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Edgar Chaput
Blue Bombers vs. Roughriders Prediction: CFL Week 2 Point Spread, Odds
Mosaic Stadium will host the game between Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Each club began the season on a positive note. Winnipeg took care of business at home against Hamilton – if narrowly – whereas Saskatchewan poured more misery on Edmonton’s home crowd.
The visiting Blue Bombers are placed as -6.5 favourites on the CFL odds. As for the total, it’s been tabulated at 46.5.
CFL Odds and Betting
The Blue Bombers performed a clean sweep of the Roughriders last season on route to a stellar 15-3 win-loss record. Saskatchewan made the first game close, losing only 20-18 at home. However, the next two games in Manitoba were utter disasters, especially the middle match, which went 54-20 to the Bombers. Even the curtain closer wasn’t great, finishing 31-13.
Looking back at the previous seven games, Winnipeg has covered the spread five times, which is excellent – although one of those failures was the Grey Cup. Conversely, Week 1’s win for Saskatchewan was a change of pace for the club. They closed 2022 with six consecutive defeats on the spread.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winning in Week 1 always feels good. It can give plenty of squads the push needed to stay positive as the season slowly kicks into high gear. But coach Mike O’Shea knows there are elements that his team needs to clean up.
The reality of last week’s home and season opener was that Winnipeg led Hamilton 32-4 nearly five minutes into the third quarter, yet it ended 42-31 and was an eight-point contest late in the fourth. What happened? One word: turnovers. A blocked punt returned for a TD, a QB sack and fumble returned for a TD, and a kick-off return fumble that set up the Tiger-Cats for an easy score a few plays later. So long as the Blue Bombers can clean up their game, they should be able to take care of business.
On the plus side, what got them a 32-4 lead was the skill and depth they displayed all of 2022. They amassed a whopping 487 total yards, 342 of which came through the air courtesy of Zach Collaros throwing bombs, pardon the pun. Nic Demski was the recipient on six for 113 yards and one TD. RB Brady Oliveira had a terrific night, rushing for 113 yars on 22 carries and one major.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Given the tough season Saskatchewan had in 2022, they’ll take any victories they can get. As such, they arrive home for their home opener with some wind in their sails. Conversely, they only narrowly defeated one of the worst teams in the CFL.
The 17-13 win over the Edmonton Elks was a slugfest, but a somewhat clumsy one. Both QBs tossed two interceptions each, and making any significant offensive plays looked like too tall a challenge all day long. And then there is the controversy surrounding coach Craig Dickenson’s decision to not only keep starter Trevor Harris in the game but to call a QB rollout with only a few seconds left. Lo and behold, Harris got smashed from behind as he threw the ball and looked worse for wear as he got up. Word is he is playing on Friday night.
Although he didn’t break the 100 yards mark, running back Jamal Morrow was critical to ice the game in the fourth quarter. His total of 80 yards isn’t anything to write home about, but he tallied that much on only 14 touches for an average of 5.7.