PREMIUM
GAME OF THE WEEK (Rogers' 10* CFL Week 1)
(CFL) Edmonton vs. British Columbia,
Total: 60.00 | 103.00 Over
Result: Win
Total: 60.00 | 103.00 Over
Result: Win
The set-up: The Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions meet Saturday in CFL action at the BC Place. The Eskimos went 10-8 last season and the Lions, 12-6. Both teams won their first playoff game but then fell in their second try, Edmonton lost 35-23 at Ottawa in the East Final and BC lost 42-15 at Calgary in the West Final. The teams split two regular season games last year, with each winning at home (Edmonton 27-23 and then BC, 32-25). Mike Reilly returns at QB for the Eskimos, after throwing for 5,554 yards and 28 TDs (completed 70.3 %), easily his best season of his CFL career. The Lions also return their starting QB in Jonathon Jennings, who is is back after throwing for more than 5,200 yards and 27 TDs while completing 67 percent of his passes in his first real season as a starter. Of the two teams, Edmonton returns enough talent to be considered a serious Grey Cup title contender.
The pick: As noted, the home team won both meetings last season and in fact, the home team has won the last six meetings between Edmonton and BC (the road team hasn't won a game since June of 2014 in this series). Edmonton finished last season as the CFL's second-highest scoring team (30.5 PPG) and BC as its third-highest scoring one (30.3). However, it took BC a few games to find its way, as after three 2016 contests, BC final scores had averaged only 36.0 PPG last season. Also note that in Edmonton's first two road games of 2016, those contests averaged a modest 39.5 PPG. By year's end, these should again be high-scoring teams. However, here in Week 1, when these teams have seen their last five meetings decided by seven points or less, the Under is a 10* play.
The pick: As noted, the home team won both meetings last season and in fact, the home team has won the last six meetings between Edmonton and BC (the road team hasn't won a game since June of 2014 in this series). Edmonton finished last season as the CFL's second-highest scoring team (30.5 PPG) and BC as its third-highest scoring one (30.3). However, it took BC a few games to find its way, as after three 2016 contests, BC final scores had averaged only 36.0 PPG last season. Also note that in Edmonton's first two road games of 2016, those contests averaged a modest 39.5 PPG. By year's end, these should again be high-scoring teams. However, here in Week 1, when these teams have seen their last five meetings decided by seven points or less, the Under is a 10* play.