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Morning Coffee: Alexander sets sights on CFL record in Alouettes return
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The Grey Cup favourite is the Montreal Alouettes.
That’s not my opinion – it’s a fact.
Montreal is +230 to win the Grey Cup at FanDuel.
No other team is shorter than +380 to win it all.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Alouettes are the best team in the CFL right now.
I’m certain a case can be made for any one of the three West Division teams that are right behind the Alouettes in FanDuel’s Grey Cup winner market this morning.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Calgary Stampeders are a combined 11-3 straight up and against the spread this season.
Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Calgary round out the top four choices to win the Grey Cup behind Montreal.
The fact that all three of those teams play in the same division should certainly help the Alouettes chances.
Then there’s the fifth team in FanDuel’s Grey Cup market.
The Toronto Argonauts entered Week 1 as a co-favourite to win the Grey Cup at FanDuel with the Bombers.
However, a 1-4 start has left Toronto just a half-game up on the Ottawa Redblacks for the CFL’s worst record.
As if things aren’t bad enough already, this week’s road trip to Montreal will happen at the exact same time that Davis Alexander and Austin Mack are set to return.
The Alouettes haven’t lost with Alexander at quarterback.
That’s why tonight’s game has featured the biggest line move that we’ve seen this CFL season at FanDuel.
This is Morning Coffee for Thursday July 17th, 2025.
Alexander Sets Sights On CFL Record In Alouettes Return
The Alouettes opened -4.5 at FanDuel for tonight’s Week 7 opener against the visiting Argonauts.
That number has already moved to Montreal -10.5.
At first glance, it might seem a bit strange that the biggest line move this season has shifted in favour of an Alouettes team that limped into its bye week on the heels of back-to-back losses to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the BC Lions.
The flip side of that coin is the extra week of preparation and the return of an MOP candidate at quarterback for a Montreal side that won the first meeting between these teams 28-10 back in Week 1.
Alexander can match the CFL record set by Danny McManus with an eighth straight victory to start his Canadian career tonight.
The 26-year-old Alouettes QB is 3-0 this season and 7-0 through his first seven CFL starts.
Picking up where he left off last season, Alexander has thrown for 803 yards and five touchdowns with a 75.6 per cent completion rate through three starts.
Montreal averaged 35.0 points per game in Alexander’s first three starts of the season and that number could have been higher if he didn’t exit a Week 3 win over the Edmonton Elks at the half.
Alexander will also have a full complement of receivers available with Mack set to return from injury to join Tyson Philpot, Charleston Rambo, Tyler Snead, and Cole Spieker.
The Alouettes passing attack will test a Toronto defence that allowed Bo Levi Mitchell to throw for 332 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-38 win for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back in Week 5.
Mitchell is the current MOP co-favourite along with Vernon Adams Jr. at +380 at FanDuel.
Alexander and Nathan Rourke next on the list at +600.
Back at full strength and with an extra week to prepare, it makes sense that tonight’s spread has climbed all the way from Alouettes -4.5 to -10.5 at FanDuel.
The Argonauts are also coming off a bye week, but they’re 1-4 and won’t have their star quarterback in the lineup again this week as Chad Kelly continues to work his way back from the leg injury he suffered in last year’s Eastern Final.
Nick Arbuckle, who stepped up in place of the injured Kelly and led Toronto to a Grey Cup win, has struggled as a starter early on with the same number of interceptions (7) as touchdown passes this season.
The Alouettes defence has registered seven interceptions in five games.
Their ball-hawking secondary will look to capitalize on any mistakes that Arbuckle makes in tonight’s East Division showdown.
There are some who believe the Argonauts can still turn their season around once Kelly returns, which is why they remain the fifth choice to win the Grey Cup at FanDuel.
Maybe it happens, but I don’t think even anybody expects Toronto to pull off an upset tonight.
It will be interesting to see whether they can keep this game close enough to cover as a 10.5-point underdog.
I’m willing to bet on Alexander to improve to 8-0.
I also think he can put up some big numbers at home against an Argos defence that has struggled.
I’ll lock in Alexander to throw for 250+ yards and Montreal to win outright at -140 as a FanDuel Best Bet.
Remember, our CFL betting expert Aaron Korolnek will be back later today with the latest edition of AK’s Prop Shop.
Make sure you check back in for his FanDuel Best Bets later this afternoon.
The Alouettes are the Grey Cup favourite at FanDuel.
Let’s hope they live up to that billing tonight in Montreal.