Things can’t possibly go any worse (right?) for Johnny Manziel this weekend when his Montreal Alouettes are big the Sports Interaction underdogs as they visit the Ottawa RedBlacks.
Betting Analysis
It’s by far the biggest spread of the week and one of the biggest of this CFL season with Ottawa giving 13.5 points to Montreal for Saturday’s matchup. Are oddsmakers perhaps overreacting to how bad Johnny Manziel was in his Als debut last week? More on that shortly. The early lean at Sports Interaction is on Montreal getting the points. It’s a heavy lean on the over 50 points. Ottawa is -850 on the moneyline and Montreal +600.
In the race to 10 points, the RedBlacks are -333 and the Alouettes +225. First team to score, Ottawa is -250 with a touchdown at +230 and a field goal +250. Montreal taking the early lead is +175 with a touchdown at +500. On the winning margin prop, RedBlacks by 13-18 points (+375), 19-24 points (+375), 25-30 points (+600) and 31-36 points (+700) are all favoured over Montreal by 1-6 points (+1000). Shoot, Ottawa by 43-plus is even +1000.
It’s the second of three meetings between the teams with Montreal returning to TD Place Stadium in Week 12. In Week 4, the RedBlacks prevailed 28-18 at Molson Stadium. Ottawa outscored Montreal 19-0 in the middle two quarters. The Als have covered just one of the past 11 in this series. The total has gone under in five straight.
Montreal Alouettes
Johnny Manziel was a complete flop in the 50-11 loss against the Ti-Cats, completing 11 of 20 for 104 yards and four interceptions (all in the first half; his NFL high in a game was two interceptions) against his former team before being mercifully pulled for Vernon Adams Jr. Manziel did at least show signs of his mobility at times but looked overmatched and unprepared. Manziel will be back in there for this one because Adams Jr. reportedly will be out 2-6 weeks with a foot injury suffered in the loss. In addition, defensive end John Bowman could miss 6 weeks due to a partially torn bicep.
Ottawa RedBlacks
The RedBlacks lead the East Division by a game over Hamilton, but Ottawa likely is still kicking itself for last week’s 42-41 loss at what had been a struggling Toronto side. The RedBlacks blew a 24-point lead and were outscored 22-3 in the fourth. The winning Argos touchdown came with a second remaining. Trevor Harris was 27 of 35 passing for a season-high 381 yards and two TDs in the loss, while Diontae Spencer had eight catches for 145 yards and a touchdown while returning three punts for 104 yards and a score. This week, Ottawa released defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy, who had 29 tackles and an interception this season. The RedBlacks are 5-1 ATS in their past six after a loss.
Alouettes vs. RedBlacks Prediction
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MONTREAL ALOUETTES
20 -
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
34