Alouettes vs. Roughriders CFL Prediction: Montreal Plans to Rest Starters
The Saskatchewan Roughriders aim to finally clinch a berth in the CFL playoffs on Saturday afternoon, when they host the Montreal Alouettes in CFL Week 20 betting action at Mosaic Stadium. These squads met last weekend in Montreal in their first clash since last year’s Grey Cup, with the Alouettes rolling to a decisive 44-24 victory to pad their league-leading 13-3-0 SU record. For the Roughriders, last week’s defeat once again postponed their bid to nail down a playoff spot while extending their current late-season losing streak to four games.
The Roughriders return home as 5.5-point favourites on the CFL Week 20 odds. The Alouettes lag as +200 CFL moneyline underdogs and the total is listed at 57.5.
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CFL Week 20 Odds and Betting
With last week’s victory, the Alouettes have now topped the Riders in six of eight regular-season clashes, including two of their past three visits to Regina. The OVER has paid out in four of their past six meetings overall, including each of their past three dates in Saskatchewan.
While the Alouettes have been a dominant force at home this season, they have claimed victory in just four of seven road dates and have gone just 1-3 SU on the road versus CFL West opponents. However, they face a Riders squad that has struggled mightily on defence while surrendering 35.3 points per game over their past three outings including a 37-31 home loss to Calgary two weeks ago. Now stalled in a three-way tie for third place with Winnipeg and Calgary, the Riders need a victory over the Als combined with loss by either the Blue Bombers or Stampeders in their respective Week 20 matchups to assure themselves of a playoff spot.
Montreal Alouettes
With top spot in the CFL East locked up, the Alouettes plan to give several regulars the day off on Saturday, most notably quarterback Davis Alexander, and receivers Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead. Philpot has enjoyed a dominant campaign while racking up a league-leading 1809 receiving yards, but is nursing a shoulder injury that made the decision to rest him an easy one. Snead has also impressed while compiling 1474 receiving yards and 13 TDs, but is also dealing with a shoulder injury. That opens the door for Dustin Crum to start under centre, while several receivers will have a chance to see more action including Charleston Rambo, Jerreth Sterns, Alexander Hollins, and Marco Dubois. Other injury-related absences include Travis Theis (knee), Regis Cibasu (elbow), Braydon Noll (head), Nick Callender (back) and Lorenzo Burns (head).
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan faces a critical home date with the Alouettes just five days after losing 44-24 at Percival Molson Stadium. But with their receiving corps getting healthy, help may be on the way. Samuel Emilus and KeeSean Johnson are both available, providing quarterback Trevor Harris with two important weapons. Emilus has missed six consecutive games with a leg injury while Johnson looks to be finally over a ankle injury he suffered two weeks ag versus the Stamps. Harris is coming off a 243-yard, two-TD performance in Montreal, with Kian
Schaffer Baker making both scoring passes, and has now connected for six total TDs in the past two games while also tossing a pair of picks.
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