CFL Betting Notes – Week 8
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
The favorites went 3-1 both straight-up and against the spread in Week 7 of the CFL regular season starting with Edmonton’s 44-23 romp over Montreal last Thursday night as a 10-point road favorite. In Friday’s action, Winnipeg hammered Toronto 40-14 as a 10-point favorite at home.
Saturday’s doubleheader of games started with Ottawa getting past Hamilton 21-15 as a six-point road underdog to pull off the lone upset of the weekend. Later that night, Calgary remained perfect on the year with a 34-22 victory against Saskatchewan to easily cover as a 7 ½-point favorite on the road.
Thursday, Aug. 2
Ottawa RedBlacks (4-2 SU, 3-3 ATS) at Toronto Argonauts (1-5 SU, 2-4 ATS)
Point-spread: Ottawa -3 ½
Total: 48 ½
Game Overview
Ottawa has been able to open a two-game lead in the East as the only team in the division with a winning record. Trevor Harris has been throwing the ball with better consistency after a few up and down performances earlier in the season. He is fourth in the CFL in passing yards (1,506) through six starts and he has tossed six touchdowns against four interceptions. William Powell adds the balance on offense in the running game with 469 yards rushing and two scores on 92 carries.
The Grey Cup hangover continues for the Argonauts in the absence of Ricky Ray at quarterback. In his place, James Franklin has completed 65.2 percent of his 141 passing attempts for 967 yards. The bigger concern is his six interceptions against just a pair of touchdown throws. In last week’s lopsided loss to Winnipeg, the lone bright spot was James Wilder Jr. running the ball with 81 yards and a score on 15 rushing attempts.
Betting Trends
-- Toronto has gone 7-2 SU in its last nine games against Ottawa and it has won nine of the last 10 meetings at home. The total has stayed UNDER in the last five matchups in this East Division clash.
Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-3 SU, 3-3 ATS) at Edmonton Eskimos (4-2 SU, 2-4 ATS)
Point-spread: Edmonton -9
Total: 53
Game Overview
It is hard to know which direction Saskatchewan heads in from here. The Roughriders still have a very perplexing loss at home to Montreal on the early 2018 resume to go with a solid 11-point victory against Hamilton as a 10-point underdog on the road. The recent loss to Calgary was anticipated to add quite a bit of weight to this week’s game against the second-best team in the West Division. You could see a heavy dose of the running game this week to compensate for Brandon Bridge’s play at quarterback.
This is also a very important game for the Eskimos to have any chance of keeping Calgary in sight in the West Division title race. There is no doubt that Edmonton can move the ball quickly downfield and put points on the board with Mike Reilly under center. He threw for 415 yards and four touchdowns against Montreal last Thursday and he remains at the top of the list for the season with 2,063 yards passing and 13 touchdown throws. The one issue with the Eskimos through their first six games has been a defense that has allowed an average of 24.7 points per game.Betting Trends
-- Saskatchewan has a 4-1 edge ATS in the last five meetings, but Edmonton has won six of the last eight meetings SU. The total has gone OVER in seven of the last 10 games played in Edmonton.
Friday, Aug. 3
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-4 SU, 2-4 ATS) at Montreal Alouettes (1-5 SU, 2-4 ATS)
Point-spread: Hamilton -6
Total: 54
Game Overview
It looks like the Tiger-Cats have been a bit overrated by the oddsmakers with a trio of SU losses closing as favorites in all three contests. They will have to cover a big number on the road this week to try and turn things around. Jeremiah Masoli continues to throw the ball well with a 67.0 percent completion rate on his 215 passing attempts. However, his 1,914 passing yards as the second-highest total in the CFL have only resulted in five touchdown passes against six interceptions.
Johnny Manziel will make his first CFL start against his former team after getting acquired from Hamilton. That may be a motivating factor for him, but he is still stuck on an offense that has scored a grand total of 92 points in six games. On the other side of the ball, the Alouettes have allowed a combined total of 192 points in that same time span. Tyrell Sutton has been the team’s top rusher with 262 yards and one score on 58 carries.
Betting Trends
-- Hamilton is 5-1 SU in its last six games against Montreal with a 4-2 edge ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in six of the last eight games between these two East Division rivals.
Saturday. Aug. 4
British Columbia Lions (2-3 SU, 3-2 ATS) at Calgary Stampeders (6-0 SU, 5-1 ATS)
Point-Spread: Calgary -9
Total: 52
Game Overview
BC is coming off a bye after giving Ottawa a run for its money in a four-point loss on July 20 as a seven-point road underdog. Before that, the Lions split a home-and-home series against Winnipeg SU and ATS. The switch to Travis Lulay from Jonathon Jennings at quarterback appears to have provided a spark for an offense that failed to score more than 22 points in each of its first four games.
Calgary is in the driver seat in the West as clearly the best team in the CFL. The Stampeders have won each of their first six games by a double-digit margin of victory behind Bo Levi Mitchel throwing the ball all over the field and a stingy defense that has given up an average of 11.3 PPG. Mitchell is third in the league in passing yards (1,517) and he is second on the list in touchdown throws with 12.
Betting Trends
-- Calgary is a perfect 5-0 SU in its last five home games against the Lions and it has gone 7-3 SU in its last 10 home games against BC. The total has stayed UNDER in six of the last eight meetings in this West Division tilt.
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