A few teams look to rise in the CFL standings with the playoffs quickly approaching.
This week’s CFL narrative: The BC Lions are rolling currently and can hand the Calgary Stampeders their fourth straight loss while jumping them in the West Division. In the East, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats look to hold a firm grasp on the top spot against the Toronto Argonauts.
Check out the latest CFL Week 18 predictions for the games beginning Friday, Oct. 3.
CFL Week 18 predictions
Best bet: Lions -4.5 (-110)
One team is trending up while the other is in a major downward spiral.
- The Lions are on a 3-0 run, covering this spread in every game during their streak.
- BC has seemingly figured out its defence, allowing 27 or fewer points in all those wins.
- Calgary is on a three-game losing streak with a -59 point differential during the drought.
One of those losses was a 52-23 clobbering at the hands of the Lions in Week 16.
The Stampeders can’t stop anything on defence right now. They’ve allowed over 40.0 PPG during their losing streak.
If BC’s defence can even be average, Nathan Rourke and the offence should do enough to comfortably win this game.
Key stat: Rourke has an average passer rating of 116.0 during his team’s current win streak.
CFL Week 18 picks
Tiger-Cats/Argonauts over 58 points (-110): The Argonauts are one of the most exciting teams in the CFL because of their high-scoring games.
- Toronto has the second-best scoring offence (29.1 points per game), while allowing the most points against (31.0 PPG)
- Hamilton isn’t far behind in either category, scoring 28.2 PPG and allowing 27.7.
- When these two met in Week 13, they smashed the over on the total. The game finished with 68 points.
There isn’t a good reason to expect any different in the rematch. Their first meeting ended with even more scoring. Hamilton won in Week 5, 51-38.
Quarterback Nick Arbuckle struggled in the early going but has led Toronto to plenty of shootouts. The over on this total is 3-2 in the Argos’ last five games.
And the Tiger-Cats provide the right matchup for this game to have some fireworks. Expect another high-scoring contest between rivals in Week 18.
CFL betting odds and matchups: Oct. 3
Roughriders (-200) vs. Redblacks (+163)
Friday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Saskatchewan has lost back-to-back games but still holds the best record in the CFL (10-4). The Roughriders still need to turn things around and have a prime opportunity to do so against Ottawa on Saturday. The Redblacks have a CFL-worst four wins with the worst point differential of any team (-62).
CFL Week 18 predictions as of 11:50 a.m. on 10/01/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.