Argos and Roughriders Open their 2018 CFL Season

Argos Start Defense of CFL Title Against Roughriders

The Toronto Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders open their 2018 CFL Season at Mosaic Stadium on Friday. The reigning Grey Cup Champ, Argos, begin defending their title tonight. This a rematch of last year’s Eastern Final at new Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The bitter defeat from November still lingers for Roughriders players and fans. It was a devastating loss at the hands of the Argos. Saskatchewan was less than three minutes away from a Grey Cup berth.

Then future hall of famer Ricky Ray worked his magic. He orchestrated a late touchdown drive that pulled the Argos ahead. The rest is history as Toronto went on the stun the Calgary Stampeders in the 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw. The Argos claimed their 17^th CFL title.

Oddsmakers have the Argos favored by 2.5 points. The total is at 49.5. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. ET and can be seen on TSN, RDS and ESPN2.

Can Argos Trestman Work Magic Again?

Marc Trestman and Jim Popp came in last year after Head Coach Scott Malinovich left for the NFL right before the season. In just one season, they turned the Double Blue from worst to first in the CFL. The Argos are considered by many as the top team in the East heading into the 2018 season.

The Argos’ core group from last years' squad is intact. Ray will lead the charge on offense. He is flanked by last year’s Most Outstanding Rookie James Wilder Jr. at running back, and the seemingly ageless S.J. Green as a top target.

The Argos bolstered their already-strong defense with some strong additions. T.J. Heath is back with the Boatmen after the team traded him two seasons ago to Winnipeg. Ex-BC Lion Ronnie Yell will be making his Argos debut at cornerback on Friday.

Roughriders Have Questions Heading into Week One

The biggest question heading into Week 1 for the Riders is at quarterback. Will it be Zach Collaros or Brandon Bridge taking the snaps against the Argos?

Collaros is listed as the starter on the team’s depth chart, there is still no definitive answer.

It’s expected that Collaros will make his first start as a Rider. The veteran pivot is back to wearing his old number 17. He is looking to bounce back after a pair of disappointing seasons in Hamilton. The 29-year-old suffered a devastating knee injury back in 2015. He was on pace to be named Most Outstanding Player.

Collaros will have two of the top receivers in the league with Carter and Roosevelt at his disposal. Saskatchewan’s offense is a force to reckoned with. Riderville was shocked by the release of three veteran receivers last week.

Many Changes to the Roughriders Offense

Rob Bagg, Bakari Grant, and Chad Owens were sent packing just days before the start of the season. Bagg was a favorite in Riderville and a mainstay for almost a decade. Grant was coming off of a plus 1000-yard season. Owens brought a wealth of knowledge to the locker room.

The Riders also released offensive guard Travis Bond. Jarvis Harrison beat him out for the starting job. The Riders’ O-line will be under the microscope on Friday with the changes and some uneven preseason play.

Despite some tough cuts on offense, the Riders appear stronger on both sides of the ball. New addition Jerome Messam will look to make a statement in his return to Saskatchewan. He previously played for  them in 2014 and 2015. The 33-year-old running back is coming off of his third 1000-yard season.

On defense the Riders have added last year’s sack leader and four-time CFL All-Star Charleston Hughes. The one-two punch of Hughes and Willie Jefferson will be imposing. With the duo on opposite sides of the defensive line could cause nightmares for opposing quarterbacks.

They hope it starts with Ricky Ray, who’s not known for his foot speed.

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Toronto	3-3	2-4	24.54	27.17	-2.63	1-2	1-2	2-4	0-3	2-1
Saskatchewan	11-9	11-9	29.42	26.80	2.62	5-4	6-5	7-12-1	5-4	2-8-1

Power Stats

Yards Per Point

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TOR	15.92	13.29	2.63
SAS	12.93	13.42	-0.49

Yards Per Pass

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TOR	10.58	11.22	-0.64
SAS	11.96	12.34	-0.38

Yards Per Rush

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TOR	5.81	4.80	1.01
SAS	4.76	4.48	0.28

Team Records

Toronto Argonauts

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	11-9	8-3	3-6	10-10	6-5	4-5	26.70	25.05	1.65
vs Conf	6-2	4-0	2-2	5-3	3-1	2-2	28.75	21.13	7.62
Last 3	3-0	2-0	1-0	3-0	2-0	1-0	30.67	19.33	11.34

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	11-9	5-4	6-5	11-9	5-4	6-5	28.10	23.75	4.35
vs Conf	4-6	2-3	2-3	4-6	2-3	2-3	27.80	26.10	1.70
Last 3	1-2	0-1	1-1	1-2	0-1	1-1	21.67	24.33	-2.66

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	26.70	6	23.75	2
Away Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense	296.33	2	267.22	4
Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense	72.33	8	71.11	2
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	28.10	4	25.05	3
Home Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense	302.67	4	270.44	2
Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense	87.00	9	93.00	5

Head To Head Summary

Name	Record	ATS	OU	Score	Rush	YPR	PA	CP	PY	TY	TO +/-
Toronto	6-4	5-5	5-4-1	27.70	79.80	5.25	35.80	70.11	278.80	368.70	1.60
Saskatchewan	4-6	5-5	5-4-1	27.90	113.10	5.92	35.70	61.90	287.20	414.00	1.70

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	Home	Score	Line	Total	OU Result	ARY	APY	ATY	ATT	HRY	HPY	HTY	HTT	Away Team Attempts	Home Team Attempts	Away Team Completions	Home Team Completions
Nov 19, 2017	SAS	TOR	21-25	102	186	330	4	56	257	322	2
Oct 7, 2017	SAS	TOR	27-24	71	310	392	0	110	341	451	1
Jul 29, 2017	TOR	SAS	27-38	40	356	426	0	110	325	450	0
Oct 15, 2016	SAS	TOR	29-11	221	145	389	0	58	183	252	2
Jun 30, 2016	TOR	SAS	30-17	66	179	252	0	79	306	389	2
Aug 8, 2015	SAS	TOR	26-30	144	264	442	1	46	289	362	0
Jul 5, 2015	TOR	SAS	42-40	100	250	367	1	110	469	587	2
Jul 26, 2014	TOR	SAS	9-37	70	301	371	5	151	155	306	2
Jul 5, 2014	SAS	TOR	15-48	116	331	447	3	161	407	568	1
Sep 14, 2013	TOR	SAS	31-29	91	225	316	4	27	381	408	3

Betting Odds Trends

Toronto Argonauts
Toronto is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Toronto's last 9 games
Toronto is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
Toronto is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games on the road
Toronto is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Saskatchewan
Toronto is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Saskatchewan
Toronto is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Saskatchewan
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing on the road against Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Roughriders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Saskatchewan's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Saskatchewan's last 6 games at home
Saskatchewan is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Toronto
Saskatchewan is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Toronto
Saskatchewan is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Saskatchewan's last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto

Team Last 5 Games

Toronto Argonauts

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Nov 26, 2017	CAL	27-24	W	7/53	W/U	16	285	313	74	362	447	-2	H
Nov 19, 2017	SAS	25-21	W	-3/52	W/U	56	257	322	102	186	330	-2	H
Nov 4, 2017	BC	40-13	W	-2/52	W/O	155	343	498	37	153	205	-4	A
Oct 21, 2017	WIN	29-28	W	-3/55.5	L/O	149	407	572	35	268	303	2	H
Oct 14, 2017	EDM	27-30	L	7/54	W/O	45	347	409	138	294	447	0	A

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Nov 19, 2017	TOR	21-25	L	3/52	L/U	102	186	330	56	257	322	2	A
Nov 12, 2017	OTT	31-20	W	2.5/51.5	W/U	212	252	464	58	442	515	-2	A
Nov 4, 2017	EDM	13-28	L	-3.5/52.5	L/U	93	202	318	99	294	393	1	H
Oct 27, 2017	MON	37-12	W	-16.5/51	W/U	185	221	413	58	160	231	1	H
Oct 20, 2017	CAL	30-7	W	10/50.5	W/U	150	135	302	45	128	185	-1	A

Next up:
Toronto home to Calgary Saturday, June 23
Saskatchewan at Ottawa Thursday, June 21

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