The Saskatchewan Roughriders have opened as heavy favourites over the Edmonton Elks this week despite the winless visitors possibly making a quarterback change.
The Elks lost a seventh consecutive game on Sunday night, falling to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a score of 44-28. McLeod Bethel-Thompson managed only 85 passing yards in a little over three quarters of work but the offence immediately caught fire after Tre Ford took over the controls for the final 10 minutes of action.
Ford completed 10-of-15 pass attempts for 121 yards and three touchdowns in limited action, throwing scores to Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Gavin Cobb, and Eugene Lewis. He also carried the ball three times for 19 yards.
The native of Niagara Falls, Ont. made 10 starts for the Elks last season, posting a 4-6 record. The Elks are 0-7 with Bethel-Thompson at the helm thus far in 2024.
Though it remains unclear who will start for Edmonton, it seems safe to speculate that the Roughriders will have to prepare to defend Ford in some capacity. The club’s defence was excellent against Caleb Evans this past week in Montreal, limiting him to 91 passing yards in the first half, but struggled against Davis Alexander, allowing 178 yards and two touchdown passes in a 20-16 loss at Percival Molson Stadium.
Shea Patterson threw for 222 yards in the defeat, while Frankie Hickson ran for 117 yards and one touchdown in place of an injured A.J. Ouellette. The Riders are 2-2 this season with Patterson at the helm while franchise quarterback Trevor Harris continues to recover from an MCL injury.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-2) will host the Edmonton Elks (0-7) on Saturday, Aug. 3 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The rest of the lines for Week 9 in the CFL are as follows.
