CFL Picks and Parlays 08/08: Edmonton Elks vs. Montreal Alouettes

The Alouettes look for a little revenge on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Elks, who handed them their only loss of the season in Week 3.

Montreal is in first place at 7-1 in the East Division, and Edmonton is atop the West Division at 6-2. In this CFL picks and parlays article, we will give you game info, our top pick, and a value parlay.

The Week 3 game was a thriller with Edmonton beating Montreal 32-29 in overtime.

The best Canadian sportsbooks have the Alouettes as 3.5-point favorites with a total of 58.5.

Elks Look to Get Back in Win Column 

The Elks are coming off their second loss of the season in their last game, falling to the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-26.

Cody Fajardo passed for 286 yards with a touchdown, and four players had at least 46 receiving yards. He did not get much help from the run game, as Edmonton only rushed for 55 yards with Justin Rankin leading the way with 28 yards on eight carries.

Rankin has struggled as of late, and after rushing for over 100 yards in four of the first five games, he has only averaged 25.3 yards over the last three games.

Montreal Stays Hot with Another Win 

Montreal won their fifth game in a row in their last game in a 34-13 rout over the winless Ottawa RedBlacks. Davis Alexander had a huge game passing for 420 yards with three TDs and no picks, and Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead had 184 receiving yards and 174 receiving yards, respectively. Travis Theis led the way with 62 yards on nine carries with a TD.

Alexander leads the CFL with 2,788 yards and has passed for over 400 yards in two of the last three games. Philpot (1,023 yards) and Snead (794 yards) rank first and second in the league in receiving yards.

Fajardo ranks third in the league in passing yards (2,577 yards), and the former Montreal QB has eight TDs and no picks over the last four games.

Matchup of the Top Two Defenses 

This big game is a matchup of two of the top defenses in the CFL. The Elks rank first in fewest points allowed (24.9 ppg) and opponents’ yards per play (6.3), and the Alouettes rank second in those categories at 25.6 ppg and 6.8 yards per play.

On top of being the top two defenses, Edmonton leads the CFL with 23 forced turnovers while Montreal ranks second with 18.

Perfect at Home 

Montreal is a perfect 4-0 at home this season, and dating back to last season, they have won six straight games at home. However, while they beat Edmonton on the road last season, they lost to them at home 23-22 in Week 10.

CFL Pick: Alouettes Spread -3.5 (-120)

The Alouettes are the hotter team and are at home, and even facing the league’s top defense, they will remain hot.

The Elks have struggled to run the ball in the last two games, and after leading the league in rushing yards per game after Week 6, they now rank fifth in that category.

Montreal will have the better all-around game, get their revenge for the loss to Edmonton in Week 3, and hand the Elks their second loss in a row.

CFL Parlay for Elks vs. Alouettes

Here is a three-leg same-game parlay with good value at Sports Interaction.

• Justin Rankin Under 85.5 yards (-120) – Rankin has only averaged 25.3 rushing yards over the last three games.
• Tyson Philpot Over 95.5 receiving yards (-115) – Philpot has at least120 receiving yards in five of eight games this season and had 120 in the earlier season loss to the Elks.
• Cody Fajardo Over 277.5 passing yards (-115) – Fajardo has passed for at least 286 yards in each of the last five games, and with Edmonton’s struggles in the run game lately, he will air it out often.

This parlay has total odds of +541, so a successful $100 bet would pay out $641 with $541 of profit.