CFL Betting Picks For Week 18 (18-12, +4.75 Units YTD)


Our Week 17 CFL betting picks went 2-1 and are now 18-12 for +4.75 units on the season.

The winners were our two point spread bets. The Redblacks earned a huge win in Hamilton to cover as 3-point underdogs, and the Roughriders obliterated the Argonauts 29-11 in a game that had a pick’ em line.

The loser came on a 2-team, 6-point teaser. Once again, we hit one leg of the teaser with the Alouettes covering +21 in Calgary, but the teaser lost when B.C. blew a 10-point lead in the final 3 minutes to lose by 3 to the Bombers. We had teased the Lions down to +0.5 and just needed a B.C. victory.

On to our Week 18 CFL betting picks.

Week 18 CFL Betting Lines

Friday, Oct. 21
Hamilton at Ottawa (Redblacks -3.5, O/U 53)
Toronto at Calgary (Stampeders -16.5, O/U 52)

Saturday, Oct. 22
Montreal at Saskatchewan (Roughriders -6.5, O/U 49)
Edmonton at B.C. (Lions -2, O/U 57.5)

Odds from Pinnacle.com as of Friday, Oct. 21

Tiger-Cats at Redblacks (Friday, 7 p.m. eastern)

This game is the back end of a home-and-home series that could end up determining the East Division champion. Ottawa beat the Tiger-Cats 30-29 last week in Hamilton and could lock up top spot in the East with a win here.

The Ticats were 3-point favourites last week and now the Redblacks are -3.5. If you give 3 points for home field advantage (which is standard in football), that means the point spread is basically the same as last week.

When we picked the Redblacks last week, we noted how both teams had been struggling recently but that there seemed like a lot more reason for optimism in Ottawa than Hamilton. Don’t really see how anything has changed following last week’s result. The Ti-Cats just seem lost right now, with Brandon Banks’ 2-game suspension the latest blow.

Still, Ottawa’s been bad at home all year, which is enough to keep us from laying over a field goal in this spot. Instead, we’ll take a shot at the Under 53. Coaches should be emphasizing the defensive side of the football after the teams combined for 59 points last week, and there’s a ton of rain forecast in Ottawa until Saturday night.

Argos at Stampeders (Friday, 9 p.m. eastern)

Last week, the Stamps laid 15 points to the Alouettes in what was the largest point spread we remember seeing this CFL season. Calgary didn’t cover that big number as Montreal scored a TD with 20 seconds left to backdoor the point spread, losing 22-8.

Now the Stamps are being asked to cover an even bigger number this week in another game they really shouldn’t care about that much. Calgary clinched first in the West a long time ago, and the Argos hardy look like a threat with a 1-9 record in their last 10 games, most of them by blowout.

However, it’s hard to know what to expect from Toronto here as well. Easy pass for us.

Alouettes at Roughriders (Saturday, 4 p.m. eastern)

Next to the 14-1-1 Stampeders, the Roughriders might be the hottest team in the CFL right now. They’ve won 4 in a row after opening the year with a 1-11 mark.

We expected Saskatchewan to turn things around under new coach Chris Jones, it just took a little longer than we thought. But now they’ve got things going in the right direction.

The problem with backing the Riders here, though, is that they’re being asked to cover a big number. Only 1 of Saskatchewan’s 5 wins this year came by more than 3 points, and that was last week’s blowout of the hapless Argos.

Roughriders should win this game, but we don’t want to mess with this point spread. Montreal is still technically alive for the playoffs and shouldn’t be mailing this one in.

We’ll tease Saskatchewan down to -0.5 with a 6-point teaser.

Eskimos at Lions (Saturday, 7 p.m. eastern)

The wheels seem to be coming off the Lions wagon at a bad time. They’ve lost 2 in a row, and 3 of 4. Getting swept by the Blue Bombers in a home-and-home series dropped BC to third in the West, though they could pull even with Winnipeg with a win this week.

There was also a story in the Vancouver Sun this week about how things don’t look great for the Lions franchise overall. The team is much better this year and playing exciting football, yet doesn’t draw flies to its home games. A crowd of about 20,000 is expected for this game, which can’t give the home team that much of a boost.

Edmonton is coming off a bye and seems to have figured things out lately, winning its last 3. Even when B.C. wins games, they’re often close – with 10 of their 15 games this year being decided in the final 3 minutes, according to the Vancouver Sun.

In an important game for both teams, we’ll bet on things being close. Edmonton will be the other leg of our 6-point teaser as we move the Eskimos to +8.

Week 18 CFL Betting Picks Recap

2 bets for us this week: Ottawa/Hamilton Under 53, and a 2-team, 6-point teaser of Saskatchewan -0.5 and Edmonton +8.

We got the Redblacks/Ticats Under 53 at -105 odds at Pinnacle, and placed the Roughriders/Eskimos teaser at -110 odds at Bodog.

As always, if you’re playing 2-team teasers, we recommend you use Pinnacle or Bodog as they offer the best 2-team teaser odds.

Good luck, and see you next week!