It’s a battle of bottom-feeders to kick off Week 7 in the CFL as the Ottawa Redblacks prepare to host the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday night at TD Place.  The winless Redblacks sit at the bottom of the East Division standings with an 0-5 record, including a 25-23 loss in Hamilton on Saturday.  Montreal is coming off a 32-31 home loss against the Elks on Thursday, dropping them to 1-4 on the year.

The Alouettes are favoured to win on the CFL odds.

CFL Odds and Betting

This will be the first of four meetings between Montreal and Ottawa this season.  They also met four times last year, with the Alouettes winning the first three games.

Montreal is winless across their last five road games, including 0-3 away from Percival Molson Memorial Stadium this year.  They’re 3-2 against the spread in 2022 and 5-0 ATS in their last five games against Ottawa.  The total has gone Over in four of five games for the Alouettes this season.

The Redblacks have dropped all five games this season and they are winless in their last five home games dating back to last year.  They’re 2-3 ATS this season and 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.  The total has gone Under in nine of Ottawa’s last 11 games overall, including three of five this season.

Four games on the Week 7 #CFL schedule.

It starts with a double-header Thursday night.@DavidBastl and @JDunk12 break down the week.#CFLWeekly #BestBets #CFL pic.twitter.com/JXd0d2Ad4J

— Sports Interaction (@SIASport) July 20, 2022

Montreal Alouettes

The Als will be kicking themselves after blowing 31-18 fourth quarter lead last week.  Montreal was outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter and suffered from penalty issues all night.  The Alouettes accumulated 193 penalty yards in the game.  Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 19 of 26 pass attempts for 241 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.  Geno Lewis led the receivers with 78 yards and a touchdown on six catches.  Walter Fletcher rushed for 64 yards, while Dominique Davis ran in two touchdowns.

Harris will get the start again this week against Ottawa, the team he led for three seasons from 2016 to 2018.  The 36-year-old has a 1-1 record in two starts this season.  Tyrell Richards, the first overall pick in the 2022 draft, will get his first career CFL start.  The 23-year-old took most of the starters reps at middle linebacker this week and will likely rotate with veteran Micah Awe throughout the game.

Ottawa RedBlacks

Ottawa came out on the wrong end of a battle between winless teams last week, allowing a game-winning touchdown pass with 19 seconds remaining.  Redblacks kicker Richie Leone‘s 53-yard field goal attempt came up just short as time expired.  Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 203 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.  Evans also ran two touchdowns in.  Jaelon Acklin finished with 118 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The big question mark around the team this week is who will start under centre for Ottawa?  Jeremiah Masoli is out 10 to 12 weeks with a knee injury, opening an opportunity for Evans or NIck Arbuckle, who was picked up in a trade with Edmonton last week.  In two games this season, Evans has thrown for 261 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.  In five games, Arbuckle has thrown for 892 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions.

CFL Prediction: Who Will Win Alouettes vs. RedBlacks?