game too.

November 6 - win over Hamilton
Hamilton did show up somewhat but again, had nothing to play for other than entering the playoffs with a win. If I were Coach Buono, I would be concerned about 450 yards passing and only 23 points.

November 14 - ???
Yeah, the Riders have all the pressure being at home and finishing 2nd. But the Riders played a solid game last week with the exception of the run defence and some serious concerns about field goal kicking. DD looked focused and was on target. BC better hope the team from October 31 shows up...

So when you look at the last two months, is BC really that hot? Or did they benefit from others having played well enough all year to lock down a playoff spot? I'd argue that they benefited from others having nothing to play for as their season or playoff spot was determined.

BC is not hot, they are fortunate and need to be ready for a cold day in Rider Nation!