The Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-cats renew their rivalry in Week 7 of CFL action on Friday night. The Ticats are coming off their first two wins of the year while the Argos are the last unbeaten team left in the CFL.
Oddsmakers expect Toronto to stay perfect with CFL betting lines opening with the Argos as 7.5-point road favorites for this clash at Tim Horton's Field. Here are my best free CFL picks and predictions for Argonauts vs. Tiger-Cats picks on July 21.
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats best odds
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats picks and predictions
The Toronto Argonauts are a perfect 4-0 to start the season and after dropping 35 points against the Alouettes last weekend they've now eclipsed the 30-point mark in every game this year. The Argos have a balanced attack with Chad Kelly averaging a CFL-best 11.0 yards per pass attempt while their ground game churns out a league-high 134.0 rushing yards per game.
A big reason for that efficient offense has been the dominance of their offensive line which has allowed just four sacks all year and ranks second in the league in run-blocking per PFF. They've also done a terrific job of taking care of the football with just five turnovers.
Toronto's defense has given up a decent amount of yards but has also racked up a league-high 16 takeaways which has helped them get some terrific field position. With that field position look for the Boatmen to put up plenty of points against a Hamilton Tiger-Cats team that ranks last in the league in scoring defense (30.8 ppg) and touchdowns allowed (17).
Hamilton has struggled against both the run and the pass with the Ticats secondary surrendering 9.7 yards per pass attempt and allowing opponents to rush for 5.3 yards per carry.
The Ticats gave up at least 32 points in their first three games of the season and their only strong defensive effort of the season came against a pathetic Redblacks offense which was down to it's fourth-string quarterback in Week 5. Even last week against a weak Elks attack they gave up 485 yards and 29 points.
My best bet: Argonauts team total Over 28.5 (-110 at BetRegal)
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats same-game parlay
Argonauts team total Over 29.5 (-108)
Taylor Powell Over 215.5 pass yards (-114)
Argonauts first half -4.5 (-106)
With Bo Levi Mitchell and Matthew Shiltz both on the IL, the Ticats will start rookie Taylor Powell at quarterback. Powell threw a 17-yard touchdown pass on his first career CFL throw last week against the Elks and finished the game having completed two-of-four passes for 47 yards. He completed 64.6% of his passes for 2,111 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year at Eastern Michigan.
We've seen rookie QBs historically play well in their first CFL starts before opposing defenses have much film on them. In addition, Powell isn't much of a threat to run so he'll likely be airing the ball out if the Ticats fall behind early.
Expect the Argos to score plenty of points early and cover the first-half spread. That should lead to Powell eclipsing his low passing yards total after Hamilton is forced to abandon the run game.
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Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats spread and Over/Under analysis
The line opened with the Argos at -7.5 but has since moved to -8. The total has also seen movement, hitting the board at 48.5 before ticking up to 50 by 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The Argos hosted the Ticats in their season opener in Week 2 and beat them 32-14 as 2.5-point underdogs. They have now gone 4-0 SU and ATS this season with three of those contests cashing the Over.
The Ticats went 0-3 SU and ATS to begin the year but have won and covered in each of their last two games. That said, those contests came against the pathetic Redblacks and Elks so they don't have much reason to feel good heading into this matchup.
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats trend to know
The Argos are 4-1 SU and ATS in the last five meetings between these rivals with all of those victories coming by at least 14 points. Find more CFL betting trends for Argonauts vs. Tiger-Cats.
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats game info
| Location: | Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, ON |
| Date: | Friday, July 21, 2023 |
| Kickoff: | 19:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TSN |
Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats key injuries
Argonauts: Jordan Williams LB (Doubtful), Shawn Oakman DL (Questionable), Isiah Cage OT (Out), Thomas Costigan DL (Out), Markeith Ambles WR (Out), Shane Richards OL (Out), Henoc Muamba LB (Out).
Tiger-Cats: Matthew Shiltz (Out), Joe Figueroa LT (Out), Chris Van Zeyl RT (Out), Bo Levi Mitchell QB (Out), Dylan Wynn DT (Out).
Find our latest CFL injury reports.
