It happens so suddenly. There is no football for months and now it is not even Canada Day and we are already into Week 2 for CFL betting action. This week, due to the holiday, the schedule is just two days long with games on Thursday and Friday. It’s somewhat surprising that they didn’t schedule Ottawa at home for Canada’s birthday, though. That would have been a nice treat for the country. This week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders gets to kick off its season in front of the rowdiest fans in the league. That’ll be one of the main highlights of the card, but here is the Week 2 CFL rundown.
Ottawa RedBlacks @ Montreal Alouettes
Odds: Pick’em
Both of these teams are coming off Week 1 victories, but it is fair to say that Ottawa was more impressive, winning at Edmonton in a rematch of last year’s Grey Cup. Quarterback Trevor Harris was superb in relief of an injured Henry Burris, leading Ottawa to the overtime victory. He went 17-of-19 for 292 yards and it looks like he is going to start at Montreal this week. He was not expected to get so much playing time so soon, but he is far from green, having thrown for more than 4000 yards last year with the Argos. He actually led the CFL in passing in 2015. Some figured we might see a quarterback controversy if Burris showed any signs of aging, but now that he’s injured, this opens the door for the same issue. If the Redblacks continue to win under Harris, it will be hard to yank him.
Montreal won at Winnipeg last week, but it was a funky result with a weather delay early. We’re putting more faith in what we saw from Ottawa, so take them in this spot where you don’t have to lay any points.
CFL Betting Pick: Ottawa
Toronto Argonauts @ Saskatchewan Roughriders
Odds: Saskatchewan -2.5
Toronto put on a pretty lame show in their first game at the new BMO field. Quarterback Ricky Ray’s numbers might look alright from a far, but he was under pressure the whole game and his accuracy suffered. He still does not seem right. Not helping matters was the fact that he was forced to throw on almost every play as the Argos only had three rushing attempts by running backs.
Saskatchewan was the only team to sit out last week. They are looking for a major improvement from last year when they finished as the worst team in the CFL. They brought in defending Grey Cup coach Chris Jones to execute the turnaround. We will know a lot more about this group once we actually see them on the field, but this is a spot where we’ll take a shot.
CFL Betting Pick: Saskatchewan -2.5
BC Lions @ Hamilton Tiger Cats
Odds: Hamilton -7.5
This is an East versus West battle between contenders. Both teams won last week with Hamilton having an easy time against Toronto and B.C. squeaking by the Stampeders. The Lions defense was impressive, giving up just 18 points to Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and what will likely be one of the more prolific offenses in the league. They will be challenged by Jeremiah Masoli, who threw for more than 300 yards in their win over the Argos. We’ll take the points here.
CFL Betting Pick: BC +7.5
Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ Calgary Stampeders
Odds: Calgary -9.5
This is the only matchup featuring teams that both lost last week. Calgary is at home and they will be looking to demonstrate they are championship material while Winnipeg just might want to show they have a pulse after losing a lifeless game at home in the opener. Calgary found it tough sledding against a good BC defense last week, but Mitchell should be able to find more seams this time around. The best thing to come out of Winnipeg’s loss last week was the performance of free agent running back Andrew Harris. He rushed for 80 yards and proved he can be a weapon for the Blue Bombers this season the way he was for BC last year when he was second in the league. Winnipeg is not necessarily looking to grind out games, but offensive balance will help them.
In this spot, take the Stamps, though. Their offense should come to life after being muzzled in Week 1.
CFL Betting Pick: Calgary -9.5
