by Al McMordie
Thursday, Jul 23, 2026The CFL season is wrapping up its second month, and the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Elks are atop their respective divisions with 5-1 records. Ottawa remains the lone winless team, at 0-6, while British Columbia is at the bottom of the West Division, with a 1-4 record. The best team, though, may be Saskatchewan, as it has a league-best 37-point differential to go alongside its 4-1 record. The Roughriders are at home tonight, and are favored by 4.5 points over the Elks, with first place in the West on the line.
The knee-jerk reaction might be to take the underdog Elks + the points. After all, they're 5-1, and the point spread is north of 4 points. But be careful, as our CFL System of the Week identifies certain Class A teams that fall flat on their face as underdogs. Consider that CFL Underdogs of more than 3 points have gone 0-8 SU/ATS since 2006 if they owned a win percentage of .820 (or better) at Game 7 forward! And those underdogs failed to cover the spread by an average of 9.31 points per game. Don't be surprised if the defending champion Roughriders annihilate the Elks tonight.
Good luck, as always...
Al McMordie
The knee-jerk reaction might be to take the underdog Elks + the points. After all, they're 5-1, and the point spread is north of 4 points. But be careful, as our CFL System of the Week identifies certain Class A teams that fall flat on their face as underdogs. Consider that CFL Underdogs of more than 3 points have gone 0-8 SU/ATS since 2006 if they owned a win percentage of .820 (or better) at Game 7 forward! And those underdogs failed to cover the spread by an average of 9.31 points per game. Don't be surprised if the defending champion Roughriders annihilate the Elks tonight.
Good luck, as always...
Al McMordie
