Prediction Time: CFL.ca writers make their Week 14 picks

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO — We have another three-gamer in Week 14 of CFL action, and the picks this week were not kind to a pair of East Division squads.

In a matchup of two teams sitting near the bottom of the league standings, five out of the six writers picked the 1-10 BC Lions to open Week 14 with a victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The Calgary Stampeders have been picked across the board to take out the Hamilton Tiger-Cats while the final game of the week between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes is split down the middle.

Here are the picks for Week 14.

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Odds provided by LeoVegas.

OTT at BC

Week 14 opens with a game between a pair of teams that need something, anything, to go their way.

Ottawa has lost eight of its last nine games, with that run being bookended by a lopsided loss to the Toronto Argonauts in front of their home faithful. Jonathon Jennings completed 33 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown in the loss while Dominique Rhymes led all REDBLACKS receivers with 98 yards on eight catches.

But the star of the show was running back Mossis Madu, who had 83 receiving yards on 12 catches to go along with 21 yards on the ground.

As for BC, all eyes were on their offensive line in Week 13 against Montreal, and while the unit did a better job of protecting Mike Reilly, they still weren’t able to get the best of the Als. Reilly had 230 yards on 20 of 29 passing with a touchdown. 129 of those yards came from connections with Bryan Burnham, who caught all eight balls that were thrown in his direction. Brandon Rutley also had a new season-high in all-purpose yards with 102.

The Leos are looking for their first win since Week 4, and this back-to-back against Ottawa couldn’t have come at a better time. One of these teams is going to get a much-needed victory.

PICK

Writers: 83% BC

Fans: 82% BC

LeoVegas: BC -7

HAM at CGY

Hamilton holds the best record league-wide at 9-2, but they’re not getting the respect of a top team. They can change that with this West swing, which starts in Calgary.

These two teams matched up previously in Week 5, and the Ticats came away with the 30-23 victory in front of their home crowd. Nick Arbuckle was under centre for that game, and while he tossed for over 360 yards, the Stamps will have their star pivot back for this game.

Bo Levi Mitchell looks like he hasn’t missed a beat since returning from injury. The 29-year-old looks every bit the 2018 Most Outstanding Player and Grey Cup MVP that we’re used to seeing. He’s thrown for over 250 yards in all four of his starts this season and completed a season-high 25 passes in Week 13 against Edmonton. Reggie Begelton had 88 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the third consecutive game and the Stamps’ defence allowed just 26 combined points in the back-to-back against Edmonton.

The Tabbies are coming in off a bye week, but in their last game — Labour Day against Toronto — they erased a double-digit halftime deficit to win their fourth straight. Dane Evans had his best outing of the season, tossing for over 440 yards and two touchdowns while rushing in for another score. Jackson Bennett had 77 yards and his first CFL score against the Argos and Bralon Addison continued to be Toronto’s worst nightmare, finishing with 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Hamilton’s most impressive unit might just be their defence that, despite injuries, has held opponents to 10 or less points in two of their last three games. They’ll need to be in top form against an explosive Stamps offence.

PICK

Writers: 100% CGY

Fans: 85% CGY

LeoVegas: CGY -6.5

MTL at SSK

The week will be wrapped up by an interesting matchup between two of the hottest teams that the league has to offer.

In the last meeting between these two squads, the game was called early due to inclement weather. Because the Riders were ahead at the time, they were given the victory.

Cody Fajardo is the man in charge in Saskatchewan, and the pivot had helped lead the team to a six-game winning streak. They dropped their last game to the Bombers, and Fajardo threw for just 196 yards and no touchdowns — although he did have a rushing score. Don’t expect him to have another game like that. Kyran Moore had 70 receiving yards on five catches, but the real surprise was William Powelll, who had just one yard on four rushes and no targets in the pass game. They’ll need to include him more to have success.

Fajardo’s counterpart, Vernon Adams Jr., has been great during the Als’ three-game win streak. The pivot has thrown five touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards over that span. William Stanback is rounding back into form and should be effective against the Riders. He had 78 yards on 15 carries and 55 receiving yards in Week 13. The Als’ receiving core of Eugene Lewis, Quan Bray, DeVier Posey and Chris Matthews should also give the Riders’ secondary some added issues.

This is the first time the Saskatchewan defence will see Adams this year. They feasted back in Week 9 with Antonio Pipkin and Mattew Shiltz under centre. It won’t come as easy this time around.

PICK

Writers: 50/50

Fans: 80% SSK

LeoVegas: SSK -7.5

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