It’s Week 6 in the Canadian Football League, and while there are only three games this week, there are still some chances for us to find an edge.
We’re 11-7 overall for the season, so let’s stay hot under this summer sun.
Calgary Stampeders vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders — Friday, July 11 at 9:00 p.m. EDT
The West Division foes will renew their rivalry on Friday night in a matchup of the two top teams in the standings.
This was once a heated rivalry and it could be heating up again given how both teams are off to great starts to the season. Saskatchewan is a perfect 4-0, while Calgary’s only loss occurred in a sloppy, rain-drenched game against Ottawa. This will be an interesting test for both sides to see where they’re at.
The most interesting battle to watch will be in the trenches. Calgary’s offensive line put on a show against Winnipeg, helping Dedrick Mills to a 93-yard performance on the ground and giving Vernon Adams Jr. plenty of time to pick apart the Winnipeg defence.
They’ll go up against a Riders defence that is the best in the league against the run, though Saskatchewan struggled against last week as James Butler ripped them apart for 123 yards. If they can rebound, the Green and White should be able to control the line of scrimmage and the game.
Saskatchewan also has an edge when they have the ball. Calgary has given up the third-most rushing yards per game this year and could be even worse had the Blue Bombers not abandoned the run after falling behind early in last week’s Stampede Bowl.
Meanwhile, A.J. Ouellette has found his groove again with three straight games over 90 yards on the ground. The Riders are also close to getting some help at receiver, so their offence could have a big day at Mosaic Stadium.
Another deciding factor in this game could be Calgary’s deep passing attack. The Stamps had a few big plays in the first half against Winnipeg, allowing them to run away and hide in that matchup, and have the second-most completions of 30-plus yards in the league.
This is another area in which Saskatchewan’s defence has been strong, however. The Riders have allowed the third-fewest completions of 30-plus yards this season, so this is going to be a fun matchup.
Both of these teams have played at a high level this season, but the Stamps run defence could be their Achilles heel in this matchup giving the Riders the edge.
PICK: Saskatchewan -5
Ottawa Redblacks vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats — Saturday, July 12 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Ottawa will try to get back on track against the Tiger-Cats, who appear to have found their footing after a slow start to the season.
Hamilton’s offence is reaching the level I thought they would this year, compiling 86 points in the last two weeks combined to rocket them to the top of the league in points per game. That’s really bad news for the Redblacks, who have allowed 29 points or more in every game that wasn’t played in a downpour this season.
Ottawa was beaten up by the Elks last week, an offence that hasn’t looked nearly that good against anyone else. This feels like a bad time for the Redblacks to be facing their streaking provincial foe as they try to figure out how to slow an opponent down without the help of Mother Nature.
Analyzing the stats for Ottawa is tricky because the teams has used three different quarterbacks this season. On defence, we’re still early enough in the season that the Calgary outlier is skewing the numbers. Thus, we have to use the eye test and that’s one they have pretty consistently failed.
On the upside for the team from our nation’s capital, they’re facing a squad that’s given up the third-most passing yards per game this year and Dru Brown should be able to put up some numbers. Unfortunately, I just don’t see their defence being able to slow Hamilton down enough to keep them in it.
PICK: Hamilton -4.5, Over 53.5
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