CFL finals odds and picks: Expert best bets for Winnipeg vs. Montreal, BC vs. Edmonton

The race for the 2026 Grey Cup is down to four teams, with the CFL's Eastern and Western Finals both scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7. SportsLine expert Emory Hunt has analyzed the two matchups and provided his best bets for each contest.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers reached the Eastern Final by defeating the Toronto Argonauts, setting up a meeting with the Montreal Alouettes. In the West, the BC Lions will take on the Edmonton Elks after knocking off the reigning champion Saskatchewan Roughriders in the semifinal round.

Hunt brings a lengthy football background to his analysis. Born and raised in New Orleans, he played running back at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and coached high school football before starting Football Gameplan, an in-depth analysis site. Over the past three seasons he has gone 132-111-2 on NFL bets, and he is 44-38 on CFL spread picks this season.

For Saturday's finals, Hunt is backing Montreal as an 8.5-point favorite against Winnipeg and BC as a 1.5-point favorite against Edmonton.

In the Eastern Final, Hunt views the Alouettes as the league's standard bearer, noting that Montreal has looked like the best team in the CFL throughout the season and managed the latter part of the regular season extremely well. "Balance is the key in the postseason, and I believe the Alouettes have enough offensive balance to withstand one of their offensive elements being taken away," he said. He added that if Montreal stops Winnipeg's ground game, he does not feel the Bombers have the passing game necessary to keep up.

The Western Final presents a different picture in his assessment. Hunt said the Lions were red hot heading into the postseason and looked the part in their win over Saskatchewan, showing the grit to fight back from a deficit. The concern, in his view, is that BC expended a great deal of energy in that opening game, a factor that could play in favor of the well-rested Elks.

Hunt pointed out that the season series between BC and Edmonton has featured tight games, and he expects this meeting to be lower scoring and come down to the wire. Even while siding with the Lions against the spread, he made clear the threat posed by the underdog: "I strongly feel the magical season for Edmonton continues for another week."

The winners of Saturday's games will move on to compete for the 2026 Grey Cup.