The Montreal Alouettes visit the Lions’ den Sunday in Week 12 CFL action
QB Travis Lulay and his Lions have established BC Place as a no win zone for visiting teams and typically Montreal has had very little success when making the trip to the left coast. However nothing has been typical this year in the CFL. The Als are starting former third stringer Tanner Marsh at QB who made a name for himself with a Cinderella-style 39-38 comeback win over the Lions in their last meeting.
BC is looking to serve up some revenge and the current CFL odds with online sportsbooks favor the home side by -8.5 points but our prediction focuses on the total.
WEEK 12 CFL – ALS AT LIONS (-8.5, O/U 52)
[dropcap2]E[/dropcap2]ach of these teams finds themselves in the thick of a playoff race in their respective divisions and players from both sides have dubbed this game “the biggest of the year”. The Lions, while dominant at home, still have some glaring weaknesses on the O-line and they’ll face a D that has quietly established itself as one of the league’s best. RB Andrew Harris has been struggling of late and things won’t be any easier against Montreal’s front seven.
With Marsh under center it will be more a guessing game for a Lions D who has been giving up 26.6 points per game this season. What the Lions do know is that the Als are without the services of RB Brandon Whitaker and SB Jamal Richardson. It’s also worth noting that on home turf, BC’s average points allowed shrinks to 21.0 per game.
21 of Montreal’s last 31 road games have gone over the total but when you consider the Lions home record and the fact Montreal is missing so any important pieces of their offense, including future HOF QB Anthony Calvillo we like this game to stay under the number.
Pick: Take the Under
KEYS TO THE GAME – ALOUETTES
Control the battle of the trenches
Spread the ball around offensively
KEYS TO THE GAME – LIONS
O-line needs to protect Lulay
RB Harris needs to return to early season form