Saskatchewan Roughriders vs BC Lions CFL Picks, Odds, Predictions 8/6/21

The BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders meet Friday in CFL action at Mosaic Stadium. The BC Lions are coming off a 5-13 season and will make their debut under coach Rick Campbell. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off a 13-5 season in the first year under coach Craig Dickenson.

The BC Lions have a three-time Grey Cup champion at head coach and that sort of resume should help bring this club together. A lot of the success for BC will come down to the offensive line play, as the Lions were historically bad at protecting the quarterback in 2019. Quarterback Mike Reilly is getting up there in age, but he has over 31,000 passing yards and 168 touchdowns in his career. Bryan Burnham is arguably the best wide receiver in the CFL and running back Shaquille Cooper adds a different look to this BC offense. Defensively, we’ll finally get to see linebacker Jordan Williams, who was the first overall pick in the 2020 CFL draft. Garry Peters returns after four interceptions and Marcus Sayles comes over from Winnipeg after 136 tackles and six interceptions in two seasons. There’s potential here for the BC Lions, especially on the offensive side of the ball. 

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were one of the most balanced teams in the CFL in 2019 and they have to like their chances to build on that success. Not only do the Roughriders get another year under their young coach, but Cody Fajardo returns at quarterback after lighting up the league with 4,300 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. Fajardo led the CFL in passing and proved he can put this Roughriders offense on his back. Saskatchewan has plenty of offensive playmakers in William Powell, Marcus Murphy, Kyran Moore and Shaquelle Evans. Defensively, Ed Gainey returns as one of the best defensive backs in the CFL and Mike Edem is coming off a West All Star appearance. The Saskatchewan Roughriders have the pieces in place to make another deep run this season and they should be motivated after a disappointing end in the playoffs. 

The Lions are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Friday games. The Roughriders are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The under is 9-1 in Lions last 10 games overall. The under is 4-1 in Roughriders last 5 home games. The Lions are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 meetings.

This should be a fun game between two teams with increased expectations this season. However, it’s fair to say that the Roughriders are the more complete team on paper and playing at home doesn’t hurt. While I believe BC could be better than many expect, we have to see flashes first, and this isn’t the easiest start to the season. Saskatchewan should be favored and should win by a touchdown or two.

I’ll lay the potential chalk with the Roughriders.