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TORONTO — Week 1 of the 2024 CFL season is finally upon us. We’ve made it through a long, but eventful off-season and after months of waiting we have games in front of us and a full 21 weeks plus a playoff run to the 111th Grey Cup to make picks on.
On our front, Jamie Nye heads into this season wearing the victory crown, having edged out Kristina Costabile by a mere game in 2023. If you remember, they both chose the Montreal Alouettes to down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup and Nye’s one-game lead in the standings was preserved.
So what does 2024 hold for us? The standings suggest we should ask Nye, who holds all bragging and predicting rights at the moment. In something of a surprise move, he likes all of the road teams in the opening week of the season. It’s a trend that many fans playing CFL Pick Em presented by Old Dutch are following as well, with three road teams currently getting the majority of their votes as this was written early Tuesday.
We’re happy to drop the following words here: let’s get into the opening week of picks.
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MTL at WPG
It’s a rematch of the 110th Grey Cup, going down at the freshly renamed Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg. Both teams bring continuity into the game, after keeping their respective cores intact through the off-season. Despite Brady Oliveira and Brandon Alexander sitting out through training camp, the fans are decidedly pro-Winnipeg in this matchup. The writers see it a little differently and are deadlocked. Whatever the outcome on Thursday night, this stands as a strong contender to be the game of the week.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
Fans: 84% Winnipeg
HAM at CGY
Bo Levi Mitchell finally makes his return to McMahon Stadium, a full season after the Stampeders traded his rights to the Tiger-Cats, after he spent 10 seasons with the team, carving out a one-day Hall of Fame career. He should get a warm welcome back to his old stomping grounds and from there, well, no one is really sure what will happen next. The fans give a slight edge to the Ticats, while the writers are once again deadlocked.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
Fans: 52% Hamilton
SSK at EDM
Trevor Harris gets back into action this week, after a leg injury put an early wrap on his 2023 campaign, while spelling out a slow, painful end to the Riders’ postseason hopes as well. The Elks will bring out McLeod Bethel-Thompson at QB, with the former Argo and 2022 Grey Cup winner back in the league after a year spent in the USFL. These teams met in the season opener a year ago, with the Riders grinding out a 17-13 win. Will we see something similar this year? We don’t know, but the fans and writers are leaning toward the Riders picking up their first win of the season on Saturday.
PICK
Writers: 66% Saskatchewan
Fans: 80% Saskatchewan
BC at TOR
The Lions were humbled in their lone trip to BMO Field in 2023, where the Argos’ defence pried six interceptions out of Vernon Adams Jr. and handed the visitors their first loss of the season in Week 4. Given the tumult of the Argos’ off-season, the vibes are different this time around. The Lions return a very strong team, with the long-term goal being playing in the Grey Cup game at BC Place. The Argos will be making a revised roster work. Fans in the stands at BMO just might be trying to gauge what their team has this year, as opposed to last year when they were celebrating a Grey Cup win. This is the only pick this week where the writers are more all in than the fans. We’ll see if they’re right on Sunday evening.
PICK
Writers: 100% BC
Fans: 83% BC
