On the bright side for Toronto Argonauts supporters, it really can’t get much worse than the team’s season-opening loss last week to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when Argos were embarrassed 64-14 at home. Then again, Toronto heads into Week 3 as a 11.5-point underdog on the road for a Canada Day battle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are also desperate to get into the win column after dropping their first two games of the season.

CFL Odds and Betting

Oddsmakers opened with the Roughriders set as 13.5-point favourites, but more than two thirds of the early action came in on the Argos to drive this line down a couple of points. If you really like Toronto to make a statement and win outright, get a load of the moneyline price at +389. Total bettors expect this one to go over the 53.5-point number, which is down half a point from the open.

Toronto Argonauts

When you have an extra week to get ready for your first game, thanks to a Week 1 bye, you don’t expect conditioning, system issues, and tackling fundamentals to be major red flags in your season opener. Yet, here the Argos are. A number of the team’s veterans even left the field early in last week’s loss, so if you’re looking for alarm bells, there’s that, too. The truth of the matter is that there is plenty of blame to go around, starting at the top with head coach Corey Chamblin. On offence, quarterback James Franklin looked skittish in the pocket and was pulled after failing to spark the attack, while James Wilder Jr. and Derel Walker didn’t get much going either.

The Argos defence was a train wreck before a number of injuries made matters worse. Still, this club is trying to stay calm amid the chaos. Toronto got back to work with a major emphasis on getting in game shape while focusing on tackling and fundamentals (maybe do that in pre-season?), but this team didn’t look ready to go and has a lot of work to do.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

If last week’s offensive showing was any indication of what’s to come for Saskatchewan, the Roughriders may be just fine with Cody Fajardo taking the snaps. He connected on 27 of his 34 pass attempts with a couple of touchdowns through the air and another on the ground. Unfortunately, Saskatchewan was undone by turnovers and couldn’t complete a late comeback in a 44-41 loss at Ottawa. The club’s defence hasn’t been up to snuff so that will be a focus for head coach Craig Dickenson this week. This will be the home opener for the Riders and it’s fair to assume the crowd at Mosiac Stadium will come ready to celebrate the nation’s birthday and a win on Monday.

ARGONAUTS

Away

21

ROUGHRIDERS

Home

34

Score
Predictions

Matchup