CFL Odds: Calgary road favorites at Edmonton

Stamps QB Henry Burris leads the CFL with 21 touchdown passes.

The Calgary Stampeders go on the road looking for a sweep of a home-and-home series with the Edmonton Eskimos. This Week 11 matchup is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 10 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (PT).

Calgary has feasted on Edmonton so far this season with two lopsided wins. The Stampeders stomped the Eskimos 56-15 in Week 7 as an eight-point road favorite. The game easily eclipsed the total line of 53. Calgary QB Henry Burris threw for 305 yards and three TD’s and WR Nic Lewis caught five passes for 117 yards and scored twice. The Stamps built and insurmountable 32-8 lead at the half and coasted from there.

Last week these two teams met in Calgary and the result was pretty much the same. This time the Stampeders were a 12 ½-point favorite and they rolled to a 52-5 victory, easily covering the CFL spread. The total for this game went ‘over’ the 54 ½ point line by 2 ½ points. Once again Burris had a field day completing 15-of-23 attempts for 226 yards and three TD’s. Wide receiver WR Romby Bryant led the way with five receptions for 80 yards and two TD’s.

The win moved Calgary’s record to 8-1 straight up and 7-2 against the spread. The Stamps are currently in first place in the West Divisionhttp://www.donbest.com/cfl/standing/ with a two-game lead over Saskatchewan. They are 3-1 SU and ATS on the road this season.

Edmonton fell to 2-7 SU on the year and 3-5 ATS. The Eskimos are tied with B.C. for last place in the West. This season at home they are 2-3 both SU and ATS.

The difference between these two teams is  night and day. Calgary is the most-balanced team in the league as its offense is first in total points scored with 323 and its defense is first in total points allowed with 182. The Stampeders also lead the lead in average yards per game (429.7) and average yards allowed (287.6). There are very few cracks on this team, if any at all.

Edmonton is the exact opposite. Its offense is ranked last in total points scored with just 167 and its defense is last in total points allowed, giving up 305. The Eskimos are averaging 339.3 yards of offense per game, ranking them sixth and giving up an average of 390.1 yards per game on defense, ranking them seventh.

Betus.com has Calgary listed as a 10 ½-point CFL betting favorite and the current ‘over/under’ line is 54 ½. The Stamps are 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against the Eskimos. The total has gone ‘over’ in five of those games.

Given the results of the first two meetings between these two teams you have to believe that Calgary has Edmonton’s number this season. Neither game has been remotely close as the Stamps have been able to keep the majority of their starters on the bench in the second half of both contests. I see no reason for this to change this time around as the Calgary easily covers for the third straight time.