The 111th Grey Cup is finally upon us as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts get set to clash at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, today, Sunday, November 17 at 3 pm local time, 6 pm Eastern and 12 midnight CET.
The Bombers finished first in the West earning a bye into the Western Final where they defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 38-22 last weekend. In that game, Winnipeg took a 24-9 halftime lead and then cruised for the win.
The Argos were second place finishers in the East and had to face the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the Eastern semifinal but disposed of them behind a strong second half which saw them outscore Ottawa 38-15. Toronto then traveled to Montreal to play the Alouettes where they found themselves leading 27-16 after three quarters only to watch as Montreal staged a comeback. A field goal early in the final stanza boosted the Toronto lead to 30-22 but the Alouettes then scored with under two minutes left to close the gap to 30-28. A two-point conversion would have tied the game but Toronto cornerback Benjie Franklin picked off an errant Montreal pass in the end zone to seal the win.
Watch the 111th Grey Cup live here. Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Toronto Argonauts, Nov. 18, 00:00 CET (12 midnight, 6 pm ET)
The last time the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts met in the the championship game was 2022 with the Argonauts edging Winnipeg 24-23. In fact, these two teams have faced each other a total of seven times in the Grey Cup and the Argonauts have won all seven. This year , the Argonauts had the edge in the regular season beating Winnipeg in both games they played, 16-14 and 14-11.
Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was the second leading passer in the CFL this season throwing for 4.336 and 17 touchdowns in the 18 games but was picked off 15 times. His favorite targets have been Nic Demski (1,030 yards/6 TDs) and Ontaria Wilson (1,026 yards/3 TDs). However the Winnipeg run game is special. Brady Olveira, voted both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian, racked up 1,353 yards rushing in 17 games scoring three touchdowns along the way.
The Winnipeg defense was far and away the best in the league allowing just over 20 points a game.
For Toronto, the quarterback situation is slightly different as starter Chad Kelly was injured late in the third quarter of the Eastern Final and could not finish. Nick Arbuckle took over and finished the game and will start in the Grey Cup. He played in a handful of games this year throwing for 799 yards and three scores. The Argonauts top receiver is Makai Polk with 61 catches for 1,024 yards. Toronto’s ground game relies on Ka’Deem Carey who finished third in the CFL after rushing for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns.
While the Argonauts were fifth in points scored against surrendering an average of 26.6, they were second best against the rush allowing just 85.1 rushing yards a game. This game could well be decided in the trenches with Olveira battling the Argos front seven.
The Bombers enter the game as the favorites after winning nine of the last 10 games. With Toronto missing their starting quarterback, the odds are definitely against them. But then again, it seems that every time Winnipeg plays in the Grey Cup they are the favorites. This will be their fifth straight appearance in the title game but they haven’t won since 2021. Is this the year they break that trend?