Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The CFL playoffs are here as six teams remain in the hunt for the 2025 Grey Cup.
In the West, the Calgary Stampeders visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday in the Western semifinal with the winner advancing to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Nov. 8 while the crossover Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern semifinal for the right to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East final.
With that in mind, which two teams would make for the best Grey Cup game on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg?
Let’s rank the nine potential matchups:
1. Saskatchewan vs. Winnipeg
Arguably the CFL’s biggest rivalry is easy to put at the top of the list. And with the Grey Cup being in Winnipeg, a West-division city, it adds to the intrigue that the Blue Bombers would be considered the visitors after earning an Eastern crossover spot. Saskatchewan has lost to Winnipeg in the West final three times since 2019. Could they beat them in the Grey Cup, which would be the first championship battle since 2007? Even though there’s fatigue of seeing Winnipeg in the Grey Cup, outside of Manitoba anyway, this matchup would be exciting.
2. Calgary vs. Hamilton
Pitting Tiger-Cats veteran quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell against the team he spent 10 seasons with? That matchup alone makes for a great storyline. The Stampeders and Tiger-Cats last met in the 2014 Grey Cup, but Calgary won both regular season meetings this year in two games that combined for 121 points.
3. Saskatchewan vs. Hamilton
How about a rematch of the 2013 Grey Cup? It certainly wouldn’t be as electric considering the game is being played in Winnipeg but this matchup is maybe the most likely scenario considering Saskatchewan and Hamilton both finished first in their respective divisions. And it would be a veteran quarterback matchup as Mitchell takes on Roughriders veteran Trevor Harris, who is hoping to win a Grey Cup as a starter after two as a backup.
4. B.C. vs. Montreal
Unlike the Roughriders vs. Tiger-Cats storyline, the Lions vs. Alouettes would feature two quarterbacks on the rise in Montreal’s Davis Alexander and B.C.’s Nathan Rourke. Given how well these two teams are both playing, this could also be a likely scenario which would be their first Grey Cup meeting since 2006, which was also in Winnipeg.
5. Saskatchewan vs. Montreal
The Roughriders and Alouettes last met in the Grey Cup in 2010, which was a rematch of the 2009 championship game. While Montreal won both of those titles, without reminding everyone of what happened in 2009, it’s been too long to avenge for those losses. However, this matchup provides some intrigue in the quarterback matchup with the veteran Harris pitted against the up-and-comer Alexander. Plus, this battle would feature two of the top defences in the league.
6. B.C. vs. Hamilton
A matchup of the two front-runners for the CFL’s most outstanding player award in Rourke and Mitchell? That would make for another great quarterback battle to watch on Nov. 16. And it would be the first time since 1985 that the two teams — who have the longest Grey Cup droughts (B.C. last won in 2011; Hamilton in 1999) — would meet in the championship game.
7. B.C. vs. Winnipeg
Can Winnipeg get to a sixth straight Grey Cup? That would be a storyline in itself. Plus, the Bombers would be the first crossover team to make it to the championship game if this played out. Add in the fact that the Grey Cup is being played in Winnipeg, and it would make for quite the party in the Manitoba capital. Or would it be spoiled by Rourke and company in what would be B.C. and Winnipeg’s first Grey Cup meeting since 2011?
8. Calgary vs. Winnipeg
The Stampeders were 3-0 against the Bombers this season as the two teams met three times in the first 10 weeks of the season. However, they haven’t met since and while it’s certainly not near the top of the best possible matchups, it would still make for a good game which would mark the first time Grey Cup meeting between the two teams since 2001.
9. Calgary vs. Montreal
This matchup would see these two teams battle for the Grey Cup for the first time since 2008. Is there much intrigue with this matchup other than two strong defences going up against two strong quarterbacks in Alexander and Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr.?
