Weekly Predictor: Will REDBLACKS top Ticats again?

TORONTO — Ottawa’s one-point victory over Hamilton in a battle for first place in the East; the Bombers taking down the Lions for the second week in a row; the Riders’ running past the Argonauts and the Stampeders extending their streak to 13 led CFL.ca’s Jamie Nye to a 3-1 record last week.

This week Nye looks to keep his winning record alive in his Weekly Predictor.

CFL Pick ‘Em returns with more up for grabs than ever before because this season more than $130,000 in combined cash and prizes are up for grabs.*

Pick 30 in a row, win $30,000; pick 40, win $40,000; think you can pick 50 straight? You’re looking at $50,000. *View rules regarding streaks and prizing.

Here’s Jamie Nye with his picks for Week 18:

» CFL PICK ‘EM: MAKE YOUR PICKS TODAY

HAMILTON @ OTTAWA

Jeremiah Masoli and Henry Burris will meet again this week in the second half of a home-and-home (The Canadian Press)

There is no reason to believe this game shouldn’t be everything the 30-29 game last week was with Ottawa’s victory.

The Tiger-Cats will be trying not to find themselves in a 20-7 hole at the half but it’ll be another week without Zach Collaros, with the REDBLACKS looking in decent hands with Henry Burris. I thought the two teams would split the home-and-home set but I was going to side with the home team.

Ottawa showed well even without Chris Williams in the lineup and another week working with new receivers, I think the REDBLACKS will be a little bit better. I’m going against my gut that the two teams split and I think Ottawa takes control of the East.

» PICK: OTTAWA (30% confidence)

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TORONTO @ CALGARY

Things got a little heated the last time these two teams met but who will come out on top this week? (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)

The Calgary Stampeders are going for a historic record. The best record in CFL history. The Argonauts are scrambling to try to find a spark with the playoffs starting to fade away, although if the Tiger-Cats keep losing they keep the Argonauts hopes alive.

It’s not going to surprise anyone with this prediction as the Stampeders just beat up on Toronto two weeks ago. I don’t think Ricky Ray will be able to do much to help the Argonauts cause.

» PICK: CALGARY (99% confidence)

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MONTREAL @ SASKATCHEWAN

Can McKnight and Durant help the Riders make it five in a row? (The Canadian Press)

The Alouettes have a rookie quarterback making his first start at Mosaic Stadium, where they meet the Roughriders who are riding a four game winning streak.

The Riders are clearly going to evaluate quarterbacks as it’s unclear again how much Darian Durant will play and the Alouettes could be able to eat up on some newer face quarterbacks mistakes.

However, the Riders defence will be trying to do the same from the get go with Vernon Adams Jr. making his first start. That Riders defence is becoming a decent group and Durant and the offence is humming along.

» PICK: SASKATCHEWAN (60% confidence)

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EDMONTON @ BC

Will the Lions snap their two-game losing skid this week? (The Canadian Press)

The Edmonton Eskimos are coming off a bye but also heading in with a three game winning streak, while the BC Lions have lost three of their last four games and allowed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to pass them.

The Eskimos are hoping to do that as well and try to track down the Bombers for home field. There appears to be something going right in Edmonton all of a sudden as they figure some things out. However, the BC Lions have been keeping things close, including a four point loss to the Eskimos last month.

This may be considered a bit of an upset, with this game in Vancouver but I think Mike Reilly and the Eskimos keep sending the message that the defending Grey Cup Champions will not be going away quietly.

But I think this will be decided by under a touchdown.

» PICK: EDMONTON (25% confidence)

CFL on DraftKings

With CFL now on DraftKings, Nye checks in with his weekly fantasy roster. Set your lineup today!

I can’t ignore what the Calgary Stampeders recently were able to do against Toronto and now they have home field and are two wins away from breaking a CFL record for best season.

The big three are Mitchell, Messam and Daniels and that’s who I’m riding with this week.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders welcomed back Ricky Collins to the fold and he had an impressive return with over 100-yards against the Argos. I was tempted to go with Caleb Holley but he hasn’t seen the same production since his move to slot, so I’m keeping the love with the wide-out for the Riders.

Juron Criner and Khalil Paden both had three catches last week and it could be a battle for those two to grasp big time targets but I do like Criner over Paden once again this week. Criner doubled Paden in terms of yards last week.

Terrence Toliver continues to have a career year and he has over 800-yards in just 11 games played and is nearly a touchdown per game player. With injuries in Hamilton and Jeremiah Masoli looking his way a bunch last week, I think he closes in on the 1,000 yard mark against Ottawa.

As for going with the Roughriders defence, I’m better they have a good day at home against a first start with Vernon Adams Jr. The Riders defence has averaged almost nine points per game over their last six – a drastic improvement from the first nine games of the season when they averaged just over two points per game.