FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1 WHO SHOWS UP?
Redblacks QB Trevor Harris set a CFL record for most passing touchdowns in a game in the East final when he threw for six TDs. The Stampeders defence made it through the West final without allowing the Bombers to get into the end zone. Simply put, the Grey Cup is likely going to be decided by whether the league’s best defence can stop the CFL’s hottest quarterback and his gang of alwaysdangerous receivers. The Stamps held Harris to a combined 228 yards in two games earlier in the season.
2 WHO IS IN FOR STAMPS?
The Stamps listed four American WRs on their depth chart for today’s game. They haven’t played with that many in the lineup for months, and it feels as if there still might be one last bit of manoeuvring left by the team’s coaches.
Could Canadian Spencer Wilson start on the O-line to help with the ratio? That’s unclear, but it feels like we don’t quite know what the Stamps plans are just yet.
3 DEVASTATING
It would be hard to quantify how painful a loss in today’s game would be for the Stampeders. Losing three straight Grey Cups would mean this stretch of the organization’s history would live forever in infamy. If things start to go off the rails at all, the Stamps need to find a way to stay out of their own heads and just keep focusing on the job at hand, but expect everything they do to be closely scrutinized if that happens.
4 BEST OF THE BEST
This will mark the second time in three years that these two teams have met in the Grey Cup, albeit with very different personnel. They’re also both playing in their third title game in the past four years. Simply put, these are the two premier organizations in the CFL and whoever wins and loses, they are the models for how to build winning football teams in Canada.
5 ABOUT THE FIELD
The turf at Commonwealth Stadium is not in good shape right now. It’s rock-hard, slippery and is going to be a big challenge for everyone, but DBs and receivers in particular. Hopefully, it doesn’t have an impact, but it very well could.