What defines an X factor?
A quick Google search will tell you the term refers to an unpredictable player or variable whose performance can unexpectedly turn the tide of a game or a season.
With the 113th Grey Cup right around the corner between the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Elks, there are multiple X factors that could have an influence on the outcome of the big dance.
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Here are three X factors that could have the biggest impact on the 113th Grey Cup game.
Elks’ RB Justin Rankin
While unpredictable might not be the first term you think of when it comes to the Elks’ running back, his production has been up and down over the second half of the season.
Let’s use the star’s past three games as a quick example. In the team’s win over the BC Lions in the Western Final, Rankin ran the ball four times for seven yards. In his final game in the regular season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he logged 23 rushes for 133 yards. The game before that, six rushes for 21 yards.
With the 29-year-old’s touches decreasing thanks to backup ShunDerrick Powell’s emergence and with his ability to hit a homerun shot at any moment, it can be a bit hard to peg down how Rankin will perform on a game-to-game basis.
Everyone knows the talent that he has, both along the ground and in the pass game, and he can change the course of the Grey Cup in a blink of an eye.
Alouettes’ WR Charleston Rambo
While yes, Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead are going to command targets from Davis Alexander, that also means they are going to command attention from the Elks’ No.1-ranked defence. That’s predictable.
Enter Charleston Rambo, who rejoined Montreal’s receiving core late in the season after two solid years with the Alouettes in 2024 and 2025. In five games throughout the regular season, the 27-year-old averaged 3.4 catches and 46.2 yards per game while adding three touchdowns.
In last week’s Eastern Final win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, however, Rambo’s impact was profound.
The 6-foot-1 target made three grabs for a whopping 117 yards, catching multiple explosive passes down the sidelines to change the complexion of the game. If the Alouettes can get a repeat performance from a tertiary option like Rambo next to Philpot and Snead, it could tilt the game in their favour once again.
The Calgary crowd
The final X factor is the environment and crowd, with the game taking place in Calgary at McMahon Stadium. Theoretically, this gives Edmonton a home-field advantage, certainly in terms of travel and more than likely with the fans.
This does very much matter. The two best teams in the CFL at home are none other than the Alouettes and Elks. Montreal went undefeated at Percival Molson Stadium throughout the regular season and playoffs (10-0), while Edmonton was right behind them with their near-flawless record at Commonwealth Stadium (9-1).
It is also worth noting that the Elks are undefeated in Grey Cups in Calgary (2-0). Edmonton claimed victories in 1975 and 1993, the former being against the Alouettes in the 63rd Grey Cup with a scintillating score of 9-8.
Will there be a pro-Elks crowd at the 113th Grey Cup? It could have a major impact.