CFL Football: Lions Brace for Bombers with Grey Cup on the Line
by Bodog Sportsbook | Nov 22 2011
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will face a hostile crowd in Vancouver as they prepare to battle the hometown British Columbia Lions in the 99th Grey Cup championship game in
CFL betting action this Sunday night at B.C. Place Stadium.
Cash in on the Grey Cup championship this week with the betting odds at the
Bodog Sportsbook and Experience the RUSH.
Bombers emerge from the EastWinnipeg looked like it was going to be a runaway winner of the East division in
CFL betting results this season, opening with seven wins in its first eight games - including a pair of victories over the Lions - and posting a 7-1 record ATS during that initial span as well.
However, back-to-back losses to the woeful Roughriders in Week 10 and 11 was a sign of things to come in the second half of the campaign, as the Bombers lost seven of their final ten games to finish with a regular-season record of 10-8 SU and 11-6-1 ATS.
Still, that was good enough for first place in an East division that saw Montreal also finish with inconsistent results at 10-8 SU, and Hamilton wind up in third place at 8-10 SU. After the Tiger-Cats went into Montreal for the East semi-final and outscored the Alouettes 52-44 in overtime, the Bombers were able to stifle Hamilton in frigid temperatures at Canad Inns Stadium and advance to the Grey Cup with a 19-3 win in the East final on Sunday.
Winnipeg QB Buck Pierce completed 16-of-29 passing attempts to seven different receivers for 175 yards and scrambled nine times for another 66 yards on the ground, while RB Chris Garrett averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 29 rushing attempts to finish with 190 yards and one touchdown in the victory.
Once again the Bombers’ defense looked like the assassins of Swaggerville as they held Hamilton to nine first downs and 192 total yards, including a paltry 39 yards rushing.
Lions restore the roar out WestOut in British Columbia, the Lions lost six of their first seven games which led to speculation that veteran coach Wally Buono was on his last legs after 19 years as the sideline boss in Calgary and then Vancouver.
But after that second loss to Winnipeg in
CFL betting results back on August 13, the Lions suddenly reeled off eight wins in a row and lost only once in their final 12 games to lay claim to first place in the West division via the tiebreaker over Edmonton and Calgary - with all three teams finishing at 11-7 SU.
After Edmonton knocked off Calgary 33-19 at Commonwealth Stadium in the West semi-final, the Lions dominated the Eskimos 40-23 in the West final in large part because Edmonton QB Ricky Ray was harassed into throwing three interceptions and completed just 21 of his 40 passing attempts.
Meanwhile, Lions QB Travis Lulay completed an efficient 20 of his 27 passing attempts for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he also ripped off a 61-yard dash to the end zone for another late major to ice the victory for British Columbia. The Lions put up 456 yards of total offense inside their newly refurbished stadium leading up to this week’s Grey Cup game.
Bombers have beaten B.C. twiceIn their earlier
CFL betting matchups this season Winnipeg defeated British Columbia 30-17 on August 13 at Empire Field (while B.C. Place was undergoing renovations), and by a 25-20 score back on July 28 in Winnipeg. Pierce was a combined 29 of 42 for 443 yards in those two victories, while Lulay completed 28 of 54 passing attempts for a total of 195 yards in the two losses.
The Bombers are 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS in the past six matchups between these two teams dating back to August 2009, with the UNDER going 5-1 in those six games.
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