Grey Cup 112 Preview: Saskatchewan looks to end a decade-long drought, while Montreal will aim to cement a dynasty.

After 21 weeks of regular-season CFL action and 2 rounds of playoff football, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes will face off in Winnipeg for the right to be named Grey Cup Champions. 

(Image Credit to the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Before the season started, my projected Grey Cup matchup was Saskatchewan vs Toronto. 

While I got half of that matchup right, courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders advancing out of the dogfight that was the West Division, the Toronto Argonauts never delivered on my early-season optimism. Instead, the Montreal Alouettes will be representing an East Division that has won each of the last three Grey Cup games. 

The last time these two teams played in the Grey Cup was in 2010, when the Montreal Alouettes beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their second straight Grey Cup matchup. In their first Grey Cup appearance since 2013, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be looking to win their first Grey Cup since that 2013 season, when they beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 to win their fourth Grey Cup title. 

Meanwhile, the Montreal Alouettes will be playing in their second Grey Cup game in three seasons; their first saw them upset the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 to win their first Grey Cup since 2010. With the Alouettes having appeared in each of the last four East Final games, in addition to an East Division first place back in 2024, a win over Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup would all but solidify this Alouettes team as a dynasty.

To start this Grey Cup preview, let’s take a look at how each of these teams got to this point. 

How they got here- For Saskatchewan, simply put, everything clicked. Meanwhile, Montreal is enjoying the strongest form in the league, something eerily similar to their 2023 run. 

If one were to think about the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2020s, a few things would come to mind. 

Falling short against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Twice.

Two straight 6-12 seasons in 2022 and 2023. 

After a good 2024, it was clear that Saskatchewan would have to get over the hump in 2025 or else risk losing out on the last little bit of quarterback Trevor Harris’ illustrious CFL career. 

And get over the hump they did. Despite a 2-4 late-season slump, a 10-2 start, which included two wins over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was more than enough to power Saskatchewan to a sizable division lead and later a division title. While the defence took time to gel, it looked incredibly dangerous once it did. 

Offensively, it couldn’t be any more of a success story for the Riders. Quarterback Trevor Harris finished third in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns, while running back A.J. Ouellette was second-best in rushing yards and hauled in 8 rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver KeeSean Johnson, who earned just shy of 1200 receiving yards on the season, might be a question mark for this Grey Cup game but Dohnte Meyers, who caught eight touchdowns this CFL season, should provide a decent depth option for Saskatchewan. 

For Montreal, getting to the Grey Cup was a much different story. Despite a 3-0 start to the season, an injury to quarterback Davis Alexander led to the Alouettes losing seven of their next nine games, putting them at 5-7 coming out of Labour Day. The Alouettes would win five of their last six games to get back on track heading into the playoffs, which saw them knock off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats en route to a Grey Cup berth. 

We all know about the success story of Davis Alexander, who is now 13-0 as a starting quarterback in the CFL. A Grey Cup win would certainly cap off a legendary first season as the full-time starter, but let’s not leave the rest of this Alouettes team in the dust. Wide receiver Tyson Philpot is one of the more notable players; not only was he on the 2023 Grey Cup-winning roster, but he also caught the Grey Cup-winning touchdown pass from then-Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo. Austin Mack was also on that 2023 Grey Cup roster, while Tyler Snead’s involvement in the Alouettes offence has only increased since his appearance in the 2023 Grey Cup.

Summarising the regular season matchups: Saskatchewan has been a fire-at-will team against Montreal; defensively, they must be incredibly wary.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes played each other twice during the 2025 CFL season. 

The first matchup, which took place back in Week 9, saw the Saskatchewan Roughriders completely dominate the Montreal Alouettes; a 34-6 win at Percival Molson Stadium can be seen as one of the Riders’ best efforts of the season. 

In that game, quarterback Trevor Harris threw for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns, while Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson both had over 60 receiving yards in the game; the latter caught one of Trevor Harris’ two touchdown passes. 

The second matchup saw the Montreal Alouettes beat the Roughriders 48-31 at Mosaic Stadium. While the Saskatchewan offence didn’t exactly fare worse than in the Week 9 matchup, the defensive showing was nothing to write home about. Alouettes quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was playing in relief of Davis Alexander, threw for well over 350 passing yards and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Tyson Philpot had well over 200 receiving yards and two of Bethel-Thompson’s three passing touchdowns. 

That said, the Roughriders have not had any gameplay experience against Davis Alexander this year. If Davis Alexander can acclimate himself to the big game atmosphere, that lack of familiarity could shift the advantage towards Montreal. 

Montreal X-Factors:

The receiving corps:

The Alouettes receiving corps has been make-or-break for Montreal in both of the regular-season matchups with Saskatchewan. In the Week 9 matchup, the Saskatchewan pass defence was able to hold Montreal to just about 150 passing yards; this was a big part in Saskatchewan’s 34-6 win that week. 

In Week 15, it seemed that the passing game completely clicked and, in doing so, Montreal was able to find a way to pick apart the Saskatchewan defence. 

If the likes of Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead can lead the way, with others such as Cole Spieker and even former BC Lion Alexander Hollins stepping up in a depth role, Montreal should be able to put up a strong offensive performance in the Grey Cup.

The defensive line

While Montreal may hold the slight edge in the wide receiver room, the advantage in the run game arguably belongs to Saskatchewan. Say what you will about Montreal running backs Sean Thomas-Erlington and Travis Theis, but Riders running back A.J. Ouellette has arguably been one of the best offensive playmakers this season. 

That said, Montreal’s defensive line has been steady throughout the Grey Cup Playoffs thus far. It held Winnipeg’s running game, one that employs a certain Brady Oliveira, to under 50 rushing yards in the East Semi. While it also gave up 6.6 yards per carry to Tiger-Cats running back Greg Bell, the defensive line did hold him to under 75 rushing yards while also forcing Hamilton to try and win the game through the air. 

Against one of the league’s top running backs, Montreal’s run game will once again need to be ready. The first matchup of the season saw Montreal hold A.J. Ouellette to under 70 rushing yards, while the second saw Montreal cave a little, giving up 90 rushing yards and a touchdown. If the defensive line can limit the damage inflicted by Saskatchewan’s run game, there is a good chance the Roughriders will have to try and win this game against a Montreal secondary and pass rush that is more than capable of wrecking an offensive game plan. 

Saskatchewan X-Factors:

A.J. Ouellette

With well over 1,200 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to his name, A.J. Ouellette is set to play a major role in deciding which way the Grey Cup goes. 

While Trevor Harris is certainly a capable passer and arguably the better quarterback in this Grey Cup matchup, the Alouettes have the tools to stop him; defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund has been a wrecking ball for the Alouettes defence.  

If Saskatchewan is going to take the pass rush out of the equation as much as possible, they will need to get the run game going and quickly. That could also determine the Riders’ chances at winning this game; consistently getting into second-and-favourable situations after a decent rush would be more favourable than not pounding the ball with A.J Ouellette early and consistently getting into second-and-long. 

The secondary 

Throughout the season, the Roughriders’ secondary has consistently been torched. While much of that comes down to the team’s injury situation, they’ve also let quarterbacks like Vernon Adams Jr and even Nathan Rourke in the West Final pick them apart and gain crucial yardage. 

And if you’re letting McLeod Bethel-Thompson pick you apart, just thinking about what Davis Alexander could do if he gets the chance isn’t pretty to say the least. 

With the likes of CJ Reavis looking to shake off injury designations, whether they can carry a beleaguered Roughrider secondary throughout Sunday’s Grey Cup game is going to play a crucial role in deciding this game. 

Final prediction:

Upon watching the division semi-finals, I gave the slight advantage to Montreal. Even against a strong Tiger-Cats offence, one that bears some similarity to this Roughriders team, the Alouettes defence held strong and kept Bo Levi Mitchell and Co. to just sixteen points. 

Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, it’s way closer to a 50-50 matchup than it is an Alouettes’ advantage. A.J. Ouellette looked unstoppable against the B.C. Lions in the West Final; if Montreal can’t find a way to contain the Riders’ lead running back, it could very well be a long day for the Alouettes defence. On the other hand, the Alouettes hold a slight advantage in the passing game; should KeeSean Johnson and others be at 100% heading into the game, this matchup could easily become a toss-up. 

The momentum provided by the Alouettes’ recent winning run and Davis Alexander’s undefeated start to his CFL career could easily be what pushes Montreal over the top. But with the Alouettes quarterback playing in his first Grey Cup, whereas Trevor Harris is playing in his fourth championship game and his second as a starter, the famous idiom “all good things must come to an end” could end up coming into play. 

While one will understandably consider the relatively even matchups across the field, if it does become a matter of quarterback play, then the edge arguably belongs to Saskatchewan. 

With all of the above said, I am going to take the Saskatchewan Roughriders to pull away late and win their first Grey Cup since 2013, while potentially sending Trevor Harris into retirement on top of the CFL. 

The pick: Saskatchewan Roughriders 30, Montreal Alouettes 20

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Article written by Noah Guttman © Noah Guttman 2025