The answer to the question CFL fans love to ask is almost here. Is it June yet? In one day, it will be.
With that in mind, those who enjoy placing a few bucks on CFL futures bets are looking at the different odds online. These days, you can bet on almost everything from individual players to teams.
One of the most interesting lines every year is how many games the oddsmakers think teams will win. What makes the CFL fun when it comes to these kinds of bets is that success or failure isn’t as easy to predict as it is in other sports. You can always count on one team to be worse than expectations and one to be more successful.
In 2023, there’s no question it was the Montreal Alouettes who surprised everyone in a good way, while you could point to a few underachieving teams such as the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Ticats.
Ahead of the 2024 season, most oddsmakers have the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ win total at . Generally speaking, the number crunchers expect the Riders to improve upon last year’s 6-12 record, but not by much.
Is that fair? Perhaps. While there are plenty of reasons for optimism in Riderville with a new head coach, a new roster, and a new approach, sometimes it takes time for a new way of doing things to come together. A slow start to the season isn’t entirely out of the question.
I think fans will be okay with that too. After the last two seasons, Rider Nation is looking to see how this team finishes not how they start. That’s all that matters in the CFL when six of nine teams make the playoffs, keep yourself in the mix through the first half of the year and anything can happen.
With that in mind, here’s how I think the season could play out for the Riders in 2024.
Week 1 @ Edmonton – Win
Week 2 @ Hamilton – Loss
Week 3 vs Hamilton – Win
Week 5 vs Toronto – Win
Week 6 @ B.C. – Loss
Week 7 vs Winnipeg – Loss
Week 8 @ Montreal – Loss
Week 9 vs Edmonton – Win
Week 10 @ Ottawa – Loss
Week 11 vs Montreal – Win
Week 12 @ Toronto – Win
Week 13 vs Winnipeg – Win
Week 14 @ Winnipeg – Loss
Week 15 @ Calgary – Loss
Week 17 vs Ottawa – Win
Week 18 @ Edmonton – Win
Week 19 vs B.C. – Loss
Week 21 vs Calgary – Win
If my math is correct, that gives the Riders 10 wins on the season. A few things certainly could break one way or the other, but I do think betting the over is a fairly sound play.
As bad as the Riders were the last two seasons, they still managed to win 6 games in each campaign. Surely the changes they’ve made are worth at least two more wins, right?
