Week 19 of the CFL season had some really good football games. The Stamps, Riders, Ti-Cats and Alouettes all came away with wins mostly in tight battles. I went 4-0 straight up and 2-2 against the spread. Overall I am now 54-19 straight up and 45-28 against the spread this season. This week there are four games that could be really close battles. Let’s see how I think they will go down.

(11-5) Calgary Stampeders @ (10-7) Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday 8:30pm ET

These two teams play for the second time in as many weeks. The Stamps came away with a close win last week and now head to Winnipeg to try and beat them twice in a row. The Stamps have been pretty one dimensional lately. I wonder if they will try and establish more of a run game this week. You never know what kind of weather you will get in playoffs and not being able to run the ball could become a problem. For Winnipeg this is do or die for a home playoff game. If they lose this game they will finish third in the West and have to travel to Calgary or Regina for the West Semi-Final. The Stamps and Riders are a combined 14-3 at home this year so winning this week would be ideal for Winnipeg. I’m just not sure they can pull it off with Zach Collaros as their starting QB.

Prediction: Stampeders win 33-30

(13-3) Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ (9-7) Montreal Alouettes Saturday 1:00pm ET

Hamilton looks unstoppable right now. They are excellent on every side of the ball. This week they play a scrappy Montreal team that doesn’t take weeks off. Hamilton will have to be at their best to win. They will get receiver Luke Tasker back this week so that’s another boost to an already prolific offence. For Montreal they will need to play near perfect to win. They are capable of beating Hamilton but I’m just not sure it will happen this week. I do think it will be a one score game though.

Prediction: Tiger-Cats win 35-28

(3-13) Ottawa Redblacks @ (3-13) Toronto Argonauts Saturday 4:00pm ET

Ottawa will once again try to snap a long losing streak against the Argos. Ottawa has lost nine straight and haven’t been close in a lot of those games. At this point they will be playing for jobs next season and pride. Toronto has looked pretty good in their two games since Pinball took over. It seems like this team is playing with pride now. McLeod Bethel-Thompson will start for Toronto but Canadian QB Michael O’Connor could get some reps as well. I just think Toronto is a better football team right now and will pick up the win.

Prediction: Argonauts win 29-21

(11-5) Saskatchewan Roughriders @ (8-8) Edmonton Eskimos Saturday 7:00pm ET

The Riders got the job done last week against B.C. but, I’m sure they will want to be better this week. They seemed a little nonchalant in the win last week. They have Micah Johnson back on defence so that should be a boost. For Edmonton their QB Trevor Harris returns from injury and they will look to build some momentum going into the playoffs when they will crossover to take on Montreal. Edmonton hasn’t been good lately so we will see if Harris returning helps them out. I think they will play alright but the Riders will take the win on the road.

Prediction: Roughriders win 31-26

Week 20 Betting Odds (Bodog):

CGY @ WPG: Take CGY -2.5

HAM @ MTL: Take HAM -2.5

OTT @ TOR: Take TOR -6.5

SSK @ EDM: Take SSK -2

There is a few prove it games this week. Calgary wants to prove they are the best in the West, Winnipeg wants to stay in the hunt for a playoff game as does Sask, and Montreal wants to prove they can hang with Hamilton. All four games could be awesome. Thanks for reading!