Grey Cup Prop Picks and Best Bets: Stars Get Bogged Up in Finals

Prop bet #1: Fight off inflation

Zach Collaros is the best quarterback in the CFL but his passing yards total is too high for the Grey Cup. The reason we're seeing such an inflated number is due to his production during the regular season but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are generally more conservative on offense during the playoffs and prefer to lean on their running game while using shorter, less risky passes. 

This is the fourth consecutive Grey Cup appearance for the Bombers and during these four runs, Collaros has made eight starts under center. In those eight games Collaros has never thrown for more than 270 yards and he's thrown for fewer than 200 yards on five occasions - including last week.

Collaros was also held to 177 and 240 passing yards in two meetings against the Montreal Alouettes earlier this season. That makes plenty of sense when you consider that the Als allowed the fewest yards per pass attempt (7.6) in the league. In addition, Winnipeg's WR corps is banged up with leading receiver Dalton Schoen looking doubtful while second-leading receiver Nic Demski and red-zone threat Rasheed Bailey might not be at full strength due to lower-body injuries.

Zach Collaros prop: Under 272.5 passing yards (-110 at bet365)

Prop bet #2: Lost in the mix

Austin Mack looked like one of the best wideouts in the CFL until September but his play really fell off down the stretch. The former Ohio State Buckeye racked up 971 yards through his first 11 games of the season but has just 265 yards in seven games since.

The O/U on his receiving yards can be found as high as 61.5 a number he hasn't eclipsed in his last seven contests. The Bombers also have a strong secondary and Winnipeg defensive guru Richie Hall will doubtless focus on stopping Mack, and force the Alouettes to throw to other receivers.

Austin Mack prop: Under 61.5 receiving yards (-110 at bet365)

Prop bet #3: Brady's gravy

The O/U on Brady Oliveira's rushing yards total is sitting between 87.5 and 92.5 and while that's a massive number for a CFL running back it makes plenty of sense here. As mentioned above, Winnipeg prefers to pound the ball during the playoffs and Oliveira had 21 carries for 109 yards against the Lions last week.

The 222-pound sledgehammer was the runner-up for Most Outstanding Player and led the CFL with 1,534 rushing yards this season — almost 400 yards more than runner-up Kevin Brown. He also broke the 100-yard mark in both of the previous meetings between these teams this year.

Oliveira wasn't the only one who gashed this Montreal defense on the ground with the Als tied for last in the league with 5.7 yards allowed per carry. With the Bombers installed as 8-point favourites for this contest, there's also a solid chance that they'll build an early lead and then feed Oliveira the ball to control the clock. 

Brady Oliveira prop: Over 87.5 rushing yards (-110 at bet365)