The Betting Perspective - HAM @ SSK

Hamilton @ Saskatchewan (-1.5): Total 49.5

Week 2 of the CFL season sees a desperate Hamilton Tiger-Cats team heading into Regina to battle the Riders, who beat the BC Lions last Friday night.

The Ticats did not play well against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the season opener, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. Jeremiah Masoli marched down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown but was completely shut down for the rest of the game. To make things worse for the visitors Saturday night, the team is dealing with numerous injuries to key players, wideouts Bralon Addison and DeVier Posey both started the year on the six-game injured list. And the injured group has grown after Week 1, defensive tackle Dylan Wynn is down, joining Canadian defensive lineman Ted Laurent on the unable to play list. In good news for Hamilton, Canadian offensive tackle Chris Van Zeyl will make his 2021 debut and start at right tackle.

For the Roughriders, last week versus BC was a tale of two halves, Cody Fajardo looked like the leading candidate for the Most Valuable Player award in the first 30 minutes, but Saskatchewan almost watched their massive lead slip away at the end. Regardless of the poor performance down the stretch for the Riders, they look poised to be very good in 2021. New offensive coordinator Jason Maas looks to have the offense clicking through one game and might have a repeat performance against a Ticats defense that appears to be very different this season, especially with the early injuries.

The game opened on the markets with Saskatchewan -1.5, the spread shows that experts believe the Ticats are still a very good football team. Hamilton is on the road again coming off a bad showing in Week 1 and a stirring quarterback controversy if the team falls for a second straight game. The spread seems a little small for a Riders team that should’ve stayed on the throats of their opponents just last week and once again enjoy home field advantage.

The injuries and uncertainty on both lines for Hamilton are too much to overcome in the Prairies and Saskatchewan is the play to conclude Week 2 wagering.

Pick: Saskatchewan -1.5