Grey Cup Preview
By David Schwab
VegasInsider.com
After 19 weeks of the regular season and two rounds of playoffs, it will be the best of the East verse the best of the West in this season’s CFL Grey Cup as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will try and complete a worst-to-first transformation when to travel to Vancouver to square-off against the British Columbia Lions this upcoming Sunday night at 6:30 p.m ET.
Winnipeg earned a spot in the title game with a 19-3 victory over Hamilton this past Sunday in the East Division finals as a three-point home favorite. The total stayed well ‘under’ the 51-point line.
will get a shot at becoming the first team to win a Grey Cup on its home field since 1994 when it accomplished this feat against Baltimore. The Lions punched their ticket to the championship game with a 40-23 romp over Edmonton as six-point home favorites. The total in this one went way ‘over’ the 50-point line.
The following is a preview for Sunday’s 99th Grey Cup with the betting lines provided by BetOnline.
CFL Grey Cup Championship - Sunday, Nov. 27
Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. British Columbia Lions
Line: BC (-7)
Over/Under: 50½
Winnipeg comes into this game with an overall record of 11-8 straight-up. It is 12-6-1 against the spread this season and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 12 of its 19 games. The Blue Bombers are 5-4 SU on the road and 5-3-1 ATS.
BC has compiled a record of 12-7 SU overall. It is 11-7 ATS and the total has stayed ‘under’ in 12 of its 18 games this season with a spread. The Lions are 7-3 at home SU and 6-4 ATS.
These two teams met twice this season with the Bombers taking both games SU and ATS. In Week 5, they rallied from a one-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pull-out a 25-20 victory as 2½ -point home favorites. The total stayed ‘under’ the 52-point line. Buck Pierce and Alex Brink combined for 258 yards passing and two touchdowns for Winnipeg and its defense sacked Lions’ quarterback Travis Lulay six times.
They met just two weeks later and this time Winnipeg rolled to a 30-17 win as a 1 ½-point road underdog. Once again, the total stayed ‘under’ against a closing line of 49 ½. This one was never really close as the Bombers closed-out the third quarter with a healthy 30-10 lead. This time around, Pierce went 18-for-24 for 237 yards and Brink ran for two scores in the lopsided win. This game may come back to actually haunt Winnipeg as it served as a wake-up call for the Lions, who went onto win 11 of their next 12 games SU on their march for to the title game.
The Blue Bombers are now 4-2 SU in their last six games against BC and 5-1 ATS. They are also 4-1-1 ATS in their last six trips to Vancouver. The total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of the last 10 meetings overall and has stayed ‘under’ in the last seven games played in BC.
Both Pierce and Lulay are listed on the current injury list as probable with minor injuries, but both should be ready to go come Sunday night. In the regular season, the Blue Bombers averaged 24 points a game and gave-up an average of 24 points a game, while the Lions averaged 28.4 points a game and gave-up an average of just 21.4 points.
Grey Cup Preview and Pick
By Charles-André Marchand
By Covers.com
Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. British Columbia Lions
The 99th Grey Cup promises to offer a great spectacle between two teams who followed very different paths to get there. The Lions started with a terrible 1-6 record, losing their first games of 2011. The Blue Bombers sprinted out of the gate but seemed out of breath down the stretch of the regular season.
Ironically it’s by mauling the Montreal Alouettes in the last game of the regular season that B.C. opened the door for Winnipeg to claim first place in the East and to host the Conference Finals. The Bombers lost their last three regular-season games while the B.C. Lions got in the playoffs with 11 wins in their last 12 games.
Quarterback Travis Lulay, this year’s most outstanding player, will try to continue his success and give the Lions a shot at accomplishing a rare feat: winning the Grey Cup at home, which only three teams have managed to do in the last three decades. With receivers like Geroy Simon, Arland Bruce, Akeem Foster and Paris Jackson, Lulay certainly has the tools to win the aerial battle.
But the young QB will need help from his offensive line to contain defensive ends Odell Willis and Jason Vega, two of the most efficient pass rushers in the CFL. Unlike his counterpart Buck Pierce, Lulay will have the luxury of calling plays at the line of scrimmage without being deafened by a crowd that will, without a doubt, largely be supporting the Lions.
Pierce is a tough act to follow and let’s not underestimate his resiliency in such a big game. He doesn’t mind adversity and even if he denies it, he probably would like to beat his former coach Wally Buono, who gave up on him in Vancouver because he felt the veteran QB was injury prone.
Although Lions’ running back Andrew Harris can do some damage, the Blue Bombers have a more potent ground game with Chris Garrett, who gained no less than 190 yards rushing in the East Final.
That being said, we must agree with Buono, who said this game will be fought and decided in the trenches. It is the offensive and defensive lines that will give Lulay and Pierce a chance to throw the ball, make it possible for Harris and Garrett to run with the ball, and for the receivers to catch some passes downfield.
This game will feature interesting duels involving some seasoned veterans: Glenn January against Brent Johnson, Doug Brown against Angus Reid, Odell Willis against Ben Archibald, and so forth. None of these players has a shot at being named this game’s MVP, but they are truly the ones that will be the difference-makers in a contest that could be much closer than many anticipate.
Pick: B.C.
CFL Grey Cup
Winnipeg (11-8) @ BCLions (12-7) - Lions started season 1-6; losses 5-6 both came against Winnipeg, 25-20 (+3.5) on road in Week 5, then 30-17 (-1) two weeks later- they've won 11 of 12 games since them, going 5-1 vs spread in last six games as home favorite. Bombers stumbled to 3-7 finish in regular season after starting 7-1; they're 0-4 in Grey Cups since winning title in 1990. BC coach Buono has won four Grey Cups, last one coming five years ago. Winnipeg is 5-2 as a road underdog this year. Weird playing a championship game on someone's home field, advantage Lions. Bombers have to have confidence though, after beating BC twice during the season.
WINNIPEG (11 - 8) at BRITISH COLUMBIA (12 - 7)
Top Trends for this game.
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) when playing on a Sunday over the last 3 seasons.
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record after 9 or more games over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) as an underdog this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 5-1 against the spread versus BRITISH COLUMBIA over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 4-2 straight up against BRITISH COLUMBIA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG vs. BRITISH COLUMBIA
Winnipeg is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against British Columbia
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Winnipeg's last 7 games when playing British Columbia
British Columbia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of British Columbia's last 7 games when playing Winnipeg