CFL Sunday: Toronto at Saskatchewan
Saturday's CFL game between the Argonauts and Roughriders was postponed by a day due to upheaval with COVID restrictions. How might this impact the outcome of the game, and two teams needing the win?
Toronto won a thrilling see-saw battle over Saskatchewan last week, getting a much-needed win. This week, those same two teams will meet at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Revenge will be a huge challenge for the Roughriders, as they've been depleted due to COVID-related problems. This has not only postponed the game from Saturday to Sunday, it's also created havoc with the betting odds.
This will be the final game of Week 7 in the CFL.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) host the Toronto Argonauts (2-2) in the second leg of a home-and-home series – although the first game was played at a neutral site in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The Argos winning a 30-24 classic that was decided in the closing minute.
The line on this rematch opened with the Riders as 6.5-point home favourites. However, that number is now down to -1 after Saskatchewan got hit with a COVID-19 outbreak, which also postponed this game to Sunday.
Here's a look at the odds on this game at SPREADS.CA (subject to change given the nature of uncertainty about the starters):
Action kicks off (hopefully) at 6:00 pm CST on Sunday:
Prediction (powered by Pointsreads.ca):
There are many questions on this game, mostly pointing to Saskatchewan. First, how many players will pass the final screening test on Sunday? And, how effective can this offense be with a third-string quarterback? This leads us to back Toronto strongly in this game, as well as lean to the under.
The Argos won as 2.5-point dogs in Nova Scotia last Saturday, with a 50-yard interception return allowing them to pull ahead with just two minutes left in the game. But Toronto outplayed the Riders much of the game and now look much better after a woeful start to their season.
As for the Riders, news came out that 13 players and five members of the coaching staff tested positive for COVID-19. That should be devastating if it holds true and keeps much of the roster off the field on Sunday.
With the game being pushed back by a day, there is some possibility that some or many could play, but this remains an uncertain situation, at best. While we don't know which players will test negative, what we do know is that third-string quarterback Jake Dolegala will get the start. He has never played a down in the CFL. We'll be glad to fade that prospect.
Toronto is hard to figure but they did almost upset the unbeaten Blue Bombers in Week 4 and certainly have enough talent on both sides of the ball to beat a depleted Riders squad – especially as a slight underdog.
Picks: Toronto +1 and UNDER 46.5
