CFL Betting Notes – Week 4
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
For the third week in a row, the favorites went 3-1 straight-up in CFL play. They also went 3-1 against the spread starting with Calgary’s 24-14 victory against Ottawa on Thursday night as a 7 ½-point home favorite.
Friday’s doubleheader of CFL betting action got underway with Hamilton beating Winnipeg 31-17 as a 4 ½-point home favorite. Edmonton made short work of British Columbia at home as a 6 ½-point favorite in a 41-22 romp. Week 3 of the CFL regular season came to a close on Saturday night with Montreal stunning Saskatchewan 23-17 as a heavy 10 ½-point road underdog.
Thursday, July 5
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Hamilton -5 ½
Total: 49
Game Overview
Hamilton has won its last two games by a combined 31 points after a tough loss to Calgary in Week 1 that was much closer than the 28-14 final score as a 7 ½-point road underdog. The total has stayed UNDER in two of its first three games after closing at 55 points or higher in all three contests. The Tiger-Cats’ offense has been successfully led by Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback. He threw for 369 yards and a score in Friday’s win against Winnipeg.
Saskatchewan had a rough night against Montreal last week, especially when it came to throwing the ball. Brandon Bridge and David Watford combined for four interceptions filling in for an injured Zach Collaros. The Roughriders ended the game with just 279 yards of total offense. This was the second game in a row where they failed to score more than 17 points. Saskatchewan quarterbacks have now thrown a total of seven interceptions in those two loses.
Betting Trends
-- Saskatchewan has covered in five of its last six home games against Hamilton and the total has stayed UNDER in four of those six games.
Friday, July 6
Ottawa RedBlacks (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) at Montreal Alouettes (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Ottawa -5 ½
Total: 48 ½
Game Overview
The RedBlacks blasted Saskatchewan in their season opener in Week 2 with Trevor Harris completing 26-of-36 passes for 345 yards and two scores. Against the best team in the CFL last Thursday night, Harris came back down to earth with 135 passing yards and one interception. He completed a dismal 44.8 percent of his 29 passing attempts. The lone bright spot was William Powell’s 123 yards rushing the ball on 13 carries. He has gained 217 yards on 32 carries in his first two games.
Montreal’s defense came to life in that Week 2 upset over the Roughriders after allowing a combined 78 points in the first two games this season. Quarterback Drew Willy left that game in the third quarter due to injury and his status for this game remains unknown. In his place, Jeff Mathews completed 8-of-12 passes for 98 yards. The Alouettes’ ground game was not a factor in the stunning upset with 32 yards on 16 rushing attempts.Betting Trends
-- Ottawa has a SU 8-1 edge in the last nine meetings and it has covered the spread in its last five road games against the Alouettes. The total has stayed UNDER in all five of those games.
Saturday, July 7
Edmonton Eskimos (2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) at Toronto Argonauts (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Edmonton -4 ½
Total: 52 ½
Game Overview
Edmonton looked a bit shaky in its SU 1-1 start (0-2 ATS), but it quickly returned to form in Week 3 with that convincing victory against BC. The total has gone OVER in all three of its games with a scoring average of 31.7 points per game. Mike Reilly is once again one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL when it comes to passing yards with 1,020 in his first three starts. He is tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with six and he has completed 69.8 percent of his 106 attempts.
Toronto needed last week’s bye to try and regroup following losses to Saskatchewan on the road and Calgary at home in the first two weeks of the new season. The bigger loss could be veteran quarterback Ricky Ray, who appears to be out for the season with a neck injury. In his place against Calgary in that 41-7 loss was James Franklin. He completed eight of his 13 passing attempts for 65 yards. The Argonauts gained another 76 yards running the ball on 15 attempts.
Betting Trends
-- Edmonton has the 6-3 edge ATS in the last nine meetings in Toronto, but the Argonauts are 5-1 SU in their last six home games against the Eskimos. The total gone OVER in five of those six home games.
British Columbia Lions (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-2 SU, 2-1 ATS)
Point-spread: Winnipeg -3 ½
Total: 53
Game Overview
The Lions got past Montreal at home in Week 1, but they are going to have to play much better than they did last week against Edmonton to compete in the West Division this season. Jonathon Jennings has completed 68.8 percent of his 48 passing attempts for 382 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Emmanuel Arceneaux has been his top target with seven receptions for 106 yards in the first two games. The ground game has been led by Jeremiah Johnson with 116 yards and one score on 21 rushing attempts.
Winnipeg had its hands full against the Tiger-Cats’ defense last week after a promising start by rookie quarterback Chris Streveler. He continues to fill in for an injured Matt Nichols and last week he looked like he was making his third start in the CFL with 146 yards passing, while completing 17 of his 30 passing attempts. The Blue Bombers were able to move the ball on the ground behind Andrew Harris and Streveler with a combined 121 yards rushing.
Betting Trends
-- The Blue Bombers have covered ATS in seven of the last eight meetings overall and the total has gone OVER in four of the last six meetings in Winnipeg.
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