CFL betting update: Grey Cup odds topped by Saskatchewan

Football is halfway through the preseason in the NFL, but halfway through the regular season north of the border.

And football fans who follow CFL odds see the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts off to a good start, but sitting as the second betting choice for the championship.

That honor goes to Saskatchewan Roughriders, currently 6-1 on the season and 2/1 on CFL betting lines at Sports Interaction.

The Roughriders barely made the playoffs last year, but they own the best record in the league heading into this weekend.

The Roughriders only went 8-10 last year before getting beat by Calgary in the divisional semis. This year, with the No. 1 offense in the league, Saskatchewan leads the West by a game over Calgary and BC.

The ‘Riders are also, along with the Stampeders, a league-best 5-2 ATS this season.

As of early this week, books had the Roughriders at 9/5 to win the Grey Cup this season.

Shorter-term, SportsInteraction was listing Saskatchewan as a four-point favorite for its game Saturday at Edmonton, according to one CFL Odds site based in Canada.

Calgary was the second choice on Bovada’s updated Grey Cup board at odds of 13/4. The Stampeders began this season as the second choice on that board at 4/1, and haven’t done much to hurt those chances. In starting 5-2, picking up where it left off last year, Calgary has won 16 of its last 21 games.

The Stampeders as 2.5-point underdogs for their game at Toronto Friday night.

BC and the Argos come next on the Grey Cup odds board, each at 7/2. The 5-2 Lions just beat Calgary, but have only out-scored opponents by five points this season. Toronto, meanwhile, is the only team in the East with a winning record.

Hamilton is10/1, defending East champion Montreal at 18/1 and Edmonton and Winnipeg at 50/1

At this point last season Toronto was 3-3; the Argos later fell to 7-9, then won their last five games, capped off by their upset victory in the Grey Cup game.