
On Saturday, the Edmonton Elks (0-1) travel to BC Place Stadium, where they’ll face off against the BC Lions (1-0). The Elks is expected to start QB Taylor Cornelius, while Vernon Adams will be under center for the Lions. The total for this match-up stands at 45.5 points, with odds for this contest favoring BC by 6 points.
At their first game of the season against the Stampeders, the Lions defeated them 25-15. Taquan Mizzell led his team on the ground totalling 81 yards from 12 carries which averaged 6.8 yards per carry; Dominique Rhymes led in receiving yardage with 109 on eight catches at 13.6 average yards per catch average; Vernon Adams completed 27/35 passes and 288 yards through the air while adding two touchdowns while throwing only one interception in total on that day!
Regarding scoring ability, the Lions were third in the CFL with an average of 29.2 PPG last season. They averaged an impressive 286.8 passing yards per contest, leading them to first place overall in CFL competition. On the ground, they averaged 99.7 yards per game while totalling 1,794 total yards; they also held onto first place overall when it came to total yards/game averaged by BC Lions, which placed them third overall in CFL action.
BC allowed 1,694 rushing yards (94.1 yards per game) and 13 touchdowns during last season, totaling 405 points in total; 236.9 yards per game (2nd best in CFL); 23 touchdown passes through their passing game with 23 touchdowns being passed en route; while giving up 22.5 PPG (3rd best).
Elks dropped their first contest of the new season against the Roughriders by a score of 17-13. Taylor Cornelius completed 13/25 throws for 202 yards with one touchdown throw while throwing two interceptions during that matchup. Kevin Brown led in rushing yards that game; with one long run of 24 yards but was unable to rush for any scores during play; he averaged an impressive 5.0 yards per tote average on 11 carries which led him to 59 total yards gained; Eugene Lewis led receiving yardage, collecting 148 yards on five catches for an impressive average 29.6 average per catch average for that matchup.
The Edmonton Elks amassed 1,844 total yards during 2022, ranking third in the CFL in terms of average yards rushing per game at 102.4, scoring 15 passing touchdowns and 18 rushing ones as well as an average scoring point total of 19.7 per game.
The Elks were ranked 9th in the CFL for team defense, surrendering 33.3 PPG. Their defense allowed an average of 5.3 yards per tote and 119.1 rushing yards per contest in 2022. Overall they conceded 2,143 yards on the ground game across 18 games last year while giving up 4,408 passing yards (3rd overall in CFL) as well as 31 touchdowns via airplay and 31 ground game touchdowns combined, ranking them 6th out of 13 CFL clubs in terms of giving up 33.3 PPG overall in 2022.
The Lions are, at worst, the second team in the CFL, and while the Elks look to be improved from last year, there is still a significant talent gap between these two teams. I look for the Lions to cover this spread easily.
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