Lions vs. RedBlacks Prediction: CFL Week 4 Point Spread, Odds
The 2-0 B.C. Lions’ high powered offence is headed East as they hit the road to face the 0-2 Ottawa RedBlacks on Thursday night. B.C. crushed the Argos 44-3 at home last week, while Ottawa is coming off a bye.
The Lions are 1.5-point favourites to win on the CFL odds, with a total of 48.0.
CFL Odds and Betting
B.C. won both meetings between the teams last year. They downed Ottawa 24-12 on the road in a Week 4 matchup and won 45-13 at home in Week 6. The Lions have won five straight head-to-heads, with the total going Under in four of those games.
B.C. hasn’t been great on the road over the last couple of seasons, going 5-13 straight up in their last 18 road games. They’re 2-0 against the spread this year and they have covered in five straight games against Ottawa. The total has gone Over in seven of the Lions’ last eight games, including one of two this season.
The RedBlacks have struggled heavily at home for the last few years, going 1-15 SU in their last 16 games at TD Place. They have managed to cover in one of two games this season, but they’re just 2-7 ATS in their last nine home dates. The total has gone Under in Ottawa’s last five games dating back to last season.
BC Lions
Quarterback Nathan Rourke has been the story of the Lions this season. The British Columbia native has sparked his hometown team to two blowout wins. Rourke set a new single-game record for passing yards by a Canadian QB last week, throwing for 436 yards and four touchdowns against Toronto. B.C.’s 103 points this year matches the most of any CFL club through the first two games of a season (Toronto, 1992). Dominique Rhymes hauled in two touchdown catches against the Argos, while Jevon Cottoy and Bryan Burnham each had one. Burnham, however, will be out of the lineup on Thursday. He suffered fractured ribs in the win against Toronto and has been added to the six-game injured list.
The Lions’ defence has been just as dominant this season, allowing just 18 points and a single touchdown through two games. They held Argonauts quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to 178 passing yards, picked him off once and sacked him twice. After Bethel-Thompson was replaced in the fourth quarter by Chad Kelly, B.C. recorded another interception and sack before the end of the game.
Ottawa RedBlacks
Ottawa will come into this game rested following a bye last week. They are still looking for their first win of the season, however, after dropping a pair of games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has thrown for over 300 yards in both games this season, but has only managed one touchdown pass. Masoli has passed for at least 300 yards in six of his last eight starts dating back to last season when he was in Hamilton.
The RedBlacks will get a boost on offence this week as running back William Powell is expected to make his season debut. Powell, who rushed for 733 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games with Saskatchewan last season, has been a full participant at practice this week after missing the first two games of the season with an Achilles injury.
BC
OTT