CFL Week 1 Betting Preview

The CFL season starts on June 9th, and we are in for a great season! Coming off a shortened CFL season, we are back to a full slate of action for the first time in nearly three seasons!

Will Winnipeg three-peat for the first time since the Edmonton dynasty? Will a new team be able to dominate the league this year?

We'll find out starting Thursday because the road to Saskatchewan starts now!

Montreal at Calgary

Time: 9:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Montreal 110.265; Calgary 118.408
Dunkel Line & Total: Calgary by 8; 40
Vegas Line & Total: Calgary by 3 ½; 47 ½
Dunkel Pick: Calgary (-3 ½); Under

Montreal will be led by Vernon Adams Jr. This will be the first game since coming off an injury. This off-season, he loses one of his favorite targets, BJ Cunningham, and their OLine has yet to improve.

The Alouettes still have some questions defensively, and even with the first overall pick, Tyrell Richards, it will be most difficult to stop Calgary. 

Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stamps are poised to have yet another elite year offensively. Even with his poor lone preseason performance, there is no need to be rattled by a team that should win this game.

With two former NFL players highlighting the rest of this offense, Ka'Deem Carey and Reggie Begelton should be able to dominate the season opener.

Ottawa at Winnipeg

Time: 8:30 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Ottawa 110.665; Winnipeg 116.579
Dunkel Line & Total: Winnipeg by 6; 52
Vegas Line & Total: Winnipeg by 9 ½; 47 ½
Dunkel Pick: Ottawa (+9 ½); Over

The visiting Redblacks have one of their best teams in a few seasons. This could be one of the more exciting teams in the later months of the season.

Former Tiger-Cats QB Jeremiah Masoli is now the new headline player for this Redblacks team! With some solid pass catchers, this team looks much better than at any point last year. However, this team will be no match for the defending champs.

The Blue Bombers are in an interesting position. They head into the season with a similar roster, except they lost star running back Andrew Harris! Their offensive outlook is still very high for this season.

Signal caller QB Zach Collaros and the one-two punch of Brady plus Augustine will play nicely in a loaded backfield. Their defense is still the best in Canadian football and will be a huge difference-maker in their season opener!

Hamilton at Saskatchewan

Time: 7:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Hamilton 117.566; Saskatchewan 113.529
Dunkel Line & Total: Hamilton by 4; 50
Vegas Line & Total: Saskatchewan by 1 ½; 47
Dunkel Pick: Hamilton (+1 ½); Over

The keys to the Tiger-Cats offense is finally are in the hands of Dane Evans! Evans started in the past two Grey Cups after Masoli suffered season-ending injuries, but they will still be able to find similar success.

The core of this team remains the same beyond losing key pass rusher Micah Johnson. This is a contending team that is still hungry for that Grey Cup victory!

The Rough Riders have lofty expectations this year. QB Cody Fajardo is arguably one the best at his position in Canadian football, and he has to carry this team with minimal weapons.

On the other side of the football, they will continue to be one of the scariest teams to face off against. But with minimal improvements to their core could cause a similar result to last season.

Edmonton at BC

Time: 10:00 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Edmonton 109.862; BC 105.868
Dunkel Line & Total: Edmonton by 4; 44
Vegas Line & Total: BC by 3; 48
Dunkel Pick: Edmonton (+3); Under

In the past two seasons, the Edmonton Elk have gone through a rebrand, and now the Edmonton faithful can only hope to see a rebranded team on the field this season!

Last season's breakout WR for the Elks Kenny Lawler, and star RB James Wilder should be enough to help Nick Arbuckle and the rest of the Elk for a fantastic week one victory!

Starting QB Nathan Rourke has big shoes to fill in BC. After early this off-season, when future HoF QB Michael Rielly retired, everyone looked at last season's rookie passer Nathan Rourke.

With tons of star offensive players around him, like All-Star Bryan Burnham and former NFL player Lucky Whitehead surrounding him, he will eventually find his groove, but it will probably not be the season opener.

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All Media on this page by Associated Press.