2008 Edmonton Eskimos season

The  Edmonton Eskimos season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 60th overall. The Eskimos finished 4th in the West division, but made the playoffs because of the "crossover" rule. Edmonton became the first Western team to win the East Semi-Final. The Eskimos attempted to win their 14th Grey Cup championship, but they lost the East Final to the Montreal Alouettes.

CFL Draft
In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black.

Transactions

 * *Later traded to the Calgary Stampeders
 * **Later traded to the BC Lions

Season schedule
Total attendance: 336,449 Average attendance: 37,383 (62.2%)

Ron Lancaster
On Thursday, September 18, Ron Lancaster, 69, died from an apparent heart attack, less than two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite working in television, Lancaster returned to football as the Eskimos' head coach in 1991. During his seven-season tenure as Edmonton's head coach, the Eskimos won the 1993 Grey Cup. Lancaster resigned as the Eskimos' head coach after the 1997 season to become the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' head coach and director of football operations.

Awards and records

 * Kamau Peterson (WR), Edmonton Eskimos – CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award
 * Ricky Ray, Led CFL, Passing Yards (5,861)
 * Ricky Ray, Led West Division, Passing Attempts (605)
 * Ricky Ray, Led West Division, Passing Completions (422)
 * Ricky Ray, Led CFL, Passing Completion (69.8%)

All-Star selections

 * Patrick Kabongo, CFL Western All-Star, Offence
 * Kamau Peterson, CFL Western All-Star, Offence
 * Dario Romero, CFL Western All-Star, Defence

Playoffs
The Eskimos advanced to the East Division playoffs as "crossover" being that they had a better record than Toronto. By defeating Winnipeg, Edmonton became the first crossover team from the West to win an Eastern semi-final.

East Semi-Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 12:00 PM Central Standard Time Venue: Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg, Manitoba

East Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time Venue: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec