The Betting Perspective - OTT @ SSK

Ottawa @ Saskatchewan (10.5): TOTAL 46.5

Week 3 concludes as the Ottawa Redblacks and Saskatchewan Roughriders clash in Regina.

The Redblacks are coming off a bye week following their shocking victory in Week 1 over the Edmonton Elks. Let's face it, the Redblacks offense is going to struggle this season to put points on the board. The Elks held Ottawa to just 127 total yards despite the Redblacks 16-12 win in the season opener. If not for Abdul Kanneh picking off Trevor Harris and running it back for a score, Ottawa would've fell in Edmonton. New head coach in the nation's capital Paul LaPolice clearly has some major work ahead trying to get quarterback Matt Nichols operating anywhere close to his prime Blue Bombers days. Now to the positives, Ottawa's defense shined against Edmonton and will be asked to carry a heavy burden for the foreseeable future until the offense can up their production.

As for the home side in Saturday’s tilt, the Roughriders have been dominant outside of a weird second half performance against the BC Lions in Week 1. The slip-up occurred after the Riders looked like they were going to run their opponents out of the building in the first 30 minutes. Regardless, Saskatchewan are cruising through the first two weeks, Cody Fajardo looks like a Most Outstanding Player candidate with five total touchdowns and the Riders defense lead the CFL in sacks coming into this week. Saskatchewan could be primed for another huge day getting to the quarterback after dominating Hamilton last week, the Redblacks gave up five sacks against Edmonton in their only contest this season.

This is the first time we’ve seen a huge point spread in 2021, Riders opened as an 11.5-point favorites, that has since been bet down due to some Redblacks money. The books are not going to let that number drop to single digits due to Ottawa’s struggling offense regardless of public dollars. The Riders allowed a true backdoor cover against the Lions in the opener and Redblacks backers can only hope for the same Saturday. Saskatchewan are clearly the better side so let’s ride them versus Ottawa heading into Week 3 even with the big spread.

Pick: Saskatchewan -10.5