RedBlacks vs. Lions CFL Week 19 Betting Odds, Picks: Ottawa double-digit underdog in B.C.
The late game of the CFL Week 19 Friday night doubleheader is a crossover matchup and potentially a big-time mismatch as the winless Ottawa Redblacks visit B.C.
The Lions are one of the biggest favourites of the season at -13.5 on the CFL odds with a total of 63.5 that is the week’s highest.
CFL Odds and Betting
B.C. (9-4) still has an outside shot at winning the West Division sitting two games behind first-place Edmonton, but the Elks have clinched a playoff spot and most likely will take the West. So B.C.’s main goal would be to hold off Saskatchewan (8-7) and Calgary (8-8) for second.
The good news is the Lions are 5-3 in the division, while the Roughriders are 4-5 and the Stampeders 3-5. Not out of the question the Lions look past this game a bit toward next week’s bigger game with Calgary. To win the Grey Cup, B.C. is a +470 fourth-favourite.
Ottawa (0-15) is simply trying to avoid becoming the first team in CFL history to finish 0-18. Certainly, a win seems unlikely Friday with the Redblacks closing home to rival Toronto and at Hamilton. Both of those are potentially winnable as the Argos could be locked into their playoff seed and the Ticats aren’t that much better and the Redblacks.
B.C. looks for the season sweep and its third straight win in the series. On Aug. 30, Ottawa was a 7.5-point home dog (total was 60.5) and lost 45-24. Lions tailback Zander Horvath had 24 carries for 164 yards and four scores. BC finished with 231 rushing yards to Ottawa’s three. Nathan Rourke finished was 22-for-25 for 355 yards, two TDs and two picks.
The over is 8-1 in the past nine meetings.
Ottawa RedBlacks
Ottawa was -1.5 at home last week vs. Hamilton, favoured for the first time since the season opener vs. Edmonton (that seems laughable now), but lost to the Ticats 34-16 despite leading 16-13 at the half. In the second half, the Redblacks had just three first downs and none in the third quarter.
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson finished 17-for-31 for 208 yards. Mitchell Agude’s strip sack on Bethel-Thompson turned the tide for Hamilton in the second half.
That’s 21 straight losses overall, the second-longest skid in CFL history, and 15 in a row in 2026. That’s a CFL record for consecutive losses to begin a season, breaking the mark set by the 1994 Shreveport Pirates during their inaugural season when the CFL expanded into the USA.
Tailback Greg Bell has missed the past three but isn’t on the injury report for Friday.
The over is 4-1 in the Redblacks’ past five as an underdog. Ottawa has allowed a league-worst 558 points.
BC Lions
The Lions, close to clinching a playoff spot, were -4.5 last week in Toronto and prevailed 24-17 for a third straight SU and ATS victory. It was B.C.’s first victory at BMO Field since July 2019.
Sean Whyte kicked a franchise-record eight field goals (one shy of CFL record) that accounted for all of the points. But going 0-for-4 in the red zone is not ideal.
Twice the B.C. defence stopped Toronto quarterback Nick Arbuckle at the B.C. 1-yard line, the final time with 11 seconds remaining. The Lions also forced three turnovers. T.J. Lee had one of two interceptions and now has 32 career to move Dante Marsh for sixth-most in franchise history.
Lions QB Nathan Rourke failed to throw a TD pass for the first time since Week 1 and finished an inefficient 15 of 32 for 254 yards. It marked the first B.C. victory in a game without scoring a touchdown since Sept. 5, 2014, a 7-5 win in Ottawa in the rain.
The Lions are 6-1 ATS in their past seven.
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BC