Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Thursday 6/20/19
CFL Week 2
Saskatchewan (0-1) @ Ottawa (1-0) (-5.5, 45.5)— RedBlacks won three of last four meetings; road team won five of last six series games- Roughriders won three of last four visits here, losing 40-17 (+2) LY. Six of last eight series games went over the total. Saskatchewan (+4) lost 23-17 in Hamilton LW, after leading 13-10 at half, giving up go-ahead TD on a punt return. Riders had a 366-232 edge in yardage, but were -2 in turnovers. Ottawa (+9) won 32-28 in Calgary LW, after trailing 18-6 in first quarter- they outscored Stampeders 9-0 in 4th quarter.
BC Lions (0-1) @ Edmonton (1-0) (-4, 55)— Home side won seven of last nine series games; Lions lost last four visits to Edmonton, last two by 19-11 points. Over is 4-0-1 in last five series games. Lions (even) lost 33-23 at home to Winnipeg LW, despite running kick back for a TD; BC was -2 in turnovers in Reilly’s first game against his old team. Eskimos scored with 1:30 left to edge Montreal 32-25 LW; Edmonton led 18-8 after three quarters, holding Alouettes to a single point in 2nd/3rd quarters- they had 35 first downs and gained 608 TY.
Hamilton (1-0) (-3.5, 52) @ Toronto (0-0)— Season opener for Toronto, downside of having a 9-team league. Ti-Cats won last three series games SU, by 14-11-14 points, covered 12 of last 15: they won last two visits here, 34-20/36-25. Winning side scored 34+ points in last five series games. Last six Hamilton-Toronto games went over. Hamilton held off Saskatchewan 23-17 LW, despite being outgained 366-232; they held Riders to four points in second half, after trailing 13-10 at halftime.
By David Schwab
Betting Recap - Week 1
The CFL returned to action this past weekend and the favorites went 3-1 straight-up with an even 2-2 record ATS. Hamilton got things started on Thursday night with a 23-17 victory against Saskatchewan to cover as a 4 ½-point home favorite. On Friday night, Edmonton got past Montreal 32-25, but the Eskimos could not cover as eight-point favorites at home.
Saturday’s doubleheader of betting action started off with Ottawa stunning Calgary 32-28 as an 8 ½-point road underdog in a rematch of last season’s Grey Cup title game. Winnipeg scored another victory for the road teams with a 33-23 victory against British Columbia as a slight one-point favorite.
Thursday, June 20
Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) at Ottawa RedBlacks (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
Point-spread: Ottawa -5 ½
Total: 48 ½
Game Overview
The Roughriders were hoping to make a run to the top of the West this season with a healthy Zach Collaros at quarterback, but an injury on his opening drive in Thursday’s loss brought an early end to his night.
Both Cody Fajardo and Isaac Harker saw playing time in his place and combined for 194 yards passing and zero touchdown throws against a pair of interceptions. One bright spot of the night was William Powell’s 104 yards rushing and one touchdown on 20 carries.
Ottawa got off to a solid start in defense of last season’s East Division title. Dominique Davis is the RedBlacks’ new starting quarterback and he did more damage with his legs than his throwing arm in Saturday’s big win in Calgary.
He ended that game with 276 yards passing, but he was picked off four times without finding the end zone through the air. He did run the ball five times for 10 yards with three of those rushing attempts going for scores. Mossis Madu ran the ball 24 times for 112 yards to highlight the running game.
Betting Trends
-- Ottawa has a 4-1 edge ATS in its last five games against Saskatchewan. The total has gone OVER in six of the last eight meetings in this inter-division tilt. The Roughriders have won four of their last six road games against Ottawa SU.
Friday, June 21
British Columbia Lions (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) at Edmonton Eskimos (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Point-spread: Edmonton -4 ½
Total: 55 ½
Game Overview
The much anticipated debut of Mike Reilly as BC’s new quarterback did not disappoint other than the final score of Saturday’s loss. He put the ball up 39 times and completed 22 passes for 324 yards and one touchdown throw. He was also picked off twice.
He completed passes to six different players including five throws to Bryan Burnham for 153 yards. The Lions’ ground game was non-existent with John White running the ball four times for four yards.
The Eskimos turned to Trevor Harris as their replacement for Reilly at quarterback. He made an even bigger splash with his new team by throwing for 447 yards and three scores with no interceptions. He put the ball up 41 times and completed 32 passes to seven different players.
Ricky Collins was the leading receiver with nine catches for 175 yards. Edmonton also got a strong effort from CJ Gable running the ball. He gained 154 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Betting Trends
-- Edmonton as a SU 7-3 edge against BC over the past 10 meetings, including a perfect 5-0 run at home. The Eskimos have covered in four of their last six home games against BC with the total going OVER in four of the last six meetings in Edmonton.
Saturday, June 22
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) at Toronto Argonauts (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)
Point-spread: Hamilton -2 ½
Total: 52
Game Overview
Expectations for the Tiger-Cats were running high heading in to Week 1 as favorites to win the East this season. Jeremiah Masoli threw for the second-most yards last year in the CFL and he started this season with 169 yards passing and one score while completing 17 of his 28 attempts in Thursday’s win.
Brandon Banks had a big game catching the ball with six receptions for 77 yards and a score. Hamilton gained just 63 yards on the ground while allowing 172 rushing yards on defense.
Saturday will be Corey Chamblin’s debut as Toronto’s new head coach. He was the defensive coordinator for the Argonauts in their run to the 2017 Grey Cup title. Following the team’s fall from grace to just four victories last season, there is definitely some work to be done to get back on track.
James Franklin will get the start at quarterback, but he could be on a short leash if things get out of hand early. One of his top targets should be wide receiver Derel Walker, who came to Toronto from Edmonton this past offseason.
Betting Trends
-- The Tiger-Cats have covered ATS in eight of their last 10 road games against the Argonauts and the total has gone OVER in five of the last six meetings in Toronto. Hamilton also has a 4-1 edge both SU and ATS in the last five meetings overall.
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Ottawa RedBlacks Preview & Predictions
ScheduledTD Place Stadium Ottawa
The Ottawa Redblacks look to build off an impressive Week 1 win when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday. The rebuilding Redblacks scored the final 14 points en route to a 32-28 win against the Calgary Stampeders - their first victory at McMahon Stadium since entering the CFL in 2014 - after being picked by many experts to finish near the bottom of the East Division, and hope to ride the momentum to their fourth consecutive regular-season win over Saskatchewan.
"It's a great confidence booster for us," Ottawa quarterback Dominique Davis told reporters. "There are a lot of people out there who doubt us, but we don't listen to the outside stuff as we just worry about what's in-house." The Roughriders' season-opening 23-17 setback to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was compounded by the injury to starting quarterback Zach Collaros, who was hurt on the third offensive play of the game, following a late hit to the head by Simoni Lawrence. Collaros was placed on the six-game injured list with concussion-like symptoms and will be replaced by either Cody Fajardo or Isaac Harker, who both played after Collaros was hurt. "It's unfortunate and I feel for him, but we have to move on with the guys we got," Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson told reporters. "We're going to let Cody and Isaac split reps this week and decide later who our starter is going to be."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS
ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (0-1): William Powell, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in the previous two seasons with Ottawa, was one of the lone bright spots on offence as he gained 104 yards and scored a touchdown in his Saskatchewan debut. Harker finished 8-of-14 for 128 yards, but threw two costly interceptions while Fajardo went 9-of-17 for 66 yards to go along with a touchdown on the ground. Saskatchewan signed quarterback Bryan Bennett with Collaros shelved for the foreseeable future and released former backup David Watford, who appeared in 18 games last season.
ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (1-0): Davis completed 29-of-44 passes for 276 yards and four interceptions in his third career start, but atoned for his inconsistency in the air with three rushing touchdowns, including the go-ahead 5-yard run with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter against Calgary. Mossis Madu racked up 112 yards on 24 carries behind a revamped offensive line to record his first 100-yard rushing game since going for 125 on Oct. 29, 2016. Second-year kicker Lewis Ward made all three of his field goal attempts to extend his streak of consecutive makes in the regular season to 51 in a row.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Three of the last four regular-season meetings between the teams have been decided by five or fewer points.
2. Saskatchewan has been held to fewer than 20 points in seven regular-season games since the start of the 2018 campaign.
3. Ottawa has won four straight regular-season contests dating back to last year.
Saskatchewan @ Ottawa
Game 689-690
June 20, 2019 @ 7:30 pm
Dunkel Rating:
Saskatchewan
112.537
Ottawa
112.477
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Saskatchewan
Even
43
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Ottawa
by 5
45
Dunkel Pick:
Saskatchewan
(+5); Under