By The Numbers: Eastern, Western Final set in pursuit of 109th Grey Cup
Published
Following the Montreal Alouettes' 28-17 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the BC Lions' 30-16 win over the Calgary Stampeders, the Canadian Football League's division finals are set.
The Alouettes will travel to Toronto's BMO Field to take on the Argonauts on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT (LIVE on TSN1/3/4, TSN.ca and the TSN App), followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the Lions at IG Field at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.
After the Argos hosted the Tiger-Cats in last season's Eastern Final, BMO Field is the stage again. This marks the first time the Eastern Final has gone through Toronto in back-to-back seasons since the 1996-97 seasons, when the Argonauts captured back-to-back East Division and Grey Cup titles.
While the Argos have called BMO Field home since 2016, the franchise has historically defended its home turf. Over their 149-year existence, the Boatmen have posted a 31-16-1 (.656) record at home during the playoffs. As for the Alouettes, they come into Toronto with an 11-25 (.306) road record in the playoffs, with one of their wins coming against the Argonauts at the Rogers Centre in 2005.
The last time the Argonauts and the Alouettes met in the Eastern Final was during the 2012 season, when the Argos travelled to Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Then, on the backs of Hall of Fame quarterback Ricky Ray and wide receiver Chad Owens, the Argos' offence totaled 542 yards of offence and won 27-20. The Argos went on to host and win the 100th Grey Cup against the Calgary Stampeders for their 16th title.
In his second season as the Argonauts' head coach, Ryan Dinwiddie enters Sunday's game with an 0-1 playoff record. Alouettes' head coach Danny Maciocia, who took over the team from Khari Jones in early July, has gone 4-1 in the playoffs over his career. As for the quarterbacks, the Argos will start 34-year-old McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who is a career 0-1 as a starter in the playoffs, while the Alouettes counter with 36-year-old, two-time Grey Cup champion Trevor Harris, who is 3-3 in the playoffs in his career.
The Argonauts and Alouettes met three times during the regular season, with the Argos winning the season series 2-1. The Alouettes did outscore the Argonauts 80-77 during the three-game series.
In Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers will be playing in their fourth straight Western Final and their second consecutive divisional game at IG Field. This time, it will be against the Lions, who are playing in their first Western Final since 2016, when they lost to the Calgary Stampeders 42-15.
Much like the Argonauts, home has treated the Bombers well as they've gone 41-19-2 (.674) in Winnipeg during the playoffs. As for the Lions, they have a road playoff record of 11-24 (.314).
Sunday marks the fourth time the Lions and Blue Bombers will have met in the Western Final, with their most recent matchup in 1985 when the Lions won 42-22. The Lions defeated the Tiger-Cats a week later to win the 73rd Grey Cup.
While Lions’ head coach Rick Campbell (4-1) and Blue Bombers’ head coach Mike O'Shea (4-3) enter Sunday with comparable playoff records, their quarterbacks could not be more different.
In his first career postseason start last Sunday, Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke became the first Canadian quarterback to lead his team to a playoff victory since the Quebec-born Gerry Dattilio did it in 1980. His reward: a date with back-to-back Grey Cup champion and 2021 Grey Cup MVP Zach Collaros.
Collaros will be making his sixth career playoff start and enters the game with a record of 4-1, highlighted by a 242-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Tiger-Cats in the 108th Grey Cup last season.
Sunday will be the second time that the 24-year-old Rourke and the 34-year-old Collaros meet this season as Rourke missed time during the regular season with a Lisfranc injury.