Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 8:30 ET - The Tiger-Cats started this season 0-8. But they have certainly been a different team since then. Fortunately for Hamilton they play in the watered down East Division and they actually are still alive in the playoff chase. The Ti-Cats got a much needed bye after their 0-8 start and they have been a different team ever since. Hamilton has gone 3-2 but the 2 losses each came by single digit margins and one of those was in OT as well. The point is that Hamilton is offering good value here as a big underdog when one considers how they have been playing. Although Winnipeg has certainly been playing great football and is unquestionably the 2nd best team in the league (behind Calgary) right now, the fact is that the Blue Bombers are in a tough scheduling spot here. They are off of a win at Edmonton and they have a big game at BC on deck. Of course both of those teams are divisional foes and that makes this a "sandwich game" for Winnipeg. I see the Blue Bombers doing enough to get the win here but I don't see them covering this large number against a hungry underdog that has proven they still have plenty of fight left in them. 10* HAMILTON

Money Line Game of the Month - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 9:30 ET - Have to lay a little extra juice to play the money line here rather than laying the 3 points. However, it is well worth the added value. As you saw last night if you followed the CFL scoring, Saskatchewan rallied for a win but they won the game by a single point. Edmonton is in a nice spot here as they are at home and off of a much-needed bye. Keep in mind, they started the season 7-0 but have since lost 5 straight games. If ever a team really needed a bye week it was the Eskimos! They have not lost 6 straight games since the 2013 season and I don't expect that to change here! Edmonton has revenge from a disappointing loss at Winnipeg that was part of their current 0-5 streak and the Eskimos are now rested and ready to go as they look to avenge that loss. Edmonton had won 18 of the 23 prior meetings at home and 4 of the last 5 overall. The Eskimos are 4-1 SU off of a bye week and 4-1 ATS (and 5-0 SU) when they are a home favorite of 3 points or less. The Blue Bombers, of course, have been playing very well but lets not forget that they are just 7-13 SU their last 20 games against teams with a winning record. Also, the last 33 times they've been an underdog they have lost 20 of 33. Look for that trend to continue here. Eskimos QB Mike Reilly still leads the CFL in passing yards and Reilly and Company are fired up and ready to go here after that much-needed bye week. 10* EDMONTON

Friday Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders (-) @ Ottawa Redblacks @ 7 ET - Even though the Redblacks have the rest edge (played Friday) over the Roughriders (played Sunday), Saskatchewan is a road favorite here with good reason. This is a key game in the playoff chase so the Roughriders will be ready to bounce back off of their loss and they are 3-1 this season against teams from the East. As for Ottawa, they've gone just 1-5-1 against teams from the West this season. The Redblacks have struggled with QB play as Trevor Harris has been hurt and his replacement, Ryan Lindley, struggled last week. The Roughriders have won 4 of the last 6 meetings between these teams. Also, Saskatchewan is 4-0 ATS when off of a loss in divisional action this season and 4-0 ATS in non-divisional games. I'll gladly test this double perfect situation Friday. 10* SASKATCHEWAN

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Sunday CFL 8* Saskatchewan Roughriders (+) vs Calgary Stampeders @ 4 ET - Certainly Calgary is the hottest team in the league right now but Sasktachewan has also been hot as the Roughriders have won 4 of its last 5 games. Couple that with the fact that Regina is one of the toughest places for opponents to play and I like my chances here with the big dog. Of course Saskatchewan has big-time revenge on their minds here as they've been on a long losing streak in this series. However, what make this one have a little extra "tinge" of revenge is the fact that the Roughriders lost by 9 points the last time they hosted Calgary and that was even though Saskatchwan had a yardage edge and 23-17 edge in first downs. As you can see, the Roughriders deserved better and the other significance in that is that it is the only time the home team has not covered in the last 6 meetings between these clubs. On Sunday, I look for the home team dominance to continue as homers improve to 6-1 ATS in this series. The Roughriders are playing with more confidence than they have had in a long, long time and they appear poised for the upset win here. The unexpected BC loss Friday has given Saskatchewan a boost in terms of the race for a playoff spot and the beauty of this play is we don't have to get the straight-up win to get the cash. Grab the generous points available here with a dangerous home dog. 8* SASKATCHEWAN

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play Montreal Alouettes (+) @ Toronto Argonauts @ 7 ET - I successfully played against Montreal last week as they had just made some wholesale coaching staff changes. This week I'll come back and play on the Alouettes as things have now settled down some within the organization and I look for Montreal to be "back in business" this week. With the mediocrity of the East division (and the fact Ottawa lost last night), there is plenty of incentive for both these teams as there are only 5 points in the standings separating worst from first in the East. Montreal is looking to avenge an embarrassing 38 to 6 loss at Toronto last month. In their prior meeting with the Argonauts this season (week prior to the ugly loss), the Alouettes had won 21 to 9. Though the Als are winless on the road this one has the looks of an upset, especially with the Argos off of a big home win versus Edmonton last week. Also, the Als have played well as a sizable dog and I look for them to improve to 4-2 ATS this season (and 11-7 ATS the L3 seasons combined) when they're a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Also, Montreal is 4-1 ATS in Saturday games the L3 seasons combined. The Argonauts are on a 6-16 ATS run in home games and are over-priced here. 10* MONTREAL

Game of the Month - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks (+) @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 8 ET - On the one hand, Winnipeg has a scheduling advantage since they are off of their bye week and Ottawa just played on Sunday. However, on the other hand, they truly are in a bit of a tough scheduling situation here as the Blue Bombers have a huge divisional game with Edmonton on deck while the Redblacks have another non-divisional match-up next week. Couple that with the fact that Ottawa is trying to hang on to the first place spot in the East Division and you truly have some solid line value here with the Redblacks plus the big points. With Trevor Harris already out with injury and Drew Tate likely to dress but not start in this one, the QB spot certainly could be questionable for Ottawa Friday. However, Ryan Lindley is likely to get the start and he had a solid college career at San Diego State and then even played a few seasons in the NFL. Lindley will be ready to go here and it helps having some time to prepare as the #1 guy like he was able to this week unlike last week when Tate got the start and Lindley only came in because of the Tate injury. The Blue Bombers went 1-3 (both SU and ATS) when off of a bye week the past two seasons and also went 3-7 ATS when, after the midway point of the season, they faced a team with a losing record. The Redblacks, when playing with 6 or less days of rest, are 18-7 ATS. Also, Ottawa is on an 18-5 ATS run in road games and a 22-6 ATS run as an underdog. Combining these ATS records with the "go against" ATS records of Winnipeg, the Redblacks are a "play on" team here at an ATS factor that combines for a 68-22 (76%) Run! 10* OTTAWA

Earliest Cash Top Play - Rickenbach Sunday CFL 10* Ottawa Redblacks (-) @ Montreal Alouettes @ 1 ET - For Montreal, it was interesting that along with head coach Jacques Chapdelaine it was also Defensive Coordinator Noel Thorpe that was sent packing heading into this game. Much of the Als problem this season has been an anemic offense and now I expect the defense of Montreal could be in disarray after losing their DC. Though the offense of the Alouettes is certainly going to make up for scoring just 4 points the last time they met the Redblacks, they won't have enough to keep up with Ottawa here. Look for Redblacks QB Drew Tate (former Calgary Stampeder) to make the most of his opportunity filling in for the injured Trevor Harris. This line moved down some as the week went on and the value is with the the Redblacks now available at a "pick 'em" price after opening up as a 3 point favorite. Montreal has only won 1 of their 4 divisional games this season. Ottawa, prior to last week's loss, had been on a 3-game winning streak. Look for the defending Grey Cup Champs to move back into first place in the East by getting back on track early Sunday on the road. The Redblacks are on an 8-1 ATS run when playing on a Sunday plus they are 4-0 ATS when they are a road fave of 3 points or less. Montreal is on a 1-8 ATS run as a home dog of 3 points or less. That means we have combined trends of 20-2 (91%) favoring the road team in this one! I'll take it! 10* OTTAWA

Divisional Dominator Top Play - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* BC Lions (+) @ Calgary Stampeders @ 7 ET - The Stampeders are on a fantastic winning streak. However, they are very banged up at receiver. Also, they're facing a very physical Lions team that has their eyes set on revenge here. BC lost at home to Calgary last month in a tight game. BC also got embarrassed by the Stamps in last year's post-season. That said, this is a big game for the Lions and I like getting the big points. This is especially true with Calgary missing some key talent at the receiver spot. I don't necessarily expect the Lions to get the outright win here but certainly they should keep this one to a TD or less. For the 4th time in the last 6 meetings, look for this one to be decided by 4 points or less. Lions QB Jonathan Jennings made an impressive return to the lineup last week for the injury Travis Lulay. British Columbia is an impressive 55-29 ATS long-term as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Grab the big points here! 10* BC LIONS early Saturday evening

Football Friday - Rickenbach CFL 8* Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 7 ET - Not only has Hamilton won two straight games, Saskatchewan QB Kevin Glenn has a hand injury. If he plays he will not be 100%. Also, back-up QB Brandon Bridge has seen limited action in his CFL career. The Tiger-Cats defense has impressed and now that their 8-game losing streak that began the season is becoming more and more of a memory, their roll could very likely continue here with a 3rd straight win. Certainly there is value with the home dog points. The Ti-Cats are hosting a Roughriders team that is only 1-4 in road games this season. Hamilton also plays this game with revenge as they did lose at Saskatchewan earlier this season. Prior to that loss the Tiger-Cats had won 3 of the last 4 meetings with the lone loss coming by just 2 points. Saskatchewan is on a 1-5 ATS run as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. The Tiger-Cats are on a 7-3 ATS run as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 8* HAMILTON

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos (+) vs Calgary Stampeders @ 9 ET - The Stampeders blasted the Eskimos last week but that game was at Calgary and now this provincial battle shifts northward to Edmonton. The fact is that the Eskimos outgained the Stampeders last week but were done in by turnovers. I expect Edmonton to make the most of this opportunity for quick revenge. While they may not get the outright win the points are certainly generous and this spread has been inflated because of last week's results. Yes, Edmonton has lost 3 straight games after a 7-0 start to the season but this is still an Eskimos team that is 4-1 at home this season. The Stampeders have won just 3 of their 5 road games this season and here they're being asked to win by a sizable margin. Calgary is 7-3 ATS on the season while Edmonton is only 3-7 ATS. Those ATS records have a way of evening out as a season goes on as over-adjustments are made. I feel that will be the case here and note that the home team has won 5 of the last 7 meetings between these teams and the only 2 losses both came by 6 points or less. 10* EDMONTON

Game of the Week Friday - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play BC Lions (-) vs Montreal Alouettes @ 10 PM ET - Travis Lulay gets the start at QB for the BC Lions and they are coming off of their bye week. He'll replace Jonathan Jennings due to the ineffectiveness of the young starter. Note that the veteran Lulay did very well filling in for Jennings earlier this season and certainly the Lions are in need of a boost now after some recent struggles. That said, the bye week could not have come at a more perfect time for BC and I look for the Lions to come roaring out of the gate in this one! The Lions are 3-1 against East Division teams this season while Montreal is only 3-7 on the entire season! The Als already lost to BC earlier this season back east and facing an angry Lions team out west won't do any favors for the Alouettes here. The Lions have won each of the last 4 meetings between these clubs and the average margin has been 12 points. BC is on a 13-7 ATS run against the East Division and also is 6-1 ATS when they enter a game off of 2 or more consecutive SU losses. Montreal got hammered in a divisional loss last week and the Alouettes are on a 6-14 ATS run when off of a divisional game. 10* BC LIONS

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach Monday CFL 8* Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) vs Toronto Argonauts @ 6:30 ET - The Tiger-Cats are 0-8 on the season but they're off of a bye week and note that 6 of their first 8 games this season have come against tough West Division foes. Certainly Hamilton is not without issues...any 0-8 team has issues! But, the point is that this is the perfect spot to back them. They are at home, a sizable dog, and playing with revenge against a struggling division rival. Toronto has lost 4 of its last 5 games and those 4 defeats came by a combined score of 123 to 67. Hamilton has won and covered each of the last four times they've hosted the Argonauts. Also, Toronto is just 1-4 (both SU and ATS) on the road this season. In games played in weeks 10 through 15 the Argos are on a 2-9 run both SU and ATS! The Ti-Cats are 7-3 ATS (including 2-0 this season) as an underdog in a range of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Look for the Tiger-Cats to improve to 4-0 (both SU and ATS) in Monday games with an outright upset here BUT my advice is to grab the points in case they do fall just short. 8* HAMILTON

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach Thursday CFL 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers (+) @ Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 4 ET - Saskatchewan certainly has improved this season but last week they took advantage of an Edmonton team that was looking ahead to a big showdown with Calgary this week. The result of the Roughriders big win over the Eskimos is helping to give us some line value here as we can get a solid Blue Bombers team at a full +3 in this one. Keep in mind, a lot of points are expected in this one (O/U posted at 61) and Winnipeg is on an 11-1 ATS run in road games with a posted total of 52 points or more! The Blue Bombers are also a perfect 5-0 ATS in road games this season! As for Saskatchewan, they are a dismal 3-10 ATS in games where they are a favorite. Grab the underdog value here! 10* WINNIPEG

Game of the Month Money Line - Rickenbach Thursday CFL 10* Top Play Montreal Alouettes (Pick'em) vs Ottawa Redblacks @ 7:30 ET - Ottawa is off of a big win over BC where they had to hold off the Lions late. However, that win was at home and the Redblacks are now on the road where they are just 1-3 this season. The Alouettes are fired up off of an OT loss versus Winnipeg where Montreal did rally late but then fell short by a field goal in overtime. The Als were 3-1 at home this season before that tough loss. They have an edge here as their loss to the Blue Bombers was last Thursday while Ottawa's win over British Columbia was on Saturday. That means the rest edge and the home edge are both with the Alouettes here. The Als were done in by turnovers last week. Look for them to make up for that this week and, from a situational perspective, it doesn't get much better than this! The Als also have revenge from a 5-point loss at Ottawa in Week 5 where the Alouettes did outgain the Redblacks by nearly 100 yards. Payback Thursday! 10* MONTREAL

Total of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Calgary Stampeders vs Toronto Argonauts @ 9 ET - Both teams are off of unders last week but Toronto did put up 38 points in their win. As for the Stampeders they only scored 21 points but that was in a tough, hard-fought win over a divisional rival. That win over BC could leave Calgary's defense a little flat-footed here and I expect the Argonauts to take advantage. However, at the same time, there is no reason the Stampeders offense won't end up responding and put up a ton of points in this one. They are ultra dangerous and are arguably the #1 offense in the league hands down. When these teams met a few weeks ago in Toronto the game totaled 65 points and I expect a similar result Saturday. The Argos are 6-3 to the over when off of a win against a division rival and also 3-1 to the over in non-divisional games this season and 3-1 to the over when playing on short rest of 6 days or less. The Stampeders are 5-0 to the over in their games against East Division opponents this season. More of the same here! 10* OVER the total in Calgary

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos (-) vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 9:30 ET - On the one hand, the Roughriders have an edge here since they are off of their bye week. Also, Saskatchewan blasted BC prior to their bye week but the thing is they were catching the Lions at the perfect time to get the big win. BC was clearly looking ahead to their showdown with Calgary. Even though the Eskimos also now have Calgary on deck, there is no doubt Edmonton is fully focused here as they lost at Winnipeg just last week and the Blue Bombers are nipping at their heels at the top of the West Division. That defeat last week was the first of the season for the Eskimos. That is not the only thing that has Edmonton fired up either as they also are seeking revenge here for a rare loss to Saskatchewan when these teams last met (late last season). The Roughriders are 0-3 on the road this season and just 3-18 away from home the last 3 seasons. There are some dismal ATS numbers for Saskatchewan as well as they are on an 8-15 ATS run in divisional games. As for the Eskimos, they are 4-0 at home this season and, in terms of ATS numbers, they are 4-2 ATS when off of a loss in divisional action and they are also 6-2 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points. 10* EDMONTON

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play Montreal Alouettes (+) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7:30 ET - The Blue Bombers are off of a huge win last week as they knocked off the previously unbeaten Eskimos. Following that big win versus Edmonton, look for Winnipeg to be flat here. That's bad news for Bombers fans because Montreal will be ready to go after an embarrassing 38-6 loss at Toronto where anything that could do wrong did go wrong for the Als. Look for the Alouettes to respond in a big way here. Though their overall season record does not impress, Montreal is a solid 3-1 at home this season. Also, in home games with a posted total of 52 points or more, the Alouettes have a long-term SU mark of 73-26 (74%)! The Blue Bombers, as a road favorite of 3 points or less, have a long-term mark of 2-10 (17%) both SU and ATS! Huge situational edge for the Als here. 10* MONTREAL

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 8* Toronto Argonauts (-) vs Montreal Alouettes @ 4 ET - The Argos had nearly equal yardage with the Als at Montreal last week but lost 21-9 on the scoreboard. Toronto held a huge edge in the ground game last week and could get a big boost with the return of Ricky Ray at QB this week. Even though the Alouettes have held the upper hand in this series of late, the fact is that last week was just the 3rd time this season that Montreal has scored more than 20 points in a game. Toronto's loss to the Als last week was their first defeat in divisional action this season. Look for them to bounce back this week and there is great line value with this line available as low as a -1.5 at the time of this posting. Montreal is 1-4 ATS (and 0-5 SU) when off of a win over a division rival the past two seasons and I don't see them winning back to back games over the hungry Argonauts here. 8* TORONTO minus the short number Saturday afternoon.

Game of the Week - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play Calgary Stampeders (-) @ BC Lions @ 10:30 ET - Many are likely to back BC here as they are at home and have revenge from getting blasted out of the postseason 42-15 by Calgary in November. However, the Lions are loaded with issues here. Not only did they just play on the road Saturday (making this a short rest situation), BC also has issues at QB. Jonathan Jennings returned last week but he was simply awful at Saskatchewan and he will be facing a much tougher D this week. Adding to the disadvantage for the Lions here is the fact that the Stampeders have extra rest since they are off of their by week. Also, Calgary has been firing on all cylinders with a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS run heading into this one while the Lions have lost 2 of 3 SU and 3 of 4 ATS as they prepare for the Stampeders here. Calgary has covered 4 of the last 6 meetings and also has dominated to the tune of an 8-1 SU record in the last 9 meetings. There is simply a lot for BC to overcome here and I don't see that happening. The fact the Stampeders opened up as a 5 point road favorite tells you a lot about this match-up. Look for the better team to comfortably pull away as this game goes on. The Stampeders are 4-0 SU and ATS when off of a bye week and also are on a 7-1 ATS run in road games with a posted total of 52 points or more. Look for them to roll here as the Lions, no matter how motivated, just aren't playing very good football right now and have QB concerns which is a huge factor in any football league but of particular concern in the pass-happy CFL. 10* CALGARY

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Edmonton Eskimos @ 8:30 ET - Two of the highest scoring teams in the league matched up here. Last week saw all 4 games in CFL action stay under the total. Don't look for a repeat of that this week and, in fact, the under streak should end right away here with Thursday's game. 4 of the last 6 meetings between these teams in Winnipeg have gone over the total. Edmonton's Mike Reilly led the Eskimos to another win last week as they remain undefeated on the season but he did throw 2 picks and is ready to atone for that performance here. The Blue Bombers Matt Nichols is also having a huge season under center thus far and he has helped lead Winnipeg to a tally of 33 points or more in 5 consecutive games. With Edmonton undefeated and the Blue Bombers on a scoring spree, don't be surprised if EACH team gets to 33 in this game as only winless Hamilton has been worse defensively than Winnipeg. In other words, the Blue Bombers can put up big points but they also give them up big time. Last week was a rare exception as they held the struggling and still winless Tiger-Cats to just 12 points. They're not facing the Ti-Cats this week! Shootout expected between Reilly and Nichols in this one as they each continue to be gunslingers! The over is on a 15-8 run when the Eskimos are on a winning streak of 2 games or more. The over is on a 15-9 run in Blue Bombers divisional games. 10* OVER the total in Winnipeg

Game of the Month - Rickenbach Sunday CFL 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders (+) vs BC Lions @ 8 ET - The Roughriders were done in by turnovers in last week's match-up at BC and dug a 30-0 hole. Though the points came late in the game, look for the 15 points scored late in the 4th quarter to build some momentum and confidence for Saskatchewan coming into this game. Also, with the Lions on a long winning streak versus the Riders, it is rather easy for BC to look right past Saskatchewan to a huge game on deck with Calgary. The Stampeders are just ahead of the Lions in the standings while the Roughriders are dead last in the division. As a result, I smell an upset here. Adding to the value with Saskatchewan in this spot is some very powerful history in spots like this. As a home dog of 3 points or less, the Riders are an incredible 19-4 ATS (and SU) their last 23. This is a rare Sunday game (BC's first of the season) and they went 0-4 ATS the past two seasons in Sunday games. Also, the Roughriders have a bye on deck so this home game is HUGE for them and, unlike the Lions, the Riders are not distracted in the least. In fact, they're fully focused on this match-up. Upset alert! 10* SASKATCHEWAN

Canadian Crusher - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 8* OVER the total in Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7:30 ET - This total opened up at a 60 and this will have a lot of people looking at the under in this match-up. Of course the fact is that the big total was absolutely justified as both of these defenses give up a ton of points. With Hamilton at home and still winless on the season, there is no doubt the Tiger-Cats are going to "pull out all the stops" here in an effort to win this game. In other words, they need to be very aggressive on offense and I expect this one to turn into a "track meet" as a result. Both teams will be airing it out early and often and, in fact, the Blue Bombers are 3-0 to the over this season in non-divisional games. The Ti-Cats are 5-0 to the over in non-divisional games. Hamilton is also 4-0 to the over in games where they are an underdog this season and Winnipeg is  3-0 to the over in road games this year. Add it all up and you have a combined 15-0 edge for the over in this match-up. Yes the total is big here but the Blue Bombers are allowing 35 points per game this season while the Tiger-Cats are allowing 39 points per game on the season! 8* OVER the total in Hamilton

Friday Night Lights - Rickenbach CFL 8* Toronto Argonauts (+) @ Montreal Alouettes @ 7:30 ET - With the Ricky Ray injury for the Argos, there has been a significant line adjustment made here. Certainly the injury is impacting for Toronto but this is an East Division that is up for grabs and the Argonauts are going to battle hard to maintain the top spot. Toronto is 3-0 this season in divisional action while Montreal has only played one game in the division thusfar and they lost that game. Another key about fading the Alouettes here is they generally don't score well. Prior to scoring 40 points in a loss prior to their bye week last week, the Als had averaged only 20.2 points per game this season! It's difficult to cover a big spread when you're not scoring a lot of points and that certainly could be an issue for Montreal here because the Toronto defense is fired up about bouncing back. The Argonauts have lost two straight games in ugly fashion as they've allowed 39.5 points per game in the two defeats. Prior to those ugly losses the Argonauts were allowing a more respectable 25 points per game on the season and they should bounce back here now that they're back inside the East Division where they've compiled that perfect record this season. The Argos got embarrassed here in October in an ugly defeat fueled by turnovers and penalties. Time for a little payback here no matter who is under center for the Argonauts. 8* TORONTO

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 8* Edmonton Eskimos (+) @ Ottawa Redblacks @ 7:30 ET - This line has made a huge move from an opener of Edmonton -2.5 to where the Eskimos are now a 2.5 point dog as of early gameday morning. Of course there is a reason for this big move. The Eskimos have injury issues. However, they've had issues for weeks now and they continue to find a way to win. Meanwhile, the Redblacks continue to find ways to implode. That said, I am happy to challenge Ottawa here with an undefeated Edmonton team that is on a mission. Remember they lost to the Redblacks in the playoffs last season. That said, even though they got some measure of revenge with a win in Edmonton last month, the Eskimos still need to prove they can win in Ottawa. They have lost their last two games played here including that key post-season loss last year. Edmonton is 6-0 on the season including 4-0 against teams from the East as the West dominance continues in non-divisional match-ups. The Reblacks are winless in 4 games against teams from the West. Both these teams were in action Friday so this week's game is on short rest. The Eskimos are a long-term 20-4 when playing on short rest of 6 days or less while Ottawa is just 1-3 with short rest of 6 days or less this season. All the above records I mentioned are straight-up and, that said, I'll gladly take the +2.5 points here as an added bonus with the undefeated Eskimos. Yes they have injuries but they continue to find ways to win and that continues this week. 8* EDMONTON

Total of the Year - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in BC Lions vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 7 ET - Off of a loss last week BC is fired up. They will respond here and put up a ton of points at home. Saskatchewan's defense has struggled to stop both of the divisional opponents they have seen this season and it certainly won't get any easier against the potent offense of the Lions. BC has averaged 38 points per game in their last 4 games versus the Roughriders and they've scored 40 points or more in 3 of the 4 contests! The key to the over here is that Saskatchewan's Kevin Glenn has been quite impressive this season. He has thrown for 11 TDs against only 4 interceptions and he is averaging about 320 passing yards per game! I expect Glenn and Company to be dangerous in this one when it comes to the backdoor cover. That's why my play (and a big one at that!) is on the total as I see this game being a back and forth shootout! The Lions were held in check by the Eskimos last week but their defense has been solid this season. Whether it was Jonathan Jennings or Travis Lulay making this start the fact is that the Lions will be moving the ball at ease through the Saskatchewan defense. This is the only West vs West battle this week and that means points, points, and more points as that is what the division is known for. This one has "shootout" written all over it and the over is 4-2 in the last 6 meetings between these teams. The Roughriders gave up the most points in the West last season but their offense struggled badly. This season, with the way Glenn has been playing, the Saskatchewan offense has improved but they still can't stop the potent offenses in their own division. The over is also 4-2 in the Roughriders last 6 road games with a posted total between 52.5 and 56 points. This total has gone from as high as a 57.5 to a 55 as of Friday afternoon and this is offering great value here with the over. As for BC, the over is 8-4 when they are off of a loss in a divisional game and the Lions are also a solid 6-1 to the over in home games with a posted total between 52.5 and 56 points. 10* OVER the total in the BC Lions game Saturday

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7 ET - The defending Grey Cup Champion Redblacks have had a tough start to the season but this is the ideal spot for them to get back on track. Ottawa is coming off of a much needed bye week and they are 4-2 (both SU and ATS) when off of a bye week in recent seasons. Also, the Redblacks are playing with revenge here as the Blue Bombers handed them a home loss in their most recent meeting late last season. Ottawa is on a 13-7 ATS run in their games against teams with a winning record while Winnipeg is on a 4-10 ATS run in their games against teams with a losing record. The Blue Bombers are allowing 35.8 points per game this season and the Redblacks (after having to face ultra potent Calgary the first two weeks) has seen their defense settle in nicely with only 23.8 points allowed in their last 4 games. The combination of the defensive edge, the rest edge, home field edge, and the revenge angle set this one up perfectly for a big Ottawa win. The Redblacks had won 3 straight (by an average of 7.7 points per game) in this series before that loss late last season. Look for another win by at least 7 points in this one! 10* OTTAWA

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Argonauts vs Calgary Stampeders @ 7:30 ET - Toronto is 0-3 against teams from the West and they've allowed 33 points per game in those match-ups. Calgary is averaging 35.5 points per game and I look for the Stampeders offense to stay red hot here. However, Calgary does have a bye week on deck and they allowed just a single point versus Hamilton last week! As result, I expect a let-up from Stampeders defense in this one and that will open the door for the Argonauts to likely "trade scores" with Calgary throughout this game. The Argos Ricky Ray threw for 3 touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in a losing effort at Saskatchewan last week. Toronto is leading the CFL with 380.3 passing yards per game on the season. In other words, don't be surprised if this game turns into an "aerial assault" with both teams marching up and down the field through the air throughout this contest. The over is a perfect 4-0 in Calgary's games against teams from the East this season. Also, the Stampeders are on a long-term run of 21-9 to the over in games played on grass. Look for the over to improve to 8-4 in Argonauts games played in Weeks 5 through 9 the last 3 seasons combined. 10* OVER the total in Toronto Thursday

CFL Game of the Month - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) @ Calgary Stampeders @ 9:30 ET - Though Calgary is on normal rest (played exactly one week ago), it certainly helps Hamilton that they've had a couple extra days to prepare for this game. The hungry winless Tiger-Cats haven't played since last Thursday. That was a tight 3-point home loss to the undefeated Edmonton Eskimos and I foresee the Ti-Cats given the equally challenging Stampeders all they can handle in this one as well. Not only does Hamilton have a rest edge here, Calgary has a quick turnaround to look ahead to as well as they have a Thursday match-up at Toronto. The Argonauts are the top team in the East Division standings while the Tiger-Cats are winless and in dead last in the standings. That said, the Stampeders could look right past the Ti-Cats here and who could blame the Stamps? They've won 10 straight meetings between the teams. Even though Calgary has dominated straight-up, Hamilton is 7-3 ATS when off of a 2 or more consecutive losses. Also, the Tiger-Cats have gone 8-2 ATS in weeks 5 through 9 the past 3 seasons combined. In road games with a total of 56 points or more, the Ti-Cats are on a 14-8 ATS run. Also, the Tiger-Cats are 14-7 ATS when they are a road dog in a range of +10.5 to +14 points. The Stampeders are 0-3 ATS against East Division foes this season. Also, in home games with a posted total of 56 points or more, Calgary is on a 14-21 ATS run. Look for this one to be much closer than many are expecting. 10* HAMILTON

ESPN Smash Pass CFL Friday 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos (-) vs BC Lions @ 9:30 ET - Even though this is a revenge game for the Lions, the Eskimos should hold the upper hand here! BC has had to go with Travis Lulay at QB due to the Jonathan Jennings injury. Even though they have won back to back games with Lulay at the pivot, the Lions benefited from first facing a Hamilton team that is still winless and then BC had to rally in the 4th quarter to knock off Winnipeg at home. The Lions were down 15 points entering the 4th quarter last week. Lulay has thrown almost as any picks as TDs. Edmonton is the healthier team at the all-important QB position and they have won 4 of the last 5 meetings meetings between these bitter rivals. I am happy to test that 4-1 SU run with a money line play here on Edmonton. The line on the Eskimos is such a small spread that we can get even more value by taking them on the money line here and laying a small price. Keep in mind, BC is 0-2 ATS in divisional games this season. Also, the Lions went only 9-14 ATS the past two seasons combined when playing with revenge. Prior to the road win for the Eskimos at BC to open up this season, the home team had won 6 straight meetings between these teams. Couple that with the healthy QB edge factor here (Jennings hurting) and I like my chances with the Eskimos at a very affordable price here! 10* EDMONTON

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Thursday CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Montreal Alouettes @ 8:30 ET - Montreal's Darian Durant threw for 452 yards last week but he and the Alouettes were done in by two early interceptions in the game. They Als were held to just 19 points in that game but that is despite all the passing yardage. The result is value this week because Winnipeg has been an "over machine" this season. The Blue Bombers are scoring an average of 32 points per game and are allowing 35 points per game on the year! They won't be able to stop the Montreal offense here but certainly one has to respect what Winnipeg has been doing on that side of the ball too. That's why the play here is the over as the Blue Bombers have averaged 37.5 points per game in their last two games and I expect more of the same in this East-West battle Thursday night. Look for the over to improve to 8-4 the last 12 times that Winnipeg has been a favorite. Also, the over is a fantastic 9-4 the last 13 times the Blue Bombers have faced a team with a losing record on the season. More of the same on Thursday! 10* OVER in Winnipeg

Monday Night Football - Rickenbach CFL 8* Ottawa Redblacks (+) @ Toronto Argonauts @ 7:30 ET - The Argos have gotten plenty of attention here as the line has moved heavily toward Toronto. Of course that is not only because they're at home; it is also because the Argonauts are catching the Redblacks on short rest as they just played on Wednesday! In my opinion, this has created exceptional line value with Ottawa in this spot. Keep in mind they are the defending CFL champs and they have revenge on their minds here after suffering a home loss by a single point earlier this month. In that game the Redblacks were up by 11 at the half plus ended the game with a 25-16 edge in first downs and yet they still fell short on the scoreboard. It will be payback time here! Keep in mind, Toronto is on a 6-12 SU run in home games with a 4-14 ATS record! Ottawa is on a 14-5 ATS run in road games. The Redblacks are also on a 19-6 ATS run as an underdog and, about that rest factor, they are actually a stellar 16-6 ATS when playing with 6 days of rest or less between games. Look for the Redblacks to improve to 13-6 ATS when playing with revenge! 8* OTTAWA

Saturday Slaughter - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Calgary Stampeders vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 9 ET - This total has gone from as high as a 60 a few days ago all the way down to as low as a 55 as of the night before the game. This is offering fantastic line value for the over. The Roughriders are averaging 31 points per game so far this season and the Stampeders are averaging 31.5 points per game on the season thus far. Both of these teams have non-conference match-ups on deck so they'll be fully focused here and that should mean plenty of offense in this one. Saskatchewan is coming off of a bye week and they are 3-0 to the over the last 3 times they've been off of a bye. The Roughriders are also 2-0 to the over this season in Saturday games while Calgary is 2-0 to the over this season in their games against teams with a losing record. These records combine for a perfect 7-0 mark to the OVER! The Stampeders are hungry to respond as they are off of a loss last week and they'll be ready to bounce back after scoring just 23 points. That came against Montreal but the Alouettes have one of the top defenses in the league this season. Calgary should find a lot more to exploit in terms of match-ups this week against the Roughriders defense. The Stampeders have averaged 38.5 points per game in their last two home games versus Saskatchewan and they'll be "on the attack" again Saturday. 10* OVER the total in Calgary

Bulldog's Best - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play BC Lions (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 10 PM ET - After opening up the season with a bye, Winnipeg barely got by Saskatchewan (in overtime) and then got absolutely crushed by Calgary before getting past Toronto. The Roughriders and Argonauts were the two worst teams in the CFL last season. That said, the Blue Bombers two victories this season are not necessarily that impressive. What does stand out is how they got hammered by the Stampeders and now they are again stepping up in class and facing another top divisional foe as they travel to BC to face the Lions. British Columbia is 3-1 on the season but their lone defeat came in their only home game and they have yet another road game on deck. In other words, the Lions are putting full emphasis on this game as they want to get into the win column at home after a tight loss to Edmonton all the way back in Week 1. BC had a successful road trip to the East - perfect 3-0 - and they don't want to lose that momentum here. The Lions have been the top team in the CFL for points allowed per game this season while the Blue Bombers have been the worst team in the West Division for points allowed per game. I realize Winnipeg has a rest edge here since they played 2 days earlier than BC last week. However, the Lions have performed well on short rest this season. Of course the Blue Bombers are seeking revenge for last season's playoff exit at the hands of the Lions but revenge will only take you so far in terms of how games play out on the field. In other words, I love the value of having BC after the big downward line move here as great line value is being offered on the Lions as a small home fave. Winnipeg has covered 5 straight in this series and has won 4 straight regular season meetings. The Lions, even though they won the playoff match-up in November, still have a little payback on their minds based on all the recent regular season outcomes. Couple that with the fact BC is hungry for that first home win of the season and you have a nice set-up here with the added line value after the downward move. 10* BC LIONS Friday

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs Edmonton Eskimos @ 7:30 ET - Hamilton is on the only team without a win this season and I certainly look for them to "bring it" tonight in terms of an intense effort at home. However, the problem for the Tiger-Cats is they've allowed 37 points per game. The Ti-Cats won't be able to stop an Edmonton offense that is much more talented than their early season scoring average of 25 points per game would lead you to believe! The fact is that the Eskimos defense has been a pleasant surprise this season in terms of points allowed but this is a definite flat spot in terms of defensive intensity for Edmonton. Last week the Eskimos squeaked out a tight win over the Grey Cup champion Ottawa Redblacks. Also, on deck for Edmonton is a huge divisional game next week versus the BC Lions. The point is that the Eskimos will struggle to maintain their defensive intensity here and that should open things up for a Hamilton offense that is desperate to get enough done to get their first win of the season. I am well aware of the fact that Edmonton has not had an over yet this season but there is good reason that the odds makers opened up this total in the mid-fifties. The fact that it has since dropped into the low-fifties has given us great line value in this spot! The over is 3-1 the last 4 times the Eskimos have been a road favorite of 3 points or less. Look for the over to improve to 3-0 this season in Tiger-Cats non-conference action! 10* OVER the total in Hamilton

Wednesday Annihilation - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks (-) vs Montreal Alouettes @ 7:30 ET - The defending Grey Cup champions, Ottawa, still is in search of their first win of the season. Needless to say the Redblacks are fired up and ready to respond as their first four games have been decided by a total of just 7 points and yet they still haven't punched one into the win column. Ottawa is catching a division rival at the perfect time to right the ship. Montreal is off of a big upset win over previously undefeated Calgary last week. That makes the Alouettes ripe for the picking here. I know Montreal is solid defensively but Ottawa is not that far behind on that side of the ball and the Redblacks also certainly are the better team offensively. Ottawa has the worst turnover margin, by far, of any team in the CFL so far this season and this is why I feel there is line value in this spot. The Redblacks are certainly a better team than their record would indicate and there are also some strong trends that support them here. Both teams are on short rest here since they were each in action Friday. Montreal is 9-14 ATS when playing with rest of 6 days or less while Ottawa is a fantastic 16-6 ATS when playing with rest of 6 days or less between games! The Redblacks are also 13-5 ATS (and 12-6 SU) in divisional games while the Alouettes are on a 6-10 SU run in divisional games. Also, when the Redblacks enter a game on a losing streak of 2 games or more, they are on a 5-0 ATS run! More of the same expected here on Wednesday! 10* OTTAWA

Saturday Slaughter - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play British Columbia Lions (-) @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ 7:30 ET Saturday - The Lions lost their home opener to Edmonton in a tight defeat. As a result, they viewed this road trip east as an early-season opportunity to 'right the ship". They've done just that with back to back wins at Toronto and Montreal. Both victories came by 7 points or more for British Columbia and I look for BC to get the job done again by at least that margin at Hamilton on Saturday. The Tiger-Cats are not only winless on the season, both losses came by a 17 point margin. The Ti-Cats had an opportunity last week, off of a bye week, to "right the ship" at Saskatchewan. Hamilton failed against a much weaker non-divisional foe than the one they are facing this week and that is bad news for Tiger-Cats fans as there is already significant concern with the Terrence Tolliver injury and a banged up secondary. With Hamilton's All-Star corners hurting, they will struggle to stop BC's aerial attack. That's because the Lions ground game is also a legitimate threat. British Columbia is averaging 95 yards per game on the ground and the Hamilton defense must respect the ground game and that makes BC's passing game even more dangerous! As for the Hamilton ground game, the Ti-Cats have averaged only 21.5 rushing yards per game and this gives a huge edge to a Lions defense that is at the top of the league with only 20.3 points allowed per game. The West has been stronger than the East in recent seasons and BC has exemplified that with a 12-6 mark (both SU and ATS) versus East Division teams. Also, the Lions are 10-6 ATS in Saturday games while Hamilton is 3-7 (both SU and ATS) in Saturday games. Look for these trends to continue this weekend. I know the Tiger-Cats are desperate as they are the only team in the league without a single point in the standings BUT the Lions are just too superior all over the field and the Ti-Cats injuries have exasperated their current situation. 10* BC Lions minus the short number Saturday evening.

Friday Total Annihilation - Rickenbach CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Edmonton Eskimos vs Ottawa Redblacks @ 10 ET Friday - The Eskimos are coming off of a bye week and they have a long-term mark of 9-5 to the over when they are playing with 2 or more weeks of rest. Edmonton's offense was one of the tops in the league last season. Though they've scored a little less this season one of their games was a tough road match-up. Although the Eskimos other game was a home match-up it was against a defensive-minded team as they hosted Montreal. Look for Edmonton to have a breakout game at home off of their bye week as they now host an Ottawa team that, just like them, is happy to air it out. The Redblacks are already 2-0 to the over this season (and 10-4 to the over the last 3 seasons combined) in games where they are a road dog in a range of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Ottawa is still winless on the season so they'll go hard here but their defense has been a concern with 33.3 points allowed per game so far this year. In other words, look for a shootout in this one. In fact, the last two meetings between these teams in Edmonton have totaled 63 and 82 points, respectively. Overall, only 2 of the last 8 meetings between these teams in Alberta have seen the game stay under the total! As a home fave of 3.5 to 6 points, the Eskimos are 6-2 to the over. I am expecting the over to improve to 11-3 in Ottawa's last 14 Friday games! Don't let the big number on this game scare you as indeed it does have "shootout" written all "over" it! 10* OVER the total in Edmonton in late night action Friday.

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CFL 8* Winnipeg Blue Bombers (-) vs Toronto Argonauts @ 8:30 ET Thursday - The Blue Bombers laid an egg last week in their home opener though they did face a top CFL team as they hosted Calgary. This week they take a step down in competition as they face Toronto. I know the Argonauts are 2-1 this season but they were one of the league's worst teams last season and Winnipeg won both match-ups with the Argos. Considering that the Blue Bombers are off of an ugly divisional loss and Toronto is off of a one-point come from behind divisional win on the road, the set-up here is perfect for Winnipeg to get the big home win. The Blue Bombers are on a 10-6 ATS run against teams with a winning record and a 7-4 ATS run when off of a loss in divisional action. The Argonauts are on a 3-10 SU (and ATS) run in games where their line is between +3 and -3. Toronto also is 1-6 SU (and ATS) when off of a win over a division rival. 8* WINNIPEG minus the short number Thursday.

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) @ Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 10 ET - The Roughriders are off of back to back tough losses. They lost in Week 1 by a single point and then lost in overtime in Week 2. After the heartbreak last Saturday followed that tough loss the prior week, it will be tough for Saskatchewan to bounce back here. Making the task even tougher is the fact that they're hosting a Hamilton team that has had two weeks to prepare for this game. The Tiger-Cats lost in Week 1 by 17 points at Toronto so they will not be in a good mood here! Hamilton watched the Argonauts make some huge catches (even on a number of poorly thrown balls) and, basically, everything seemed to go the Argos way in that Week 1 match-up. That said, the Ti-Cats are fired up and they can't wait to get back on the field after the early season bye week! Hamilton, the past 2 seasons, went 5-2 SU and ATS when off of a loss against a division rival. Also, the Ti-Cats straight-up road record (4-5) was better than Saskatchewan's straight-up home record (3-6) last season. Additionally, the past three seasons combined, the Roughriders are 2-10 SU and ATS as a favorite! July has been a horrible month for Saskatchewan (1-9 SU) while the Tiger-Cats actually have a winning record (both SU and ATS) in July games the past two seasons combined. Two of the weaker teams in the CFL matched up here but the scheduling situation and emotional status of these two teams right now means the value is clearly with the dog in this one! 10* HAMILTON

Triple Perfect Smash - Rickenbach CFL Friday 8* Winnipeg Blue Bombers (+) vs Calgary Stampeders @ 8:30 ET - The Stampeders are the better team overall but always remember that value and situational factors BOTH carry extreme importance in handicapping. In this case, though on the one hand Calgary has a 2-day rest edge over the Blue Bombers, do not forget that Winnipeg did not play in Week 1. Not only that, this is the Blue Bombers home opener so they will be fired up and certainly still have fresh legs for this one considering it is just their 2nd game of the season. For the Stampeders, not only is it their 3rd game of the season but their 1st two games were huge one. Calgary faced the Redblacks in a rematch of the Grey Cup Championship last season and the Stampeders had to settle for a tie in Ottawa in Week 1 but then got the W out west in Week 2. That truly makes this a "flat spot" for Calgary as they are off of a big revenging win. Couple that with the fact that the Blue Bombers are a sizable home dog here (currently +4 at the time of this write up) and you have true value in this spot. The Stampeders have had Winnipeg's number in recent meetings and that further intensifies the importance of this game for the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg is 10-5 ATS the past two seasons combined when facing teams with a winning record. Calgary is a long-term 35-47 ATS in July games and they are already 0-2 ATS this season! 8* WINNIPEG plus the points Friday evening

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFL Thursday 10* Top Play BC Lions (-) @ Montreal Alouettes @ 7:30 ET - As I wrote in Friday's Game of the Month write-up, the Lions would be hungry last week after BC lost a tight one at home to Edmonton in the opening week. The Lions are now a stellar 10-2 ATS the last 2+ seasons when they are off of a loss to a division rival. BC is a good team. Montreal is certainly still a question mark. The Alouettes barely got by Saskatchewan in Week 1 and then lost at Edmonton last week. The Als just don't have the offensive and, long-term, BC is known for their offensive production! Already this season BC has scored at least 27 points in each of their two games while Montreal has yet to crack the 20-point barrier. I am well aware of the fact that the dogs are 8-0 ATS this season in CFL but there is a reason that, despite that fact, this line has risen from -2.5 to -3.5 on BC in this game. The Lions are the much better team and their viewing this Eastern road trip (Toronto last week and Hamilton next week) as an opportunity to get back on track after that tough, disappointing loss in their home opener. The superior (and fully focused) team is the play here and the Lions have won 3 straight meetings with the Alouettes and all 3 wins came by a margin of at least 9 points. The Lions are on an 11-6 ATS run in non-conference games while Montreal is on a 6-13 ATS run in home games. More of the same here. 10* BC LIONS minus the points early Thursday evening

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach CFL Saturday 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers (+) @ Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 9 ET - Amazingly the underdogs are a perfect 7-0 ATS so far this CFL season after yesterday's results saw two more underdogs cash in. Looking at this Saturday night match-up I like the fact that the Blue Bombers opened up as a favorite but are now the underdog here. Winnipeg has revamped their offense coming into this season and they had a bye in week one action. While the Blue Bombers are excited about unveiling their new, more dangerous attack on offense, the Roughriders are already the team feeling pressure in this one. Keep in mind, Saskatchewan only won five games last season. Now they got this season off to a familiar start with a loss and it was a frustrating one coming by a single point at Montreal last week. The Roughriders offense did not look good and, as for their defensive production, yes they held the Alouettes to just 17 points but Montreal only scored 19 points last night. The point is that the Riders benefited from facing an Alouettes offense that is having some issues early this season. I really like what Winnipeg has done to bolster both their ground game and aerial attack coming into this season and we're getting great line value here as the Blue Bombers have all the positive energy having waited extra time for the season opener. Conversely, the Roughriders feel the added pressure of already being 0-1 and now playing in Saskatchewan with the pressure of trying not to suffer a home loss and drop to a quick 0-2 on the season. The Riders will be playing not to lose while Winnipeg will be playing to win and you know how these types of situations tend to play out! Also, the Blue Bombers have won 4 of the last 5 meetings between these teams. Look for another underdog W in this one as the dogs improve to 8-0 this CFL season! 10* WINNIPEG plus the points Saturday night

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Friday 10* Top Play BC Lions (+) @ Toronto Argonauts @ 7 ET - The Argonauts had the biggest win in Week 1 as they demolished Hamilton by 17 points. In that game truly everything seemed to fall into place for Toronto. Now they face a fired up BC team that lost a tight one at home to Edmonton. The Lions have gone a stellar 9-2 ATS the last two seasons when they are off of a loss to a division rival. BC is a good team. Toronto is still a question mark. I know the Argos had a great week one performance but there has already been an over-reaction to that by the betting markets as this line went from a pick'em to a -3 on Toronto. We're getting tremendous line value on the Lions, off of a loss, and getting +3 in this one. Long-term, BC is known for their offensive production and the Argos caught the Tiger-Cats off-guard in Week 1. The Lions are well aware of how that game went and the Argonauts won't catch hungry BC asleep coming into this game. Toronto is 1-5 SU and ATS when off of a win against a division rival. Also, the Argos, even with last week's win included, are still just 4-13 ATS in home games the past 2+ seasons. Lastly, the Lions also have the rest edge here as they played on Saturday last week while the Argos played on Sunday. Now playing on Friday, it's an extra short week for Toronto here. The road team is also 4-0 SU and ATS in the last 4 meetings between these teams. More of the same here. 10* BC LIONS plus the points early Friday evening

Game of the Week - Rickenbach Sunday CFL 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (-) @ Toronto Argonauts @ 4 ET - The Tiger-Cats are the much better team and, after their long winning streak versus the Argonauts ended in Toronto in September last season, payback is in order here. The Argos have issues on both sides of the ball as their concern on offense is a question about the level of receiving talent on hand for the passing game. On the other side of the ball Toronto was the worst defense in the league last season so that unit has a long way to go to get to where it should be. Even though Toronto is at home for this one, they went just 2-7 at home last season. The Argos, like much the rest of the East Division last season, was better on the road than at home. That's why there is no questioning the fact that Hamilton is a sizable road favorite here. It is absolutely justified as they seek revenge for the September loss that ended their 6-0 run (both SU and ATS) in their rivalry series with the Argos. The Ti-Cats are a long-term 14-8 ATS in road games with a posted total of 56 or more. The Argonauts are on a 3-13 ATS run in home games and a 5-12 ATS run in divisional games. The Ti-Cats are the better team on both sides of the ball and the revenge factor is what 'sweetens the deal" on this one and has me going to my top play rating here. 10* HAMILTON TIGER-CATS minus the points Sunday afternoon

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Saturday CFL 8* OVER the total in BC Lions vs Edmonton Eskimos @ 10 ET - The O/U posted on this one is certainly a big one. But don't be fooled, it is absolutely justified. The Eskimos have some impacting injuries on the defensive side of the ball and the Lions had some significant off-season changes that have impacted their defense. Keep in mind, Calgary was on the only team in the CFL last season that scored more points on the season than Edmonton and BC. Both the Eskimos and Lions like to "air it out" early and often. BC will be even more dynamic once Chris Williams is healthy. But even without one of their newest additions, Williams, for this one the Lions still have a ton of weaponry in the passing game. Additionally BC has arguably the most dangerous ground game in the league. This will keep the Eskimos guessing as to what is coming next on each play and, again, Edmonton is without some key cogs on that side of the ball. The other key factor is the dangerous Eskimos offense throwing all over a BC defense that has some new faces in new places and will be a susceptible D - particularly early in the season. This one simply has shootout written all over it. I respect the high total and that is why this one did not get my top play rating but it is still a solid situation that demands being played. As a road dog of 3.5 to 7 points, Edmonton is on a long-term run of 37-26 to the over. Also, the over is a long-term 60-45 in Eskimos Saturday games. BC has gone 10-5 to the over in Saturday games the past 2 seasons. Also, the Lions are 4-1 to the over as a home fave of 3.5 to 7 points and 6-2 to the over in home games with a posted total of 52 points or more. As noted above, the big total should prove to be absolutely justified here and this one soars past the number. 8* OVER the total in BC late Saturday night.

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach Friday CFL 10* Top Play OVER the total in Ottawa Redblacks vs Calgary Stampeders @ 7:30 ET - This is the Grey Cup rematch. Of course last year's Grey Cup easily flew over the total and I look for a repeat here. The over is a perfect 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these teams and I really like all the additions that Ottawa made in terms of talented receivers being added to the mix but their defense is still a major question mark. Keep in mind the Redblacks defense was their weakness last season and I expect the revenge-minded Stampeders to fully exploit that weakness here. Calgary has the best offense in the CFL and they're ready to air it out but so too is Harris for Ottawa as Trevor Harris looks to redeem himself after losing the starting job last season. Not only is Harris ready to "put his foot on the gas in this one", Calgary is more than happy to air it out and they put up insane numbers through the air against the Redblacks in last year's match-ups. I look for more of the same here as the PERFECT trend of overs continues in this series. The Redblacks D simply won't be able to stop a determined Stampeders team but Ottawa can also score big, especially with the plethora of receiving talent they have now. The over is 14-8 the past two seasons when the Redblacks are an underdog. Also, Ottawa has gone 11-6 to the over long-time when they are a home dog in a range of 3.5 to 7 points. Look for more of the same with the Redblacks on Friday night as offense takes center stage in the rematch. Two QBs involved here with plenty to probe. 10* OVER the total in Ottawa

ESPN Smash Pass - Rickenbach Thursday CFL 8* Montreal Alouettes (-) vs Saskatchewan Roughriders @ 6:30 ET - This is the biggest line on the board in Week 1 but the big number is absolutely justified. Don't be fooled just because the Roughriders had a late season winning streak last year. Saskatchewan is still a team in rebuilding mode and let's not forget they allowed 530 points last season! By comparison, Montreal only allowed 415 points on the season. The fact that the Alouettes only went 3-6 at home last season but opened up as a 6 point favorite here tells you all you need to know. The odds makers know what they're doing and this is certainly no mistake. The Als are the much better team on defense and they also rate the big QB edge here as the Roughriders Kevin Glenn is 38 and certainly his better years are long gone. Montreal has Darian Durant at the pivot and he is 34 but he definitely still has more left in the tank than Glenn. Also, Durant lost some weight heading into this season and he is moving well in the pocket. The Riders are going to struggle to contain Durant and the Montreal offense. Remember the Alouettes thrashed them here last year by a 41-3 count. The O/U on this game opened up at 50.5 and Saskatchewan is 1-8 SU (and 2-7 ATS) the past 2 seasons in road games with a posted total between 49.5 and 52 points. More of the same to open up the 2017 season and the Als make the most of hosting the opening night game. 8* MONTREAL minus the points Thursday evening

Grey Cup Best Bet - Rickenbach CFL Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Ottawa Redblacks vs Calgary Stampeders @ 7 ET - Not going to go into great length here. Calgary's offense is tough to stop and was firing on all cylinders in last week's annihilation of the BC Lions. The Stampeders put up 42 points in that game and have one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. However, I do expect the Redblacks to "hang around" in this game as they were in the Grey Cup last year and lost which is an experience that will serve them well here. However, the Ottawa defense is not going to stop the Stampeders and that means the Redblacks offense is going to have to keep them in this game. They should be able to do just that. Ottawa put up 35 points last week in a revenge game (against Edmonton) from last year's Grey Cup battle. Off of that revenging win, the defense may fall a little flat here for the Redblacks and I see this one being a game featuring plenty of scoring opportunities as a result. The over is 6-1 in Ottawa's games this season where they are an underdog. Also, the over is 5-1 (compared to the closing number) in 5 of the last 6 meetings between the Redblacks and Stampeders. 10* Top Play OVER the total in the Grey Cup on Sunday evening!

CFL Finals VALUE Smash - Rickenbach CFL Game #480 - 10* Top Play Calgary Stampeders (-) vs BC Lions @ 4:30 ET - With barely getting by Winnipeg last week, the Lions showed they're likely to be in trouble this week against the rested Stampeders. Calgary is coming off of an absolutely dominating CFL season and the fact that this line opened up at 8.5 and then dropped to 7 has me liking this play even more. Yes, the points are significant here but the edges are off the charts as you don't dominate the way Calgary did in the regular season by accident. This Stampeders team is firing on all cylinders and they beat the Lions 37 to 9 in their most recent meeting and that was in British Columbia! The Stampeders are 6-0 SU and 5-0 ATS when off of a bye week! The Lions are 4-9 SU (and 3-10 ATS) when they are off of two or more consecutive wins. Also, BC is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 November games. This one gets ugly in a hurry! 10* CALGARY Sunday afternoon

CFL Top Play - Rickenbach CFL Game #280 Sunday - 10* Top Play BC Lions (-) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 4:30 ET - Just like in the NFL when divisional foes end up matching up in the post-season following a regular season sweep, it is so difficult to beat a team 3 times in the same season. BC has revenge on their minds in a big way here because they not only lost both regular season match-ups this season, they also lost both of them last season as well. However, what could be any sweeter than playoff revenge? The fact is that the Lions have lost these recent match-ups because of turnovers. Statistically, BC has fared just fine against the Blue Bombers but they've lost the turnover count by a ridiculous count as Winnipeg has just 2 turnovers compared to 15 for the Lions in the last 4 games. Even with this very unusual turnover ratio, the last 3 wins for the Blue Bombers have ALL come by 3 points or less. Of course Winnipeg should have won huge given those turnover numbers. You see my point? BC is the superior team and they'll take care of the football Sunday and they'll get the sweetest revenge of all - playoff revenge - as they send the Blue Bombers packing. When the Lions are off of a divisional game this season they are 9-1 ATS. When Winnipeg is playing a team with a winning record, they have lost 18 of 23 games the past three seasons combined. 10* BC Lions Sunday afternoon

Contrarian TOP PLAY - Rickenbach CFL Game #476 Friday - 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks (+) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 7 ET - This is truly a contrarian play. Everyone is backing the Blue Bombers here because they "need to win" in hopes of getting a home playoff game. This line has already moved 4 points from a pick'em on Winnipeg to now being a 4.5 point favorite as of early Friday morning. The Blue Bombers just lost badly to the Redblacks at home last week and Winnipeg didn't even get into the end zone until the final seconds of the game. However, even though Ottawa is resting starting QB Henry Burris for this game (and some banged up regulars may rest too), the Redblacks aren't going to just "lay down" for this game. They want to win. They have earned the home field game for the post-season which is coming their way in two weeks but they also haven't won a home game since late September. In their two October home games they lost each one in OT. The Redblacks have the better defense in this match-up. They had an excellent game plan against the Blue Bombers which they used to get the W in Winnipeg last week and Ottawa wants to chalk up a W on their home field to go into the post-season with positive momentum and with finally notching a home W after some recent tight losses there. Grab the underdog value as Winnipeg is only 7-7 SU as a favorite the past three seasons and they've only gone 4-10 ATS in those 14 games! The Redblacks are on a 6-1 ATS run in November games! 10* OTTAWA Friday

East-West Game of the Year - Rickenbach CFL Game #275 Friday - 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos (+) @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ 7 ET - Situations don't get much stronger than this. Back on July 23rd, the Eskimos were up 24-6 at halftime in Edmonton against the Tiger-Cats. The final score in that game was a Hamilton win by a count of 37-31. Rest assured, the Eskimos haven't forgotten that game. Also, this game is big in the playoff picture and, while Edmonton is 4-4 on the road and 4-4 at home as well as 5-5 in the division and 3-3 outside of the division the key factoid on the disparity in these teams is in looking at Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats are 5-2 in the division but 2-7 outside of the division. Hamilton's 2 wins against West teams included that come-from-behind upset at Edmonton. The Eskimos get payback today. Even though Edmonton is off of a tough loss at BC, the Eskimos had a bye week the prior week so they will have their legs underneath them here as they look to bounce back from that loss. As for Hamilton, not only are they are off of a huge come-from-behind OT win over Ottawa last week, it was their 2nd straight ultra-tight battle with the Redblacks. The Ti-Cats may not have a lot left in the tank and, on deck, they have a divisional battle with Montreal while the Eskimos have another non-divisional match-up on deck. The situation clearly favors the road dog. 10* EDMONTON ESKIMOS

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFL Game #479 Friday - 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+) @ Ottawa Redblacks @ 7 ET - With all the strong records out West, the teams in the East are still battling it out for a playoff spot even though their records certainly do not impress. That said, this is a huge game as it is the back-end of a home-and-home set between these two divisional rivals and there are some key tangibles that have me backing the road dog in this one. Hamilton was in a similar spot with Ottawa last season and the Redblacks took both regular season meetings late in the year which helped them earn home field edge for their playoff match-up. The result was a 3rd straight win for the Redblacks over the Ti-Cats and that post-season defeat (and 0-3 finish versus Ottawa) certainly resonates loudly with Hamilton to this day. That makes this a huge revenge spot for the Tiger-Cats after, not only what happened last season but also, a tight one point home loss to Ottawa last week. The Tiger-Cats got off to a slow start in that game and made some mistakes and that definitely hurt them as their rally fell just short in the one point loss to the Redblacks. Jeremiah Masoli is still in at QB for the injured Zach Collaros and he knows he made some costly mistakes with a pair of picks last week but Masoli went 3-3 as the starter earlier this season and last week's loss won't totally derail him. Look for he and he and the Tiger-Cats to bounce back this week as they also got some newly signed players into action last week to help out at key positions after a few injuries narrowed the roster a bit. They'll be even better this week thanks to getting some reps in last week's the game. Even with last week's win, the Redblacks have won just 4 of their last 11 games. Hamilton is about a 3.5 point dog here and the Tiger-Cats are 7-1 SU when off of a loss against a division rival.  That said, I am expecting the outright upset here but certainly going to grab the available points. Ottawa is 0-4 ATS this season when off of a win against a division rival. 10* HAMILTON Friday

Game of the Week Friday - Rickenbach CFL Game #280 - 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats (-) vs Ottawa Redblacks @ 7 ET - With all the strong records out West, the teams in the East are still battling it out for a playoff spot even though their records certainly do not impress. That said, this is a huge game as it is the first of a home-and-home set between these two divisional rivals and there are some key tangibles that have me backing the home team here. Hamilton was in a similar spot with Ottawa last season and the Redblacks took both regular season meetings late in the year which helped them earn home field edge for their playoff match-up. The result was a 3rd straight win for the Redblacks over the Ti-Cats and that post-season defeat (and 0-3 finish versus Ottawa) certainly resonates loudly with Hamilton to this day. That makes this a huge revenge spot for the Tiger-Cats and they are off of their bye week. This is why, even though they have some injury issues, Hamilton is the play here as Jeremiah Masoli steps in at QB for the injured Zach Collaros. Masoli went 3-3 as the starter earlier this season and the extra week helped he and the Tiger-Cats get fully prepared for this game as they also signed some players to help out at key positions after a few injuries narrowed the roster a bit. The Redblacks certainly are not without their own injury issues including star wideout Chris Williams who is truly irreplaceable. He is simply that good! This will hurt the Redblacks who have won just 3 of their last 10 games and have decided to go back to veteran QB Henry Burris. The problem with that is he simply wasn't that effective earlier this season and, in my opinion, it's going to prove to be "too little, too late" for Ottawa as they take on a rested, hungry, and revenge-minded Hamilton team in this one. The Tiger-Cats enter this game off of back to back losses and that is a situation that has seen them go 6-3 ATS the past three seasons including a perfect 2-0 this season. A lot of points expected here and the Redblacks are on a long-term 11-20 ATS run in road games with a posted total of 52 points or more. 10* HAMILTON Friday

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFL Game #481/482 - 10* Top Play OVER in Montreal Alouettes vs Edmonton Eskimos - This total has dropped a little and that is offering exceptional line value on the over. Montreal is a different team with a renewed enthusiasm after the coaching change and defeated Toronto, 38-11, in new head coach Jacques Chapdelaine’s Week 15 debut. In speaking about this early Monday afternoon match-up with Edmonton, coach Chapdelaine said “It’ll be important for us to make sure we keep executing as well as we did last week. We’re looking for an up-tempo type of game again.” Therein lies the key to this play. No team has scored fewer points than Montreal this season and no team has allowed fewer points either. However, with a coaching change, the dynamics can change in a hurry. As you can see from the what the Alouettes head coach is saying here, they are ready to play another fast-paced affair. Of course the Eskimos, led by QB Mike Reilly (on pace for 6,000 passing yards this season) are a very dangerous offense to contend with and will undoubtedly give the Eskimos D some trouble. Edmonton has averaged 29 points per game in their last 5 match-ups with Montreal and I also look for another big game from the Als offense in this one. The over is 3-0 this season in Eskimos games when they enter off of 2 or more consecutive wins. The over is on a long-term 46-30 run in Alouettes October games. More of the same here. 10* OVER in Montreal early Monday afternoon on Thanksgiving Day in Canada

Rickenbach CFL Game #280 - 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers -3 vs Edmonton Eskimos @ 8:30 ET Friday - The Blue Bombers are off of a tight loss last week but that was against the #1 team in the league as Winnipeg fell just short of upsetting the Stampeders in Calgary. As for the Eskimos, they are also off of a tight game but they came out on the right side at home against the BC Lions last week. That sets this one up nicely as the Blue Bombers come in hungry off of a win while Edmonton can't help but have trouble coming down off the emotional high of knocking off a tough BC team last week. The Eskimos had lost 3 straight games before last weeks win. Conversely, the Blue Bombers had actually won 7 straight games before their furious comeback attempt against league-leading Calgary fell just short. Even though Edmonton has revenge from a home loss to Winnipeg in late July, note that the Blue Bombers had lost at home to the Eskimos earlier in July and they have a chance to now avenge that defeat at home. With the line dropping from a -5 to a -3 we are getting excellent line value with a Blue Bombers team that got another strong game from QB Matt Nichols last week. The Eskimos win and cover last week was their first ATS win in their last five games! In fact, that was Edmonton's first ATS win in EIGHT divisional games this season! The Eskimos continue to be over-valued this season as the defending Grey Cup champions. By the way, the Blue Bombers certainly haven't forgotten that they not only lost here at home to Edmonton earlier this season but also the fact that the Eskimos won the Grey Cup right here in Winnipeg last year. The Blue Bombers want this game badly and the line move has opened up exceptional line value with Winnipeg as the small home fave here. Keep in mind, even if this line moves back up a little, the Blue Bombers are 3-0 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points the past three seasons combined. 10* WINNIPEG

Rickenbach CFL Game #492 - 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks (-) vs Toronto Argonauts @ 7 ET Friday - Revenge game for Ottawa as they look to avenge a 23-20 home loss to the Argos in the nation's capital back in late July. Since that victory, Toronto has lost 5 of their last 6 games and 4 of the 5 losses came by at least a 13 point margin. That is why I have no fear of laying the points here (currently -5.5) with the Redblacks. With Argonauts QB Ricky Ray out for the season, Toronto is a different team. They have still been moving the ball on offense but they continue to make mistakes and have been done in by turnovers. Ottawa will take advantage of this and the Redblacks are 3-1 ATS the last 4 times they have been a home fave in a range of 3.5 to 7 points. Also, this season, when playing with 6 days or less of rest, Ottawa has gone 3-1 ATS. The Redblacks played the top team in the league, Calgary Stampeders, and lost badly on Saturday. That has them fired up for this divisional match-up Friday and they host an Argonauts team that is on an 8-15 ATS run in divisional games and also playing with short rest here as Toronto got blasted by Winnipeg Saturday. The Redblacks have been very strong against the run this season and that will force the Argos to the air and back-up QB Dan LeFevour who has had issues with throwing costly picks since filling in for Ray. More of the same expected here. 10* OTTAWA Friday

Rickenbach CFL Game #291 - 10* Top Play Montreal Alouettes (+) @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ 7 ET Friday - Both teams are off of losses but there is a significant scheduling edge for Montreal here. The Alouettes played last Friday so they've a full week off whereas Hamilton just played on Sunday so they are playing on short rest this week. Adding to the advantage for the Als is that they have a bye week on deck so they will certainly "leave it all on the field" in this week's match-up! Another reason Montreal is certain to give it their all here is the fact they were embarrassed 31 to 7 at home when these teams met back in July. That means a little payback is on order here and I'll gladly grab the double digits with the road dog that has the situational and motivational edges. The Alouettes are showing that they are completely behind their new QB Rakeem Cato as Kevin Glenn is now in Winnipeg with the Blue Bombers. Cato played quite well last week with completing about 75% of his passes and throwing no picks while Tiger-Cats QB Zach Collaros and the Hamilton offense struggled last week at Toronto. The Alouettes have had a frustrating season but anything can happen in the tightly packed East Division and this spot favors the big road dog in a big way. With Montreal a double digit dog in this one, that is the way to go here. 10* MONTREAL Friday

Rickenbach CFL Game #483/484 - Total of the Year - 10* Top Play OVER 48.5 in BC Lions vs Montreal Alouettes @ 10 ET Friday - The Alouettes are turning to Rakeem Cato at the pivot for this one. Look for the 24 year old QB to provide a much-needed spark to the Alouettes offense. Montreal will also get a boost with the return of their leading receiver Duron Carter for this one. He is back from serving a one game suspension and ranks 8th in the league for receiving yards this season. This is even after missing last week's game. Look for Cato and Carter to have a big impact on this game and they could be catching the BC defense at the perfect time. The Lions are off of a successful road swing back east where they picked up a pair of wins and only allowed 18 points per game. With a bye on deck for next week the Lions are likely to get caught looking ahead to the bye week and a big game with division rival Edmonton that looms on deck. The offense will keep rolling along though as the Lions put up 38 points on the Alouettes in Montreal earlier this season. Now BC gets the Als at home and the Lions want to make up for only scoring 9 points in their mos recent home game. BC came into that game having averaged 41 points per game in their 4 prior games and they followed up that game by going on the road and picking up a pair of road wins. In other words, the 9-point showing was most certainly a fluke but BC knows they need to do something about it today. Look for the Lions to push the tempo in this non-divisional match-up. The over is 2-0 this season (and 4-1 the last 3 seasons) when BC enters a game on rest of 8 days. Look for the over to improve to 3-1 this season in Montreal road games with a posted total between 45.5 and 49 points. 10* OVER in BC Friday 

Rickenbach CFL Game #219 - Daytime Dominator - 10* Edmonton Eskimos +7 @ Calgary Stampeders @ 3 ET Monday - The Stampeders won the Grey Cup in 2014. The Eskimos won it last year. In getting there in 2015 Edmonton had to get by Calgary to get there and they did just that by winning their 3rd straight match-up with them in playoff action on November 22nd before winning it all on November 29th. Now, in their first match-up of this season (and the annual Battle of Alberta on Labour Day), the Stampeders certainly are hungry for revenge and they have the home field edge for this one as well. However, a key aspect I see here is that Calgary relies heavily on protection of their QB to make this offense "go" and they've got an offensive line injury at centre. This is forcing another lineman to take over the centre position and it's thrusting a rookie into play at right tackle. The Eskimos defensive line has some players who are very strong when it comes to creating chaos in the backfield by quickly getting past the opposition's offensive line. In this case I look for that o play a key role in this game as Edmonton is just as hungry as Calgary for this game. Yes it is the Stampeders with revenge but the Eskimos are the defending Grey Cup champs who have had some disappointment early this season. Edmonton has responded by winning three straight and they are relishing this opportunity to take down their provincial rivals and, in doing so, they would be knocking off the team that is at the top of the entire league so far this season. That said, I'll gladly grab the big points being offered here. 10* EDMONTON on Monday afternoon

Rickenbach CFL Game #218 - Daytime Dominator - 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders +4.5 vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 3 ET Sunday - The Roughriders ONE AND ONLY home game between Week 8 and Week 13 is this one. They want to make it count and Saskatchewan is also catching Winnipeg off of a huge road win at Montreal last week. Even though the Roughriders have, by far, the worst record in the CFL, they are coming off of a strong effort at Edmonton last week. I can see many being enticed into playing the Blue Bombers here and laying a rather short number on the road. After all, Winnipeg is 4-1 on the road this season while Saskatchewan is 1-8 overall this season. Don't fall for the "trap line" here on the Blue Bombers as the Roughriders are quite likely to pull off the shocker here at home as this one is all about situational handicapping. The scheduling situation (for both teams) and the line (surprising # on this one) is all you need to know here. However, I will also add that Winnipeg is on a 2-5 ATS run as a favorite while the Roughriders have a long-term 73-53 ATS mark as an underdog in a range of +3.5 to +9.5 points. Grab the points here! 10* Saskatchewan Sunday afternoon

Rickenbach CFL Game #215 - Divisional Dominator - 10* Top Play Ottawa Redblacks -2.5 @ Montreal Alouettes @ 7:30 ET - Not only are the Alouettes without their star receiver (Duron Carter) due to suspension, their offense has struggled for much of this season. 4 interceptions created a disaster for the Als last week and now they face an Ottawa team fully focused on exacting revenge after an ugly, embarrassing home loss (43-19) two weeks ago. The Redblacks now have their starting QB back and he should be even stronger in his 2nd game back. Ottawa was heavily penalized in last week's game (a loss) and they'll have that cleaned up for this rematch with a division rival this week. The Redblacks had won 4 straight meetings with Montreal before the loss in Ottawa two weeks ago. As a road fave of 3 points or less Ottawa is on a long-term 4-1 (80%) ATS run. Also, the Redblacks excel in games that are projected to be tight. In games with a line of +3 to -3 Ottawa has gone 20-9 SU and 19-10 ATS long-term. Montreal is 0-3 ATS as a home dog of 3 points or less this season. Also, the Als are 9-17 ATS when playing with 6 days or less of rest. Look for the Redblacks to get revenge against a short-handed Alouettes team. 10* OTTAWA Thursday evening.

Rickenbach CFL Game #213/214 - 8* OVER 54 in Toronto Argonauts vs BC Lions @ 7:30 ET Wednesday - Toronto's offense has struggled recently but they now get QB Ricky Ray back for this game and that should revitalize the team as they are also rejuvenated coming off of a bye week. The Argos have given up 40 points per game in their last two games and they'll struggled to stop BC too but the Toronto offense should be able to match them score for score as this one turns into a shootout. The Lions have averaged 34 points per game in their last 6 games and they will build off of last week's win at Ottawa. They have stayed back east for this two game road trip and, with BC near the top of the West Division, the team has built up a lot of momentum for closing out this road trip 2-0. However, I feel the value in this match-up is with the total rather than the side as Ricky Ray's return for the Argos is going to have the Toronto offense firing on all cylinders. The over is 4-1 in Argonauts home games this season and a PERFECT 7-0 the last 3 seasons combined when the Argos are off of a bye week. 8* OVER 54 in Toronto Wednesday

Rickenbach CFL Game #307/308 - Total Annihilation - 10* Top Play OVER 54 in Calgary Stampeders vs Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ 7 ET Sunday - The Tiger-Cats have had a big boost on offense with the return of QB Zach Collaros but don't be fooled by the fact that the Hamilton defense only allowed 7 points last week. The Ti-Cats D took advantage of facing a Saskatchewan team that is, by far, the worst team in the CFL. The Roughriders are now 1-8 on the season and after another loss Friday night. Prior to Hamilton's win over Saskatchewan last week, the Tiger-Cats had allowed 28 points per game on the season. Their now facing the team in the CFL with the best record YTD and Calgary is getting the job done on offense with averaging 31 points per game. I am well aware of the fact that the under is a perfect 7-0 in the last 7 meetings between Hamilton and Calgary but this one has the makings of a very high-scoring game Sunday evening. The Stampeders defense is due for a letdown as they had a key divisional win over 2nd place BC last week. Before holding the Lions to just 9 points, Calgary had given up 25.4 points per game in their 5 games this season that were not against last-place Saskatchewan. In other words, against potent offenses, the Stampeders tend to give up their fair share of big points. I just don't see the Calgary defense stepping in back to back weeks in this non-divisional setting but I do know that the Stampeders offense should have no trouble moving the ball against a Hamilton team whose defense is its weakest link. Add it all up and you have the makings of a back and forth shootout here between Bo Levi Mitchell and Zach Collaros. 10* OVER in Calgary Sunday evening.

Rickenbach CFL Game #303 - Game of the Year - 10* Top Play Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Pick'em) @ Montreal Alouettes @ 7 ET Friday - Winnipeg is fresh off of their bye week and has won three straight games. QB Matt Nichols has led the way and the Blue Bombers have begun to surge following the handing of the pivot duties to Nichols from Drew Willy. This is a revenge game from a 22-14 home loss for Winnipeg earlier this season. The Blue Bombers have payback on their minds and Winnipeg has gotten the cash in 4 of their last 5 visits to Montreal. The Bombers certainly are catching the Alouettes at an ideal time. Montreal's offense has been very inconsistent this season. That said, it is hard to imagine that the Als will be able to have another big game after their huge divisional win at Ottawa last week. That win over the Redblacks was a key win for Montreal and is likely to leave them a little flat this week. Keep in mind too that the Alouettes offense has struggled for much of this season. The rested and highly motivated Blue Bombers are the play here as they continue their surge with Nichols orchestrating the offense. Montreal has another match-up with division rival Ottawa on deck while the Bombers only have last place Saskatchewan on deck. Situational edge definitely goes to the road team here and I expect the Blue Bombers to improve to 4-1 on the road and 4-1 against the East this season. Look for the Alouettes to drop to 1-4 in home games this season. 10* WINNIPEG Friday

Rickenbach CFL Game #301 - ESPN2 Blowout - 8* BC Lions +2.5 @ Ottawa @ 7:30 ET Thursday - Look for the Lions to respond after being blown out last week. Yes, the Redblacks were also off of a blowout loss but I feel that BC was the team playing the much better ball before the bad loss. The Lions simply didn't have the emotion or intensity needed to knock off the Stampeders last week. It was almost as if BC expected that they could just show up (since they were at home) and knock off Calgary. True to form though, the road teams continued their domination this season and the Stampeders routed the Lions. Now BC makes a 9-day road trip to the East as they play Ottawa Thursday and then, the following week on Wednesday, the Lions will do battle with the Argonauts in Toronto. The Redblacks are "scuffling" after their bad loss to Montreal last week but BC already seems rejuvenated just by being on the road. It is truly "no wonder" as to why because the Lions are 3-1 on the road this season and note that Ottawa has won only 1 of their 4 home games this season. BC is a perfect 4-0 ATS this season when on the road and the Lions play this game with "double revenge" from last year as the Redblacks beat them by double digits in both games. The Lions defense had been fantastic before last week's game. They respond this week as does the entire team including QB Jonathon Jennings. 8* BC Lions Thursday

Rickenbach CFL Game #126 - Daytime Dominator - 10* Top Play Toronto Argonauts +3.5 vs Edmonton Eskimos @ 4 ET Saturday - The Argonauts are off of an ugly loss as Logan Kilgore had an awful game at pivot last week and threw 5 interceptions. He'll bounce back strong this week as he also gets a couple of key receiving targets back this week. Toronto is hungry to come up with a big game at home as, like most of the CFL, home wins have been hard to come by so far this season. The Eskimos are off of a big win last week but that could result in them coming up a little bit flat here this week against a non-divisional foe. Edmonton has struggled against the East this season and also, Eskimos pivot Mike Reilly has struggled against Toronto with a 1-4 mark in his career against Edmonton. The Eskimos also are without the services of a key defensive lineman for this game. The Argos are getting healthier, the Eskimos are not, the Argos are motivated off of an ugly home loss, Edmonton is flat off of a big home win last week. Add it all up and you have the perfect situation to back the motivated home dog in this weekend match-up that has been moved up from a 7 ET to a 4 ET start time. Daytime domination for the home team expected here as the Argos are hungry and ready to atone for last week's ugly loss. 10* TORONTO Saturday.

Rickenbach CFL Game #121 - Div Game of the Month - 10* Montreal Alouettes +9 @ Ottawa @ 7 ET Friday - The Redblacks are struggling on offense as they continue to be without starting pivot Trevor Harris and have had to turn to 41 year old Henry Burris at the pivot. Friday Ottawa faces a hungry Alouettes team that is looking to get their season turned around before it is too late and one of the keys that Montreal can fall back on is the fact that their defense has been solid this season. i look for the Als to turn this into a tight, defensive battle and that means it will be tough for the Redblacks to create any type of margin in this game. Ottawa, earlier this season, had an underdog mentality but now they are in the #1 spot in the East and have a bit of a "target" on their backs now. The Redblacks are unlikely to handle this as well as they handled their "dog" mentality and I look for the Alouettes to possibly even spring the upset here but certainly they should at least keep the game within a one score margin when all is said and done. Look for the Als to improve to 3-1 ATS in Friday games this season. Also, the road team has taken 4 of the last 6 meetings between these teams and one of those two losses came by only 3 points. Look for the road team to again get the cash here as Ottawa drops to 0-3 ATS this season when they are a favorite in a range of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 10* MONTREAL Friday.

Rickenbach CFL Game #306 - Best Bet - 10* Top Play Saskatchewan Roughriders +6 vs Calgary Stampeders @ 7 ET Saturday - The final score shows an ugly 20 point loss for the Roughriders last week against the Stampeders. However, that game was tight until the fourth quarter and now Saskatchewan gets a shot at revenge and the rematch is at home for them. The Riders have extra motivation after the Stampeders incited some trash talk following the win at Calgary last week. Saskatchewan has a solid veteran QB that does not make many mistakes and, in fact, has not thrown a pick this season. The Stampeders have won 5 straight in this series and have covered 4 of those 5 games. However, this situation is a highly motivate spot for Saskatchewan at home as they won't be home again for another 3 weeks. With the way road teams dominated early this season we all know a reversal is coming...at least in terms of ATS numbers...and I am confident that, this time, the Roughriders keep this one tight for all 4 quarters rather than just the first 3. That said, there is great line value with the generous points being offered here. 10* SASKATCHEWAN +6 Saturday

Rickenbach CFL Game #303 - 10* Top Play - Winnipeg Blue Bombers +4 @ Toronto Argonauts @ 7:30 ET Friday - The Argonauts are coming off of a win and a bye week and, as they've pushed up the East Division standings, may seem like a good "play on" team this week. However, the Blue Bombers have also been surging up the standings in the West Division and they have a bye week on deck. While Winnipeg will "leave it all on the field" this week knowing they have a bye on deck, note that Toronto has a game with the Grey Cup Champs, Edmonton, on tap for next week. The road teams have dominated much of this season so far in the CFL and the Blue Bombers have just one road loss this year while the Argos have only one home win so far this season. The Winnipeg secondary has been playing very well and, on the other side of the ball, they've been getting solid QB play. This is very significant because the passing game has been more emphasized than ever so far this season in the CFL. The Argonauts are dealing with the Ricky Ray injury at the QB position and this has put a lot of pressure on a young Logan Kilgore. That pressure tends to be amplified in home games. That said, I love the line value here with the road dog Blue Bombers as they continue to play solid defense. I look for Winnipeg to improve to 4-1 ATS so far this season in games where they are a dog in a range of 3.5 to 9.5 points. As for the Argonauts, they are 1-6 ATS the last 7 times they have entered a game on a winning streak of 2 games or more. Also, Toronto is on a 5-14 ATS run in home games! 10* WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Friday

Rickenbach CFL Game #302 - 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos -6.5 vs Montreal Alouettes @ 9 ET Thursday - Not going to get too wordy here. The Eskimos have uncharacteristically slumped early this season and they need a bounce back effort at home. Their offense is led by the league-leading passer and their defense has also forced a ton of fumbles this season. The Alouettes anemic offense simply won't be able to keep up. In fact, shut down their red-hot leading receiver and you've basically shutdown the Montreal offense. Edmonton is fired up for a huge effort at home after a tight road loss last week. As for the Als, they simply can't get it going and are off another embarrassing home loss last week where they were dominated. The Eskimos have won (and covered!) 4 straight against Montreal and I look for a big home win here and will take advantage of the downward line move. This one opened up at a 7.5 but has dropped to a 6.5 which is giving us even more value in a game that has the makings of a home rout. 10* EDMONTON

Rickenbach CFL Game #127 - Game of the Month - 10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos +4 @ Ottawa @ 7 ET Saturday - Edmonton is off of a loss in a divisional battle and they are 5-1 SU an ATS the past two seasons when off of a loss in West Division action. Now they take on an East Division foe with revenge on their minds as the Eskimos lost to the Redblacks earlier this season. Ottawa is trying to fight off a losing streak but they are 4-10 SU the past two season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 2 games or more. That said, there is great value with Edmonton here as the Redblacks are laying 4 points even though they notoriously struggle to snap losing streaks and they've had issues at QB because of the injury to pivot Trevor Harris. Ottawa will prove to be no match for the Eskimos and QB Chris Reilly who is having a fantastic season thusfar. The Redblacks won the first meeting this season (in overtime) to get some revenge for the Grey Cup loss last season. That said, it is now Edmonton that is the revenge-seeker and the Eskimos are positioned well for the upset here. Look for the Eskimos to improve to 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games with a posted total of 52 points or more. As you can see from the O/U on this game, a lot of points are expected here and I just don't see the struggling Ottawa offense as being able to keep up in this one based on all the question marks they have at QB right now. 10* EDMONTON +4

Rickenbach CFL Game #123 - 8* B.C. Lions -2 @ Montreal @ 7 ET Thursday - BC blew a big lead last week and this was very unexpected as the Lions, entering last week's action, had one of the top defenses in the league. They Alouettes are certainly known for their solid defense as well but, until last week, the Als offense really had not performed well at all this season. Now Montreal is up against a fired up British Columbia defense that is not happy at all about what transpired last week. That means the Alouettes are going to be on the wrong end of the best that the Lions D has to offer this week. BC was 3-1 before last week's blown late lead and loss in OT while Montreal was only 1-3 on the season before getting the big home win last week - albeit against a Saskatchewan team that is now 1-4 on the season. I look for BC to outclass Montreal in this absolute bounce back spot where the Lions are very hungry off of a loss. The Als have lost 13 of their last 18 games against teams with a winning record while British Columbia has won 11 of their last 17 games against teams with a losing record. That said, the line move from a 3 down to a 2 is also offering exceptional line value here on the Lions. 8* BC -2 Thursday

Rickenbach CFL Game #121 - 10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats -4 @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 8:30 ET - Big revenge game for Hamilton as they lost at home to Winnipeg in Week 3 of this season. Prior to that loss, the Tiger-Cats had won and covered 6 of their last 7 meetings with the Blue Bombers. Hamilton has an edge here as they are coming off of their bye week. Even though both teams are off of a win over Edmonton, the Tiger-Cats have the edge with the bye week. Winnipeg got a boost last week with the play of QB Matt Nichols who took the place of a struggling Drew Willy. However, the Blue Bombers are now dealing with a lot of injuries at the skill positions on offense. This will make it tough for Winnipeg to move the ball well here because Hamilton has a solid defense with arguably the best front seven in the league. They are "sack machines" and Nichols won't find it near as easy against this defense as he did against the Eskimos last week. The road team is a perfect 5-0 SU and ATS in Tiger-Cats games this season and Hamilton should get their revenge easily on the road against an injury-depleted Blue Bombers squad. Winnipeg is 1-17 SU against teams with a winning record and 6-11-1 ATS in those 18 games. This is a very manageable line here and I'll gladly lay it with the road fave. 10* Top Play HAMILTON Wednesday

Rickenbach CFL Game #307 - East Game of the Year - *10* Top Play Toronto Argonauts +10.5 @ Ottawa Redblacks @ 7:30 ET Sunday - Big revenge game for Toronto after losing at home to Ottawa on July 13th. The Argonauts were seeking their first home win at BMO Field which, as a result of the loss to the Redblacks, did not occur until last week. That's when the Argos knocked off the Alouettes in a solid 30-17 win. The Argonauts will look to build off of that win over Montreal while Ottawa is still licking their wounds after their upset loss at Saskatchewan last week. The Redblacks have significant injury issues at QB but at least can turn to veteran Henry Burris. However, the 41 year old is matched up with a rookie and what is interesting is that Burris is 0-4 the last 4 times he has made a start against a rookie QB. The Argos will have 26 year old Logan Kilgore making this start. Note also that the Argonauts are a perfect 4-0 in a game following a Ricky Ray injury the last 4 times he's gotten hurt and missed a start. Interesting combined 8-0 angle favoring revenge-minded Toronto here. This game is for first place in the East Division and the Argonauts had won 4 of their last 5 meetings with Ottawa before coming up short against the Redblacks earlier this month. The Argos are looking to go to 3-0 in road games this year and, overall the early season CFL action has been dominated by road teams. I look for that trend to continue here and I like having the big points as Burris will be looking to work the rust off in this game and I don't see Ottawa as being able to create much separation on the scoreboard in this one. *10* TORONTO +10.5

Rickenbach CFL Game #303 - Friday Paydirt - 8* Saskatchewan Roughriders +1 @ Montreal Aloutettes @ 7 ET - Huge scheduling edge here for the Roughriders and that is why this game is nearly in a pick'em price range even though the Alouettes are at home. Certainly both teams have struggled early this season but there is no question that this spot favors Saskatchewan. Not only did Montreal just play on Monday, but their offense has been by far the worst in the league. Conversely, the Roughriders got a huge game from Mitchell Gale at QB (Pivot) in last week's game and he led them to the upset win over Ottawa. Saskatchewan has averaged 31 points per game the last 3 weeks while the Als have averaged just 14.8 points per game on the season! Montreal is winless at home on the season and the East Division has only 1 home win in 8 games so far this year. The Roughriders are the only winless road team in the entire league but this will be just their 2nd road game of the season and the rest of the West Division has a combined 6-2 road record. The trend toward "road success" continues tonight and the boys from Saskatoon take advantage of a Montreal team playing on unusually short rest. The offensive edge for the Roughriders is huge in this match-up. 8* Saskatchewan

Rickenbach CFL Game #302 - *8* Edmonton Eskimos -9.5 vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers @ 9 ET Thursday - Edmonton blew a huge lead in their upset loss to Hamilton last week and that loss came at home. That said, you can fully expect that the Eskimos are ready to respond here and this is a mismatch in terms of the firepower on offense. Edmonton is averaging 31.8 points per game this season which is tops in the league. Winnipeg is averaging only 19.6 points per game which is 2nd to last in the league. The Blue Bombers already had a QB change in last week's game and they simply aren't going to be able to keep up here. Edmonton is angry and will impose their will on the Blue Bombers. Let's not forget that the Eskimos were the CFL champs last year and they don't take kindly to losing. This is especially true when it is by virtue of blowing a huge lead. Though the Eskimos defense has been a concern so far this season one must remember that they also have faced a number of top offenses early this year. The Blue Bombers have not displayed the firepower necessary to stay in a game like this against a motivated foe and let's not forget that Edmonton held them to just 16 points in a game a few weeks ago. Winnipeg has failed to cover in each of their last five visits to face the Eskimos and I look for more of the same here. *8* EDMONTON

Rickenbach CFL Game #127/128 - CFL East Game of the Month - *10* Top Play Toronto Argonauts -5.5 vs Montreal @ 7:30 ET Monday - The Alouettes have averaged only 14 points per game so far this season. Now they visit the Argonauts whom they crushed 34-2 last October in Toronto. That said, there is no shortage of motivation for the Argos here who also are not happy about having started this season 0-2 at home! Toronto is off of a loss last week but they have yet to lose 2 straight this season as they opened up their schedule with a home loss and then followed it up with back to back road wins. Now, after another home loss last week, it is time for the Argonauts to inflict some punishment on a short-handed Montreal team who has lost their last two games by an average of 19.5 points per game. With the line move on this game from a -7 down to a -5.5 we also are being offered exceptional line value here and we'll take it! *10* TORONTO

Rickenbach CFL Game #125/126 - *10* Top Play Hamilton Tiger-Cats +5 @ Edmonton @ 7:00 ET Saturday - The Eskimos have the bulls-eye on their backs after winning the Grey Cup last season. Keep in mind it was the Tiger-Cats that had lost each of the prior two Grey Cups so they are hungry to get back there. I like the underdog value being offered with Hamilton here on the road. Overall, road teams have dominated so far this season in CFL action and the Ti-Cats are already a perfect 2-0 away from home. Edmonton is off of another win last week but it was a tight one (by 4) and they are being asked to lay an even bigger number this week against a much tougher opponent. The Tiger-Cats are 15-7 ATS on the road the past 2+ seasons and that includes a stellar 8-2 ATS when it is a road game with a posted total of 52 points or more. Look for Edmonton to drop to 1-4 ATS in home games the past 2+ seasons with a posted total of 52 points or more. The tough defensive line of the Tiger-Cats is going to prove to be a difference maker here. The Eskimos are allowing an average of 32 points per game this season while the Ti-Cats are allowing only 21 points per game. Defense will play a key role in this game and the Tiger-Cats are fired up about facing the defending champs! *10* HAMILTON +5

CFL Game #124 - Friday Rickenbach *8* Saskatchewan Roughriders +6 vs Ottawa @ 9 ET - The only remaining winless team faces the only remaining undefeated team. That said, many may find it interesting that the Redblacks are not a bigger favorite here. I truly see this as an upset spot for the Roughriders. They have the same head coach that led Edmonton over Ottawa for the Grey Cup last year. That said, even though the Redblacks offense has been on fire this season and the Roughriders have struggled on defense, don't be surprised if they have dialed up a fantastic game plan for this Friday match-up. Also, the Saskatchewan defense is certainly tired of hearing about their struggles and I look for them to come up with a huge effort at home as this is a huge early season game for the Roughriders. They would love nothing more than to turn it around by knocking off the lone remaining undefeated team in the league. Ottawa has a big game on deck against a divisional foe (Toronto) next week. As for Saskatchewan, this is their final home game until mid-August so they know they are fully focused on coming up with a huge effort here. The Roughriders have split the last 4 meetings with the Redblacks but one of the two losses came by just three points. That said, there is big line value here with the home dog who may get a surprising boost by the QB change which was necessitated due to injury. *8* SASKATCHEWAN

Rickenbach Game #122 - Thursday CFL *8* Winnipeg Blue Bombers +5.5 vs Calgary @ 8:30 ET - Calgary is off of a bye and the Stampeders have had great success when off of a bye week. I am well aware of that. However, Winnipeg has been battling hard and is off of a hard-fought loss by 4 points to Edmonton last week which followed a big upset of the Tiger-Cats at Hamilton the prior week. The point is that the Blue Bombers are battling hard and they are going to be especially tough on Calgary here because the Stampeders beat Winnipeg three weeks ago in a 14 point loss for the Blue Bombers. Winnipeg had trouble defending the run in that game and that was also an issue in last week's loss to the Eskimos. That said, the Blue Bombers defense is highly motivated for their biggest effort so far this season in this home revenge spot against Calgary. The Stampeders have a big game on deck with B.C. who is the leader in the division and could get caught looking ahead here. Also, keep in mind, Calgary is winless in their two road games so far this season. Even if they finally do get into the win column on the road, I don't expect the Stampeders to be able to cover this inflated pointspread. The Blue Bombers have failed to cover just 3 of their last 9 Thursday games. Calgary is a long-term 34-46 ATS in July games. *8* WINNIPEG +5.5

Rickenbach CFL *10* Top Play OVER 50 in Saskatchewan vs BC @ 7 ET Saturday - All 3 of the Lions games have stayed under the total so far this season but BC made a QB change in last week's game and Travis Lulay came in and was 12 of 15 for 156 yards. Look for that effort to be a wake-up call for the Lions offense and this week they will take advantage of a Saskatchewan defense that has allowed 34.5 points per game so far this season. The bright spot for the Roughriders was their solid effort on offense last week which included QB Dariant Darant connecting on 27 of his 38 passes and leading the offense to 4 TDs and over 300 yards through the air. With BC off of their first loss of the season last week the Lions defense could show a little "unbeaten letdown" this week as their undefeated start is now history. I expect Saskatchewan at home to put up huge numbers this week but, once again, their defense is an issue and BC moves the ball well after the spark generated by QB changes in last week's game. I am well aware of the fact that this series is known for unders. I also know that is particularly true when the teams meet in Saskatoon. However, this total was set at 50 for a reason. BC has gone under in all 3 games this season but the Lions offense will enjoy a breakout game against the defense they are facing this week. Additionally, the Roughriders offense is full of confidence and poised for another huge effort here. *10* OVER in Saskatchewan

Rickenbach CFL *7* UNDER 47 in Montreal vs Hamilton @ 7:30 ET Friday - I am writing this game up about 72 hours in advance but one factor that should be in play here is that it is expected to be breezy Friday evening in Montreal. Windy enough in fact to perhaps give a little trouble to the passing games here and force the teams to try and keep it on the ground. That's bad news for the visiting TigerCats as they've struggled to move the ball on the ground this season and they are facing an Alouettes defense that has allowed only 21 points per game in their first two games this season. Also, coming off of their bye week, Montreal will certainly have fresh legs. Hamilton is averaging only 23 points per game this season and this one should turn into a tight, low-scoring battle. In fact, 4 of the last 5 match-ups between these teams have stayed under the total and the under is also a perfect 2-0 this season in Alouettes games. An East Division battle to get out of the basement should see plenty of focus on the defensive side of the football and mother nature may be helping us out in this one as well. *7* UNDER in Montreal

Rickenbach CFL *10* Top Play Edmonton Eskimos -3 @ Winnipeg @ 8:30 ET - The Eskimos are off of a win versus Saskatchewan but they blew a huge late lead and are not happy about that. Edmonton's defense was one of the best in the league last season but that has not been the case at all this season and certainly it is now time for "heads to roll" for the Eskimos. They need a huge effort this week and they are certainly catching the Blue Bombers at the right time. Winnipeg is off of a huge upset win at Hamilton but let's not forget they had lost each of their first two games by an average margin of defeat of 11 points per game. The Blue Bombers are averaging only 21 points per game so far this season and simply won't be able to keep up with a highly motivated Eskimos team here. Edmonton has been led by Mike Reilly at QB and John White in the running game and this balanced attack will prove to be too much for a Winnipeg team still celebrating last week's upset win. The Blue Bombers had lost 12 of it's last 14 games straight-up before the upset win last week and I'll gladly lay the small number with Edmonton here. The Eskimos have covered 5 of their last 6 meetings with Winnipeg and they have all the edges in this one, including situational. *10* EDMONTON