Free CFL Week 2 Picks from Expert Canadian Football Handicapper

by Raphael Esparza - 6/20/2018

The 2018 CFL regular season got off to a strong start for the favorites, with three of the four teams laying points winning their game straight up. I went against the Edmonton Eskimos as seven-point road favorites in their season opener at Winnipeg and cashed a winner with the Blue Bombers covering in the 33-30 loss as my CFL free pick of the week for Doc's Sports.

Moving on to Week 2, I have locked on to a slight home favorite making its CFL debut as this week's free pick.

CFL Week 2 Betting Overview

This Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (ET), Winnipeg will be on the road against Montreal as a slight two-point favorite . The Blue Bombers have covered in six of their last seven road games against the Alouettes, with the total going "over" in four of the last five meetings overall.

Later that night in a 10 p.m. start, Edmonton will play host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a seven-point favorite. Hamilton lost to Calgary 28-14 in Week 1 as a 7.5-point underdog on the road. The Tiger-Cats have gone a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five road games against the Eskimos, and the total has gone "over" in five of the last six meetings in Edmonton.

Saturday's lone CFL game is a rematch of last season's Grey Cup title game between Calgary and Toronto. The Stampeders come in as 3.5-point road favorites for this 7 p.m. kickoff at BMO Field. The Argonauts stunned Calgary 27-24 in last year's CFL Championship as seven-point underdogs.

CFL Free Pick of the Week: Saskatchewan at Ottawa

The Roughriders turned the corner last season at 10-8 SU, and they went on to beat Ottawa in the opening round of the playoffs as a crossover team from the West Division. They avenged a loss in the next round to Toronto by opening this season with a 27-19 victory against the Argonauts as 2.5-point home underdogs. Saskatchewan is currently set as a 2.5-point underdog of the road for Thursday night's game. The total is set at 51 points for the slated 7:30 p.m. start at TD Place.

Two new offseason additions helped Saskatchewan notch that Week 1 upset. Zach Collaros threw for 203 yards and one touchdown as the team's new starting quarterback. He completed at least one pass to nine different players. Jerome Messam came over from Calgary to anchor the running game and he rushed for 72 yards on 21 carries last Friday night.

Ottawa comes into its season open well rested and in excellent health after sitting out Week 1 with a bye. You know that the RedBlacks will be highly motivated to reverse the results from the last meeting in this inter-division matchup after losing to Saskatchewan 31-20 as 2.5-point home favorites in their final game of the 2017 season.

One of the big reasons I have Ottawa successfully avenging this loss while covering the small spread at home this Thursday night is the expected return of Trevor Harris at quarterback. He went down last season with a serious knee injury. He did not play in the preseason and he is still listed on the RedBlacks' injury report (as probable), but fully expect to see Harris under center in this game. In 15 games last season, he threw for 4,679 yards and 30 touchdowns, which was tied for most in the CFL.

Saskatchewan is 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win, while the RedBacks have covered in their last five games played in June and in five of their last seven games played on a Thursday. Head-to-head, Ottawa has covered the spread in five of the last eight meetings including both regular season games in 2017.

Lay the points and take the home team both SU and ATS.

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Start:	November 21, 2024 @ 7:30 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
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Free CFL Week 2 Picks from Expert Canadian Football Handicapper

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