Friday Night Lights: Hamilton at Winnipeg Highlights CFL Action
Prediction: We're going with Winnipeg here and look for the sleeping giant of talent to wake up and take care of business versus the Hamilton team they've been able to dominate in the past.
Friday night's Hamilton vs. Winnipeg matchup looks to be one of the most intriguing of the young CFL season.
These rivals have some rich and exciting history since they've faced off in each of the last two Grey Cup championship games -- played in 2019 and 2021. The Blue Bombers won both games and entered the 2022 season as the perennial favourites to repeat. Winnipeg hasn't disappointed, so far, posting a perfect 2-0 record, although both wins weren't particularly impressive.
Meanwhile, Hamilton's chances to make another deep playoff run appear far less certain. The Tiger-Cats are winless in two games, though they had plenty of opportunities to win both. The Ti-Cats had leads in their first two games versus Saskatchewan and Calgary respectively, but faded late in those games (one in OT) and lost. Facing Winnipeg will mark Hamilton's third-straight tough opponent.
The kickoff at IG Field in Winnipeg begins at 6:30 pm MST.
Spreads.ca currently lists the Blue Bombers as 4.5-point favourites. The O/U is one of the lowest of the season we've seen, set at 42.5.
Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):
Even though the Blue Bombers are indisputably the best team in the CFL, the odds don't seem to give them the respect they're entitled to as an undefeated home team and defending champion. The line is only -4.5 points, which presumes the two rivals are closer in talent than many may realize.
Let's also toss in the fact the Blue Bombers haven't broken the 19-point mark in two games, which makes covering any line more challenging.
Nevertheless, we're going to go with Winnipeg here and look for the sleeping giant of talent to wake up and take care of business versus the team they've been able to dominate in the past. The Ti-Cats have also allowed 63 points through two games, which bodes well for the Blue Bombers' sluggish offense to finally get on track.
We like both the favourite (Winnipeg -4.5) and the over (42.5) in this game.
