As we get deeper into the season, things are getting ever more interesting. Last week we saw a couple of surprise victories as the Winnipeg Blue Bomber sand Toronto Argonauts won as road underdogs. Still, the most shocking outcome of last week might have been the shellacking that the Montreal Alouettes put on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Als are not supposed to beat up on anyone like that. Toronto has the most points in the league with eight, but they are off this week on a bye. Their one point lead over the Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks is unlikely to hold. Here is our rundown and CFL betting picks for Week 7.
Wednesday August 3
Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers
CFL Betting Odds: Hamilton -3
Quarterback Matt Nichols had a fabulous game last week, leading the Bombers to a surprise road win over Edmonton. They got up early in the first quarter and never looked back. I won’t say they cruised to victory, but the final score of 30-23 made it look closer than it really was. Even though the Ti-Cats were resting last week it was not enough time for them to get Quarterback Zach Collaros back into the lineup. Jeremiah Masoli is expected to start for Hamilton and is Winnipeg is sharp on offense once again he is going to have to be better.
Pick: Hamilton -3
Thursday August 4
BC Lions @ Montreal Alouettes
CFL Betting Odds: BC -3
The Alouettes dominated last week. Sure, Saskatchewan is probably the worst team in the league, but winning 41-3 had to catch your eye. They might be catching the Lions in a good spot too as their top ranked defense totally fell apart last week at Calgary. They gave up 22 points to the Stamps in the fourth quarter allowing them to force OT and then win it. Their own offense put up 41 points, but it wasn’t enough as a couple of interceptions by Jonathan Jennings loomed large. Montreal was mistake free last week and it paid off. This week, they might have to be mistake free and actually play well to win.
Pick: BC -3
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Calgary Stampeders
CFL Betting Odds: Calgary -12.5
After getting embarrassed at Montreal last week, things could get even uglier for Saskatchewan at Calgary, who leads the West with seven points. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was fantastic late as he led the Stamps to an exciting overtime home win against BC. That was a showdown of two of the best teams in the league. This should be a much easier contest for the Stamps. The outcome was not a surprise, but the manner of doing so was and they are going to be riding high with the Riders coming to town. For Saskatchewan, coach Chris Jones has to be wondering what they can do. No team has given up more points than the Riders and even after the 41 points outburst by Montreal the Als are still the lowest scoring team in the league. Quite simply last week’s result should not have happened. The most they can hope for is that they have hit bottom and there is only one way to go.
Pick: Calgary -12.5
Saturday August 6
Edmonton Eskimos @ Ottawa RedBlacks
CFL Betting Odds: Ottawa -4
This is a Grey Cup rematch, but it has an odd feel to it with both teams coming off home losses last week. Quarterback Henry Burris was back in the lineup for Ottawa last week, but the offense struggled, scoring just 20 points against Toronto. With Trevor Harris still out with a knee injury, Burris will start once again. For Edmonton, they were truly outplayed by Winnipeg last week. Quarterback Mike Reilly was nothing special, but the starkest contrast from that game was on the ground. The Eskimos has only 20 yards rushing and 12 of that came on a Reilly scramble. They need to find a way to get their ground game going if they are going to be competitive this year. Andrew Harris of the Bombers rushed for 127 yards all on his own. Tightening that up has to be a focus.
Pick: Ottawa -4
