The Montreal Alouettes have a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season when they kick off Week 8 CFL action against the Tiger-Cats Thursday night in Hamilton.  The Als now sit second in the East Division thanks to a 40-33 road win in Ottawa last week.  Sitting third in the East, the Ti-Cats dropped a 17-12 decision in B.C. last week.

Hamilton opened as a slim 1-point favourite to win on the CFL odds, with a total of 50.5.

CFL Odds and Betting

These teams split a pair of regular season meetings last year before meeting in the East Division semifinals.  The Tiger-Cats won that game 23-12 en route to a second consecutive Grey Cup appearance, where they would once again lose to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

History isn’t on Montreal’s side in this one, as they’ve dropped 10 of their last 14 games against Hamilton.  They have been a good cover option, however, as they’re 4-2 against the spread this season and 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games dating back to last year.  The Als have hit the Over in five of six games this season.

Hamilton has won and covered just once in their last seven games dating back to last year’s playoffs.  They’re 1-5 ATS this season and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against Montreal.  The total has gone Over in the Ti-Cats’ three home games this season and Under in their three road games.

Montreal Alouettes

Montreal blew a late lead in a one-point loss to Edmonton in Week 6, but they didn’t let that happen against Ottawa in Week 7.  The Redblacks continued to crawl back into the game last week, but the Als did a better job of managing the momentum swings. Quarterback Trevor Harris looked solid, completing 25 of 31 pass attempts for 341 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.  Dominique Davis came up huge in short yardage situations, running in three touchdowns.  Hergy Mayala finished with 102 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Geno Lewis caught the other TD pass.

Earlier this week, the Alouettes released defensive end Antonio Simmons, who recorded four tackles over three games this season.  Montreal also placed 2022 first overall draft pick Tyrell Richards on the six-game injured list.  The linebacker has seen time in all six games this season and started the last two.  Richards has recorded five defensive tackles and four on special teams.  In positive news, centre Sean Jamieson has been removed from the six-game injured list early after missing the last three games with a knee injury.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

It was a defensive battle last week in B.C. for the Ti-Cats.  Quarterback Dane Evans was sacked early and struggled to gain much momentum.  Evans completed 26 of 38 pass attempts for 297 yards, one touchdown and one interception.  He added another 24 yards on six rushes.  Don Jackson rushed for a team-high 36 yards on 11 carries, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry.  Bralon Addison and Steve Dunbar each racked up 83 receiving yards, including Hamilton’s lone TD reception by Dunbar.

CFL Prediction: Who Will Win Alouettes vs. Tiger-Cats?