CFL Betting Notes - Week 6
Week 5 Recap
In an extended five-game schedule in Week 5 of the CFL regular season, Ottawa pulled double duty when it started the week with a 24-19 victory against Montreal last Wednesday as a four-point favorite at home. Edmonton remained undefeated on the year with Thursday’s 31-28 win on the road against Hamilton, but it could not cover as a 3 ½-point favorite.
Friday’s action in the CFL saw British Columbia get past Winnipeg 45-42 as a four-point home favorite and in Saturday’s featured game, Calgary returned to its winning ways with a 27-10 romp over Saskatchewan as a 10-point favorite at home. Week 5 closed things out with Toronto getting a big 27-24 victory at home against Ottawa on Monday night, but it failed to cover as a 3 ½-point favorite.
Thursday, July 27
Montreal Alouettes (2-3 SU, 2-3 ATS) vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-2 SU, 3-1 ATS)
Point-spread: Winnipeg -4 ½
Total: 55
Game Overview
Montreal has had some time to stew about last week’s loss to the RedBlacks and it comes into this game with a 5-1 record against the spread in its last six games following a straight-up loss. The Alouettes had their chances at the end of that game and despite throwing two early picks, Darian Durant ended the night with 452 yards passing and two touchdown throws. Unfortunately, this was the fourth time in five games that Montreal failed to score more than 19 points.
Winnipeg has had no problem scoring points this season with an average of 32 points per game. The Blue Bombers’ issues in their .500 start have been with a defense that has allowed an average of 34.8 points in its first four contests. As a result, the total has gone OVER in three of those games. Matt Nichols has completed a respectable 66.2 percent of his 148 passing attempts for 1,080 yards and eight touchdowns.
Betting Trends
-- Winnipeg has won six of the last eight meetings SU, but Montreal has a 3-1 edge ATS in the last four games in this inter-division clash. The total has stayed UNDER in four of the last five meetings in Winnipeg.
Friday, July 28
British Columbia Lions (4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS) vs. Edmonton Eskimos (4-0 SU, 1-3 ATS)
Point-spread: Edmonton -3
Total: 54 ½
Game Overview
This will be the second time this season that these two bitter West Division rivals will square off against one another after BC dropped its season opener to Edmonton 30-27 as a four-point home favorite. The Lions went on to win their next four games including three-straight on the road before last week’s victory at home against Winnipeg. Travis Lulay has done an excellent job in relief of injured quarterback Jonathon Jennings with 840 passing yards and five scoring strikes in eight quarters of action.
Mike Reilly has gone the distance for the Eskimos at quarterback and in four games he has tallied 1,216 yards passing and seven touchdown throws. Edmonton’s offense has also gotten a boost on the ground from Travon Van and John White with a combined 322 rushing yards. This unit has averaged 26.8 PPG this year to complement a defense that is holding opposing teams to 23.8 PPG.
Betting Trends
-- Head-to-head in this division tilt, Edmonton now has a 4-1 SU edge in the last five meetings, but the Lions are 4-2 ATS in the last six games between the two. The total has stayed UNDER in the last three meetings after staying UNDER the closing 59 ½-point line in Week 1.
Saturday, July 29
Toronto Argonauts (3-2 SU, 2-3 ATS) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Saskatchewan -2
Total: 52 ½
Game Overview
Toronto’s win on Monday night made it the only team in the East Division with a SU winning record. All three victories have come against the division (Ottawa twice) and its two losses were against BC and Winnipeg by a combined 21 points. A healthy Ricky Ray at quarterback has returned to form with 1,896 passing yards, which is ranked second in the CFL. SJ Green has been his top target with 31 receptions for 518 yards, which is also second on the list.
The rough start for the Roughriders continued with last week’s loss to Calgary, but this team has been much better at home than on the road this season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Saskatchewan has scored a combined 26 points in road losses to Montreal and the Stampeders, but it put up 40 points in a loss to Winnipeg and 37 points in an earlier win against Hamilton.
Betting Trends
-- Toronto has gone 8-2-1 ATS in its last 11 road games against the Roughriders and it has a 5-2 edge SU in the last seven meetings overall. The total has stayed UNDER in three of the last five games.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-4 SU, 1-3 ATS) vs. Calgary Stampeders (3-1-1 SU, 2-3 ATS)
Point-spread: Calgary -12 ½
Total: 54 ½
Game Overview
Calgary is not the kind of place to snap a losing streak and it may take the Tiger-Cats a bit more time to get on track this season. They have gotten a decent effort from Zach Collaros at quarterback with 1,041 yards passing, but he has just three touchdown throws against four interceptions. Hamilton’s defense has really struggled so far and it has yet to hold an opponent to fewer than 31 points a game.
The Stampeders bounced back from a stunning Week 4 loss to Montreal as four-point road favorites with last week’s 17-point victory at home against the Roughriders. They also beat Winnipeg by 19 points on the road to remain one of the more dominating teams in the CFL on both sides of the ball. Calgary was 3-1-1 SU five games into its 2016 campaign and it went on to win 12 of its next 13 regular-season games.
Betting Trends
-- Calgary has dominated this series over the past several years with a SU 10-0 run in the last 10 games, but the Tiger-Cats are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games against the Stampeders. The total has stayed UNDER in the last five meetings in Calgary.
