The Calgary Stampeders will be looking to avoid a third Grey Cup loss in as many years when they take on the Ottawa Redblacks as 4-point favourites on the Grey Cup odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Calgary claimed its fifth Grey Cup berth in seven years with a 22-14 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as 4.5-point home favourites in last week’s West Division Final, and is now unbeaten straight up and against the spread in two straight going into Sunday evening’s RedBlacks vs. Stampeders betting matchup at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Stampeders emerged as the class of the CFL once again this season, racking up a league-leading 13-5-0 record and claiming their third straight West Division crown, and their seventh divisional title since 2008.
However, Calgary’s regular-season dominance has not translated into consistent playoff success. The Stampeders have advanced to the Grey Cup on five occasions over the past decade, but have come up short in three of those championship bids including a stunning 39-33 loss to the RedBlacks as 9.5-point chalk two years ago at BMO Field in Toronto.
In addition to falling to defeat in three of their final four regular-season outings, the Stampeders have produced mixed results in recent dates away from McMahon Stadium, going 3-3-0 while surrendering 39 points per game in their three road defeats.
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The Redblacks are pegged as betting underdogs in their third Grey Cup appearance in the franchise’s brief five-year history despite posting decisive outright wins in each of their past four contests.
Ottawa opened the season as a +800 wager on the Grey Cup odds after finishing last season with a middling 8-9-1 record and bowing out of the playoffs with a 31-20 loss to Saskatchewan in the East Division semifinal. The team struggled with consistency for much of the campaign, failing to win more than two in a row until a homestretch surge lifted it to an 11-7-0 record and a third East Division title in four years.
But the Redblacks saved their finest performance so far this season for last weekend, when they dominated the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 46-27 win in the East Division Final while paying out as 3.5-point home chalk.
Ottawa is a meagre 2-6-2 SU in its past 10 games against the Stampeders overall, according to the OddsShark CFL Database, but 3-2 ATS in its last five meetings with Calgary as a betting underdog at the sportsbooks.
