The Ottawa Redblacks spent 17 weeks experimenting with different ways to lose a football game.
Now it’s time they find a way to win one or risk becoming the first 0-18 team in CFL history.
The Redblacks host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats tonight in a game some of us have had circled on their schedule since FanDuel introduced a market for Ottawa’s first regular season win back in late August.
I locked in the Redblacks to go 0-18 at +1500 at FanDuel.
I also played Ottawa’s first regular season win to come against the Tiger-Cats in their final game on October 24th at +2500, knowing that if they got that far I’d be in the unique position of cheering for the Redblacks in Week 21 after fading them all season.
Now comes the complicated part.
A home date versus Hamilton is the softest landing spot remaining on Ottawa’s schedule, which includes a trip to face the BC Lions in Week 19, a home game versus the Toronto Argonauts in Week 20, and the rematch with the TiCats on the road in Week 21 to wrap up the season.
With 0-18 at +1500 and their first win at Hamilton in Week 21 at +2500 in-pocket, what’s the best approach I can take the rest of the way to lock in a profit?
Let’s dive into the numbers and lock in a bet for Friday Night Football in this Morning Coffee column for Friday October 2nd, 2026.
Can Redblacks Secure First Win Of The Season On Friday Night Football?
The best bet in the CFL this season was to fade Ottawa.
It’s easy to forget now, but FanDuel set the Redblacks regular season win total at over/under 7.5 back in May.
It’s wild to think that somebody, somewhere in Ontario bet Ottawa over 7.5 regular season wins at FanDuel.
14 straight losses later, the Redblacks are looking to avoid becoming the first team in CFL history to finish 0-18.
There is a version of this story where Ottawa wins two of its final four games and is ultimately remembered as a bad team that suffered some terrible beats along the way but found a way to salvage a couple of victories.
If the Redblacks find a way to win tonight, it will be easy to forget they didn’t cover the spread in a single game from July 31st through August 30th.
Ottawa certainly came close to getting on the board with walk-off losses to the Argonauts and Calgary Stampeders in September.
After an ugly 45-31 loss in the home rematch against the Stampeders last week, there isn’t much room for error.
Hamilton has lost five straight games to fall to 4-11.
Last week’s 37-35 loss to the Edmonton Elks in overtime marked the first time the TiCats covered the spread in a game since an upset win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders back in Week 11.
The bad news for those of us that faded Ottawa is that Hamilton isn’t a playoff contender any longer.
Ideally, the TiCats would have had more than pride to play for tonight in the nation’s capital.
Instead, Hamilton has a roster full of players fighting for their jobs beyond this season, knowing that injuries severely limited this team’s potential in the East Division.
For the Redblacks, McLeod Bethel-Thompson has already delivered some impressive performances in September.
There must be a sense of belief within their building that if they approach tonight’s game with the same urgency they did in narrow losses to Toronto and Calgary they have a good chance to end the drought.
Bethel-Thompson will face a tough test against a decent Hamilton secondary tonight.
While all eyes will be on MBT, Ottawa’s defence will also need to step up after allowing an average of 42.5 points per game in the back-to-back losses to the Stampeders.
For the first time this season, the Redblacks are the slight betting favourite at -113 to win outright.
Ottawa to go 0-18 is down to +430 at FanDuel.
As somebody with 0-18 at +1500 and a Week 21 win over Hamilton at +2500 in-pocket, I have no choice but to roll the dice on the Redblacks to win tonight to guarantee a small profit.
I’ll bet Ottawa to win outright at -113 odds at FanDuel.
Let’s see if the Redblacks can end the drought with a win over the Tiger-Cats on CFL Friday Night Football.
Have a great day, everyone!
