The Toronto Argonauts will be looking for their sixth win in as many Grey Cup appearances when they enter Sunday’s battle for Canadian football supremacy with the Calgary Stampeders as 7-point betting underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto returns to the CFL championship game for the first time since 2012 after escaping with a 25-21 come-from-behind win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders as 3-point home chalk in last weekend’s Eastern Final, fueling the 6-2 SU run it takes into Sunday evening’s Stampeders vs. Argonauts betting matchup at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.
The Argonauts have also covered in six of eight outings, but have produced mixed results as betting underdogs this season, going 3-6 SU while covering in their past two.
However, underdogs have enjoyed success at the Grey Cup in recent years. The Ottawa Redblacks shocked the Stampeders with a 39-33 victory as 9.5-point underdogs in last year’s battle for the championship, marking the third straight year and the eighth time in 12 years that the underdog has paid out on the Grey Cup odds.
The Stampeders return to the Grey Cup for the fourth time in six years after getting past the Edmonton Eskimos with a 32-28 victory as 5-point favourites in last week’s Western Final. With the victory, Calgary put the brakes on a three-game SU slide but remains winless against the spread in five outings.
Calgary raised the hardware at the 2014 Grey Cup following a 20-16 win over Hamilton as 7-point chalk, but is winless in two previous Grey Cup matchups with the Argonauts, including a 35-22 loss as a 5-point favourite in the 100th edition of the game in Toronto five years ago.
The Stampeders, though, have dominated in recent dates with the Argonauts, winning eight straight SU, and covering in their past five, according to the OddsShark CFL Database.
The two-time defending West Division champions also hold the edge on the Grey Cup props. The Stampeders have emerged as a strong -165 favourite to score first in Sunday’s contest. Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray has connected on 15 touchdown passes over the club’s past nine outings, but it is Calgary pivot Bo Levi Mitchell who leads the way as a +175 bet to earn Most Outstanding Player honours, while Ray, a three-time Grey Cup champion, trails at +275.
[relatedlinks]