Roughriders look to vanquish previous Grey Cup ghosts against undefeated Alexander, Alouettes

On June 5, 2025, the CFL season began with nine teams vying for the chance to compete in the 112th Grey Cup. 164 days later, two teams in the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes remain, both one win away from accomplishing that goal.

Watch the Alouettes and Roughriders battle LIVE Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET/ 3:00 p.m. PT across the TSN Network, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.

Sunday’s game will be the third time ever the pair of franchises have faced-off in the big dance, with Montreal taking down Saskatchewan in almost unbelievable fashion in back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010.

It was a devastating loss for the 10-7-1 Riders in 2009, who were oh so close to a herculean upset over the 15-3-0 Alouettes. Ultimately it came down to one kick, and then another. With five seconds remaining, Montreal’s Damon Duval entered the game to attempt a game-winning field goal on the final play of the game. Or so we thought.

Duval’s kick sailed right, but flags covered the field. Too many men. A Roughriders slogan, “the 13th man makes all the difference” referring to the team’s fans and their impact, now had connotations that were hard to believe.

2010’s loss for Saskatchewan wasn’t as devastating as the year previous, how could it? Down three with a minute left, the Riders were driving before an intended throwaway by Darian Durant was picked off, sealing Montreal’s back-to-back championship wins.

Now 15 years later, Saskatchewan looks to exact revenge against the same Alouettes, with one of their former pivots now leading the league-best Riders in Trevor Harris.

The 39-year-old and former Alouette has two Grey Cup’s to his name, but none as a starter. Sunday marks the former Alouette’s second attempt for a ring as a starter, after losing in 2018’s big dance as a member of the Ottawa Redblacks.

In 11 playoff games as a starter, Harris has a 5-6 record and has completed 71.1 per cent of his passes while averaging 335.3 passing yards to go with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

This season, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound pure pocket passer had an astounding season, leading the CFL in completion percentage (73.6 per cent) while putting up 4,549 yards (third), 24 touchdowns (fourth), and only 11 interceptions.

‘Today blew me away with how I felt’: Alexander says he reached ‘top speed’ on Friday Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander revealed that he was able to practice at the top speed he has reached since his hamstring injury. The QB also spoke about what a win on Sunday would mean for him and his team.

Surrounding him offensively are five West All-CFLers in 1,000-yard wideouts KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers, as well as three offensive linemen, including the league’s Most Outstanding Lineman in Jermarcus Hardrick in addition to Logan Ferland, and Jacob Brammer. The Riders could potentially be without one of those all-stars, however.

Johnson failed to play in the Riders’ dramatic 24-21 Western Final win over the BC Lions and is yet to practice this week while dealing with a knee injury. The 29-year-old was one of the best wideouts north of the border in 2025, making 86 grabs (third) for 1,159 yards (fourth) and four touchdowns as his impact would surely be missed.

As for Montreal’s offence, they are of course led by Davis Alexander, who has been the talk of the town.

If you aren’t aware of what Alexander has done to this point, he’s been as close as you can get to perfect. The 27-year-old pivot is yet to lose as a starter in the CFL, boasting a staggering 13-0 record to begin his career.

Alexander only played in seven games during the regular season, however, missing multiple stretches with a nagging hamstring injury, an ailment that re-appeared in Montreal’s Eastern Final win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Gig Harbor, Wash., native has stated constantly that there’s no chance he misses the biggest game of the year, however.

“Way better than expected,” Alexander told the media on Friday on how his hamstring was feeling. “People don’t believe me, I don’t really care. You’ll see Sunday.”

The fact is Montreal is a completely different team when their franchise pivot plays. With Alexander this season the Als are 9-0 while averaging nearly 15 more points and 115 more yards per game than in their 11 games (3-8) without him.

He and his offence are also looking to take down another legendary quarterback in Harris, after besting Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ pivot Zach Collaros in the semi-final and prevailing over Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell last week.

Like Harris, the 12-year younger Alexander has an elite offensive line in front of him featuring tackle Nick Callender, guard Pier-Olivier Lestage, and centre Justin Lawrence. Former 1,000-yard wideouts in Austin Mack and Tyler Snead are both fantastic in their roles as well, but Canadian Tyson Philpot might be the most important weapon for Alexander.

The Delta, B.C., native caught the winning touchdown for the Alouettes in the 2023 Grey Cup, claiming the games Most Valuable Canadian award in the process. He’s also a proven playoff performer, putting up 42 catches for 470 yards, four total touchdowns, and an 85.7 per cent catch rate in seven postseason games.

Whichever one of these pivots and offences can get going will be the key, as both of these teams feature truly elite defences with playmakers at all three levels.

Both defences like to mix up their pressures with various looks with excellent blitzers from the second level, while also being able to make you pay on the back end with rangy athletes and playmakers in the secondary. There could be a whole separate piece on how good these defences are with 10 divisional All-CFLers in this matchup.

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For Montreal, their unit has allowed the least number of yards per game (338.4), the least number of passing yards (256.9), the least number of big plays (32), and registered the most forced fumbles (17) and sacks (45), all while players were in and out of the lineup all season. That’s elite stuff.

The back seven is exceptional, as Darnell Sankey (208) and Tyrice Beverette (185) sit first and second in total tackles over the past two years, while safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, halfback Wesley Sutton, and corners Kabion Ento and Lorenzo Burns offer an exceptional combination of range, skill, and versatility.

‘Everybody gets the ball in this offence’: Depth a key weapon for Roughriders The Roughriders had their fair share of injuries this season but overcame them all to reach the Grey Cup, and now have a chance to win the franchise’s first title since 2013. Head coach Corey Mace and the Riders credit the team’s depth as a big reason for Saskatchewan’s success this season.

Saskatchewan’s unit is right behind Montreal’s, however, sitting as the second ranked defence. They are quite literally right behind them in all of Montreal’s league-leading statistical categories. The Riders allowed three more net offensive yards per game, one more total big play, and forced two less total fumbles and sacks.

Along the defensive line, tackle Micah Johnson is one of the best at defending the run while edge Malik Carney is one of the best at rushing the pass after leading the league in pressure rate (14.9 per cent) and finishing fifth in sacks (eight). At linebacker Jameer Thurman enjoyed another All-CFL season while A.J. Allen broke out to lead all Canadians in tackles. Then in the secondary, another Canadian in Tevaughn Campbell, former Most Outstanding Defensive Player Rolan Milligan Jr., and safety/strong-side linebacker C.J. Reavis are all capable of making game-breaking plays.

The units do have distinct differences, however, as Montreal has the best pass defence and the sixth ranked run defence, while Saskatchewan has the best run defence and the eighth ranked pass defence.

With all that said, the 112th Grey Cup is going to come down to a couple of factors, including how each team can attack the other’s perceived defensive weakness. With the Roughriders’ run defence being so dominant, teams have been forced to pass. Saskatchewan has been susceptible to breaks in coverage, however, and we all know Alexander can and will chuck it downfield, but will he fully be ready to go and execute?

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On the other side, if Johnson can’t play for the Green and White, it will make it even tougher to pass against the CFL’s best pass defending defence. With defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson potentially not playing due to injury and another defensive lineman in Shawn Oakman’s release, it has weakened an already not spectacular run defence.

The Riders will have to run the ball effectively if they want to win this game. A.J. Ouellette should be up to the task after career-highs in rushing yards (1,222) and touchdowns (eight) while rumbling for 113 yards in the Western Final. Can the Alouettes’ front contain him? If not, it can open up everything for Saskatchewan’s offence.

Something’s got to give, so all that’s left to do is watch it all unfold on Sunday on TSN.