Last week mostly played to form with the exception of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers continuing their run of sharp play. They turned some heads with their impressive 34-17 win at Toronto. They are now a .500 team, but they have the bye this week, probably bad timing considering they have so much momentum. The game of the week has to be between the Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions as that duo will battle for first place in the West Division. Those are the only two teams in the CFL with five wins as everyone else has yet to hit that mark. Here is our CFL betting rundown for Week 9:
Friday August 19
Montreal Alouettes @ Ottawa RedBlacks
CFL Betting Odds: Ottawa -9.5
Quarterback Trevor Harris is still out for the Ottawa Redblacks. Normally, you wouldn’t lead a game preview with an update on the backup quarterback, but he was so good in relief of Henry Burris early in the season that is was worth noting. It’s not that Burris has been bad – he’s still completing 66.3% of his passes – but he also has four touchdowns and four picks in three starts. Harris has completed 82.2% of his passes in five games with nine touchdowns and just one interceptions.
Ottawa was off last week, but was in pretty good form when the RedBlacks last played, beating Edmonton at home. They do not need Burris to light it up like Harris has; they just be the reliable veteran that he is. For Montreal, the goal this week has to be to get the ball in the endzone. Four field goals was all they could muster on the road at Edmonton. They were able to keep the game relatively close without a major, but doing so again seems unlikely.
Pick: Ottawa -9.5
Calgary Stampeders @ BC Lions
CFL Betting Odds: BC -3
The top two teams in the West collide here with road Calgary leading by a point (thanks to their tie). We may only be in Week 9, but this is the third time these teams have met. In the previous two, the home teams have won both, first BC by two and then Calgary by three, making for a whopping one point differential in total. If one of these teams can steal a road game, it could be the difference in who gets the top spot in the playoffs. The two games could not have been more different, though. The first saw a total of 38 points while the second had both teams scoring in the 40’s. Clearly, these sides know each other well. Look for BC to try and keep the scoring down a little. That is their preferred method and gives them the best chance to win.
Pick: BC-3
Saturday August 20
Edmonton Eskimos @ Toronto Argonauts
CFL Betting Odds: Edmonton -2.5
Ricky Ray is still going to be out a few weeks and his absence was definitely felt last week. Backup Logan Kilgore sunk the Argos with five interceptions. There is no official word yet, but you have to think Argos are at least thinking about giving this start to third string Cody Fajardo, who looked alright in limited action. Edmonton did not have too tough a time with Montreal last week, winning by 11 points. Quarterback Mike Reilly bounced back from his worst game of the season, which was key. Similar to last week they just need him to play mistake free football to win. He leads the league in passing yards and is second in touchdowns, but the key for him is to avoid the mistakes.
Pick: Edmonton -2.5
Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats
CFL Betting Odds: Hamilton -10
Things have not gone well for Hamilton, which finds itself in third place in the East. The same can not be said for one win Saskatchewan, where the frustration has spilled beyond the sidelines for this hapless team. Last week, head coach Chris Jones told Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson to “Win with some class” and the week before, the team was fined $65,000 for using ineligible players in practice and $15,00 for violating ratio rules against the B.C. Lions. What a mess.
The Ti-Cats were down most of the game at BC last week, but they tied it at 38 with a little more than three minutes to go. Alas, they could not deny the Lions who scored with just over a minute left. The positive for Hamilton was that quarterback Zach Collaros looked pretty good in his first action of the season. Having got that out of the way Saskatchewan, at home is the perfect opponent to try and tighten things up. No team has given up more points than the Riders 233. No team has even broken 200 yet.
Pick: Hamilton -10
