Shawn Bane Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. (Photo by Brent Just/Getty Images)

CFL best bets: Riding with the hot hands

By John Dudley | Last updated 8/11/23

Before the season started, this Friday night matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes held a lot of intrigue. The respective starting quarterbacks, Trevor Harris and Cody Fajardo, would each be trying to beat the team for which they played last year. But since Harris has been sidelined by a tibial fracture and Fajardo is considered a game-time decision with a shoulder injury, our attention has turned to one of the game’s prime targets for the prop to pop:

The bet: Over 62½ receiving yards for Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Shawn Bane (DraftKings)

A lightly-used player on the Calgary Stampeders for his first two seasons, Bane caught just 24 passes but turned them into 388 yards — a robust average of 16.2. This year, he has become a bona fide star, leading the league in both receptions (47) and receiving yards (615).

The change at quarterback has undeniably increased the productivity of the Riders’ new No.1 receiver. Over the three games that Mason Fine has started under center, Bane is averaging better than 100 yards per contest and has seen at least nine targets in each. He has also scored touchdowns in the last two.

This game figures to stay competitive throughout, with both teams looking to earn their fifth victory of the season. The Alouettes are allowing 257 passing yards per game, which is right in the middle among the CFL’s nine teams, so Bane just needs to get a quarter of that total to make us winners.

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