Grey Cup Odds 2016
The 2016 Grey Cup betting odds suggest there might not be very much drama in store for us Canadians this Sunday. The Calgary Stampeders are 9-point favourites to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks Sunday night in Toronto (6:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff on TSN). Calgary last won the Grey Cup in 2018. It’s no surprise that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats own the best odds to win the Grey Cup in 2021. Expected to be the best team in 2020, Hamilton continues to be the team to beat in the CFL, currently listed at +280. Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa are far down the list to win the Grey Cup.
2016 Grey Cup - Calgary Stampeders (-9.5) vs. Ottawa Redblacks, Sunday, 6 p.m. ET
There is some real history when it comes to Canada's professional football championship - it was first awarded in 1909. The 105th edition will take place this weekend in Toronto with the Western Champion Calgary Stampeders playing the Eastern champs from Ottawa. I will admit to some bias up front here - I live about five minutes from the home of the Stampeders and have been to more games than I can count over the years, including the game they won last weekend to get to this game. With that aside, let's be clear up front about this game - Calgary is going to win it, and it isn't going to be close. I could spend the next 800 words trying to pretend that there is some drama here, but the only way that that happens is if Calgary doesn't show up with their 'A' game. If the teams play their best it's not close.
Calgary comes into this game off of a historic season. They wound up 15-2-1. They lost their first game and tied their third as they were adjusting to a new coach - former offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson, a former star QB for the Stampeders who spent two years as a third-stringer for four different teams in the NFL and took over from John Hufnagel, who was offensive coordinator for the New York Giants before coming to Calgary. Then they really found their stride, winning 14 straight and only rarely being tested. Their second loss came in the final game of the season, but with nothing to play for they rested everyone with a pulse. They are the best team in the league by such a large margin it's ridiculous. This is nothing new, either - the Stampeders have, for the last decade, been the Patriots of the CFL. Their long-term excellence hasn't turned into enough titles, but they are always the cream of the league.
Ottawa won the Eastern Conference, but the East is really bad - they finished 8-9-1, which would have only been good enough for fifth in the Western Conference. They were really strong to start the season but limped towards the end of the season and had real struggles keeping quarterbacks happy and healthy. They lost five of their last eight, and they lost by 25 in Calgary in September. You can't look past any team that makes it this far, but the Redblacks just aren't good enough to win this game unless Calgary lets them.
Instead of doing a standard preview - you should bet Calgary to win because there is nothing else to do, and the price is more than fair - here is an American-centric look at a few tidbits from the game:
Quarterbacks: Calgary is helmed by Bo Levi Mitchell, who is a lock to win the Most Outstanding Player award in the league this year, and has been dominant since becoming starter late in 2013. Mitchell went to SMU in 2008 and was the starter as a freshman and sophomore in the first two years of the June Jones era. He lost the job to injury and headed to Eastern Washington for his junior year. He won the national title there in his first season and won the Walter Payton Award as top player in the league his second year. He went undrafted in the NFL, and instead of trying to force something, he headed to Calgary.
He'll be up against Henry Burris, the 41-year-old QB who was the league's Most Outstanding Player for the second time last year - Mitchell was the runner-up. Burris played at Temple, where he was part of some dark and very unsuccessful years in the Big East. He set several passing records, though. He was undrafted in the NFL and went to Calgary, backing up Dickenson and Jeff Garcia, who had several stints in the NFL with the Niners, Lions, and Browns, among others. He headed to Saskatchewan for a year and then went to the NFL. He was a third stringer in Green Bay for a year, but that was a rough thing to be with Brett Favre in town. Then he went to the Bears, where he actually started the last two games of yet another lost season for that squad. Then it was back to the CFL for good. First he was in Saskatchewan, then a long stretch in Calgary before going to Hamilton and then joining Ottawa when they entered the league three years ago. This is his second straight Grey Cup appearance with Ottawa. He lost the starting job early to an injury this year and needed another injury to get it back. It hasn't been his best year, but he doesn't look his age.
Top rookie: DaVaris Daniels is the West nominee for Rookie of the Year. You might remember him for two things in his time at Notre Dame. First, he was one of the few bright spots for the Irish when they were massacred by Alabama in the 2013 title game - he had six catches for 115 yards. Second, Daniels is one of the guys who was caught in the academic cheating scandal that the team was just penalized for. He played only 11 games this year but has quickly emerged as Mitchell's most trusted target.
Ottawa's finest: The likely runner-up to Mitchell for Most Outstanding player this year is Ottawa receiver Ernest Jackson. Jackson played his college ball at Buffalo. He graduated in 2009, which means he played his whole career for Turner Gill - in the pre-Kansas days when everyone thought that Gill was a coaching genius. Of note, the star of that Buffalo squad was Green Bay running back James Starks.
Want free sports betting picks? Doc's Sports has you covered - get $60 worth of picks free from any of Doc's Sports expert handicappers. Click here for free picks (new clients only).
Read more articles by Trevor Whenham
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet in the 107th Grey Cup Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, AB. The big game will kick off at 6 p.m. ET. We analyze the Tiger-Cats vs. Blue Bombers odds and lines, while providing CFL betting picks and tips for the matchup.
Tiger-Cats vs. Blue Bombers: 107th Grey Cup preview, betting trends and notes
Get some action on the game at BetMGM by placing a sports bet!
Grey Cup Odds 2019
suffered season-ending injuries.Blue Bombers QB Zach Collaros
has completed 28 of 46 attempts for 460 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions through two playoff games. He suffered an injury in Week 1 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and was replaced by Cody Fajardo.Collaros started for the Tiger-Cats the last time they made the Grey Cup in 2014. They lost 20-16 to the Calgary Stampeders.The Blue Bombers haven’t played in a Grey Cup since 2011, when they lost 34-23 to the BC Lions.Hamilton hasn’t won a Grey Cup since 1999 and Winnipeg hasn’t won since 1990.The Tabbies beat the Bombers 23-15 in Hamilton in Week 7, and 33-13 in Winnipeg in Week 16.Tiger-Cats vs. Blue Bombers: 107th Grey Cupodds, picks and betting tips
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Tiger-Cats 32, Blue Bombers 26
Moneyline (ML)
The Tiger-Cats (-176) are relatively large favorites over the Blue Bombers (+145) in the championship game. Hamilton went 6-3 on the road over the regular season and Winnipeg was 3-6 before winning back-to-back road playoff games. The two sides will now meet at a neutral site.
Back HAMILTON to end its Grey Cup drought and extend Winnipeg’s by another year.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Hamilton to win would return a profit of $5.68.
Against the Spread (ATS)
Both teams have been excellent ATS through the postseason. The Ti-Cats are 13-4 overall ATS and 6-2 on the road. The Bombers were 14-6 overall and 5-4 on the road, and covered as underdogs in each of their two road playoff games.
Stick with the TIGER-CATS, who’re laying -3.5 points at -110.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the OVER 51.5 (-110). The Bombers had played to four straight Overs before falling short of the projected total last week against the Roughriders. The Tiger-Cats went 2-2-1 against the O/U over five games since the beginning of October.
Four of the last five Grey Cups have fallen short of this year’s projected total, but Sunday is calling for clear skies and temperatures above freezing in Calgary. The runways will be clear.
Get some action in this one by placing a bet at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.
Grey Cup Odds 2016 Presidential
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.