It was a clean sweep for road underdogs in Week 4 of the
2011 Canadian Football League regular season. Each team not only covered against the spread, it won
the game in a straight-up upset.
In the Canadian football league, Hamilton got the ball rolling with a 39-31 win over British
Columbia as a 3.5-point road dog on Friday night. Winnipeg upended Toronto
33-24 as a 3.5-point dog in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader. Edmonton
posted its fourth-straight win of the season with a 24-19 victory over Calgary
in the second game as a three-point underdog. Saskatchewan completed the week 4 underdog sweep
on Sunday night by holding off Montreal 27-24 as an 11.5-point road dog.
The following is a brief preview of this week’s CFL games
along with the opening point spread and ‘over/under’ CFL lines.
Thursday, July 28
BC Lions at Winnipeg
Blue Bombers (-3.5)
Over/Under: 52.5
BC’s losing streak has reached four and it is 1-3 ATS. Winnipeg, on the other hand, is 3-1 SU and a
perfect 4-0 ATS after winning a total of just four games all last season. Last
season, the Blue Bombers won the first game against the Lions 47-35 as a
2.5-point home favorite. They managed to cover the four-point spread as a road
underdog in a 16-14 loss the second time they met.
The Lions are 5-1 ATS in the last six games on the road
against Winnipeg, but just 1-3-1 ATS in the last five overall. Of the last
seven games in this series, the total has stayed ‘under’ six times. It has also
stayed ‘under’ in 11 of the last 16 games played at Canad Inns Stadium. RB Fred
Reid has been a big part of the Blue Bombers success this year with a CFL-high
321 yards rushing on 71 carries.
Friday, July 29
Montreal Alouettes at
Hamilton Tiger-Cats OFF
Over/Under: OFF
The betting lines on this game will most likely remain ‘OFF’
until the playing status of QB Anthony Calvillo has been decided. He sat out
the second half of Sunday’s game after injuring his eye, and although he is
currently listed as questionable, there is a good chance he will be ready to go
come Friday night. The Alouettes are 3-1
SU and 2-2 ATS, while Hamilton is 2-2 both SU and ATS this season. Montreal won
two of three over the Tiger-Cats last season both SU and ATS, but did lose in a
40-3 romp as a 1.5-point road favorite the last time they met.
Montreal is 3-2 SU in its last five games and 8-3 ATS in its
last 11 games in Hamilton. The total has stayed ‘under’ in nine of the last 11
meetings at Ivor Wynne Stadium and in six of the last seven games overall.
Adrian McPherson, who replaced Calvillo in Sunday’s game, finished the day
completing 12-of-19 passes for 98 yards and one TD, while adding two more
scores with his legs, but it was a case of too little too late to pull out the
win.
Toronto Argonauts at
Edmonton Eskimos (-9)
Over/Under: 50
Toronto is 1-3 both SU and ATS in its first four games,
while Edmonton remains undefeated at 4-0 SU and ATS. The Argonauts won 29-28 on
the road as a six-point underdog the first time they met last season, but the
Eskimos evened the score with a 24-6 victory as a three-point road underdog
later in the year.
Toronto is 6-4 SU in the last 10 meetings overall and is
10-3 ATS in the last 13 games played in Edmonton. The total has stayed ‘under’
in five of the last eight games overall, but has gone ‘over’ twice in the last
three games at Commonwealth Stadium. Eskimo QB Ricky Ray is off to a blistering
start with 78 completions for league-high 1,231 yards and eight TD’s.
Saturday, July 30
Calgary Stampeders
(-2.5) at Saskatchewan Roughriders
Over/Under: 53.5
Calgary’s upset loss to the Eskimos dropped it to 2-2 SU and
1-3 ATS on the year. Saskatchewan is now 1-3 both SU and ATS after Sunday’s
win. These two split four games last season both SU and ATS. Each team won once
at home and once on the road. They last met in the West Division Finals of the
playoffs with the Roughriders coming away with a 20-16 victory as a 7.5 road
underdog to secure their second straight trip to the Grey Cup.
The Stampeders are 4-6 SU in the last 10 meetings. They are 1-4
ATS in their last four games at Mosaic Stadium and just 2-5 ATS in the last
seven meetings overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in three of the last four
games between the two which might just be the pick here. Calgary WR Nic Lewis has 21 receptions for 299 yards,
which is third-most in the in the CFL this year.