Week 11 in the CFL comes to a close on Sunday night with a clash between the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Lions have been one of the better teams in the league in 2023, while the Riders have been in a downward spiral ever since losing starting signal caller Trevor Harris to a knee injury.
CFL betting odds hit the board with the Leos installed as 7.5-point road favorites and money has come in on them, with the line growing to -9.5. Here are my best free CFL picks and predictions for Lions vs. Roughriders on August 20.
Lions vs Roughriders best odds
Lions vs Roughriders picks and predictions
The BC Lions are coming off a dominant 37-9 victory against the Calgary Stampeders, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders are fresh off an ugly 41-12 loss to a Montreal Alouettes side that was starting backups at both quarterback and running back.
Just when it looked like Saskatchewan's passing game was starting to make incremental improvements under backup QB Mason Fine, he suffered a hamstring injury versus the Als. Third-stringer Jake Dolegala replaced him in the second quarter and completed just 11-of-20 passes for 107 yards and an interception.
It's becoming apparent that Saskatchewan might have the worst QB situation in the league and it doesn't help that their offensive line hasn't given any passer much time to throw. That's bad news against a Leos defense that does an excellent job of pressuring opposing passers and allows a league-low 7.1 yards per pass attempt.
This is a pretty big number to lay with a team playing on the road at Mosaic, but when the Lions win... they win big. The Leos are 7-2 straight up this year and all seven of those victories have come by double digits.
That includes their 19-9 win against the Riders back in Week 7 when they had backup Dane Evans starting at QB. With Vernon Adams Jr. back under center and throwing for 322 yards and four touchdowns last week, back BC to cruise to victory again on Sunday.
My best bet: Lions -9.5 (-110 at bet365)
Lions vs Roughriders spread and Over/Under analysis
This line hit the board with the Lions installed at -7.5 and it quickly moved to -9.5. Some books have now moved this number to -10. The total has remained unchanged and sits at 44.5 or 45 depending on the book.
With their beatdown of the Stamps last week, the Lions improved their record to 7-2 SU and 6-2-1 against the spread. They are 5-1 SU and ATS in games where Adams has started and finished, and despite a horrific six-interception performance in Week 4, he still ranks third in the league in QB rating (103.6).
It's been an ugly season for the Riders who are now down to third-string quarterback Jake Dolegala with short-yardage QB Shea Patterson backing him up. They have just one win in their last five games while going 1-4-1 ATS over their previous six.
Lions vs Roughriders trend to know
The Lions are 5-0 ATS in their last five contests against teams with a losing record while the Riders are 0-7-1 ATS in their previous eight versus teams with a winning mark. Find more CFL betting trends for Lions vs. Roughriders.
Lions vs Roughriders game info
| Location: | Mosaic Stadium, Regina, SK |
| Date: | Sunday, August 20, 2023 |
| Kickoff: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TSN |
Lions vs Roughriders key injuries
Lions: Woody Baron DT (Out), Jarell Broxton LT (Out), Dominique Rhymes WR (Out).
Roughriders: Brandon Council LT (Out), Mason Fine QB (Out), Trevor Harris QB (Out), Rolan Milligan Jr. DB (Out), Jerald Hawkins OT (Out).
Find our latest CFL injury reports.
