For the first time since the famous 1950 Mud Bowl at the old Varsity Stadium on the campus of the University of Toronto, the Toronto Argonauts will square off with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup on Sunday in Regina.
The 72-year wait marks the longest continuous gap for a Grey Cup between traditional East and West teams, though that comes with an asterisk as the Blue Bombers have switched divisions over the years.
Nevertheless, it’s fun to see a unique matchup in the 109th edition of the national championship after the Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the past two CFL title tilts.
Here is a capsule look at the game.
The schedule
Sunday, 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT at Mosaic Stadium in Regina
The line
The Blue Bombers were favoured by 5.5 points on FanDuel as of Saturday.
At stake
History. The Blue Bombers (16-3) can become the first team to win three Grey Cups in a row since Edmonton captured five straight from 1978 to ’82. Only three teams have won more than two Grey Cups in a row since the Second World War.
The Argos (12-7), meanwhile, carry a CFL record win streak in Grey Cup games into the contest – having won six in a row in which they have played. They’re also 6-0 against the Bombers in Grey Cup games.
Pre-game and halftime
Teagan Littlechief, who is from White Bear First Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan, will perform O Canada in three languages – English, French and Cree.
The halftime show has a country flavour – Josh Ross, along with Jordan Davis and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line.
The weather
Should be just fine. The high Sunday night is -4 C with no snow and winds of 17 km/h.
The season series
The Blue Bombers won the only meeting between the teams, edging the Argos 23-22 at BMO Field in Toronto on July 4.
Toronto’s Boris Bede missed a convert with 25 seconds left, denying what likely would have been overtime.
The Argos had 398 yards of offence to Winnipeg’s 266, but the Argos committed three more turnovers (4-1).
Playoff history
The Blue Bombers have been almost unbeatable since acquiring star quarterback Zach Collaros in a late-season trade with the out-of-contention Argos in 2019.
All Collaros has done is turn around his career, leading the Bombers to two Grey Cups.
The Blue Bombers beat the visiting B.C. Lions 28-20 in last week’s West final.
The Argos fell one win short of the Grey Cup game last year, losing to the visiting Tiger-Cats in the East final.
This year, Toronto beat the visiting Montreal Alouettes 34-27 in the East final to advance to its first Grey Cup game since 2017.
The coaches
Mike O’Shea (Winnipeg) vs. Ryan Dinwiddie (Toronto)
O’Shea, a former Argonauts linebacker, was named CFL coach of the year for the second year in a row after once again leading the Bombers to the league’s best record.
The last coach to win three Grey Cups in a row was the late Don Matthews from 1995 to ’97. The first came with an all-American roster in Baltimore and the next two came with the Doug Flutie-led Argos.
What O’Shea has done is nothing short of remarkable. O’Shea’s contract runs out after this year, though both the coach and GM Kyle Walters have said they expect him to return next season.
O’Shea is 6-0 in Grey Cup games – three as an Argos player, one as a Toronto assistant coach and two as Winnipeg’s head coach.
Dinwiddie goes to the Grey Cup game in his second year as a head coach.
A former Blue Bombers quarterback, Dinwiddie made his first career start in a 2007 Grey Cup loss for Winnipeg against Saskatchewan after Kevin Glenn was hurt.
The quarterbacks
Zach Collaros (Winnipeg) vs. McLeod Bethel-Thompson (Toronto)
After a promising start to his career in Toronto and Hamilton, Collaros’ time in the CFL appeared to be coming to an end in 2019 thanks to injuries and up-and-down play.
The Bombers had health concerns at QB in 2019 and swung a deal with the Argos at the deadline to land Collaros – and the rest is history.
Against all odds, the Steubenville, Ohio product has been the league’s best player the past two years. However, he injured his ankle last week and didn’t practise the first two days in Regina. We’ll see how effective the 34-year-old Collaros can be with his health in question.
Bethel-Thompson is in the Grey Cup for the first time in his career.
The 34-year-old journeyman has been with the Argos since 2017, but wasn’t the full-time starter until early in the 2021 season.
Bethel-Thompson led the league in passing yards this year, but threw 15 interceptions. The San Francisco native also made headlines this week when he criticized the leadership of the CFL in media interviews – it would be quite a scene if he receives the Grey Cup from commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
Three matchups to watch
Toronto RB Andrew Harris vs. Winnipeg RB Brady Oliveira
The Blue Bombers let Winnipeg-born star Harris hit free agency last off-season because they had confidence in another running back from the city – Oliveira.
It has worked out for all sides.
Harris, 35, tore a pec in the summer and was believed to be done for the season, but managed to return for last week’s East final and now gets another shot at the Grey Cup.
In 2019, Harris became the first player in history to be named MVP and most valuable Canadian in a Grey Cup game.
Oliveira, 10 years younger than Harris, was third in the league in rushing with 1,001 yards this season.
Toronto WR Kurleigh Gittens Jr. vs. Winnipeg WR Dalton Schoen
Gittens Jr., a Wilfrid Laurier University product, had a breakout third season in the league, finishing with 1,001 receiving yards.
Born in Guyana, Gittens Jr. moved to Ottawa with his dad as a child. He was named top Canadian in the East this year.
Schoen was CFL rookie of the year this season, leading the league with 1,441 receiving yards and scoring 16 touchdowns.
A walk-on who excelled at Kansas State, Schoen was a virtual unknown when he arrived in Winnipeg this year.
Not a bad find by the Bombers front office.
Winnipeg offensive line vs. Toronto DL Ja’Gared Davis
The Blue Bombers’ offensive line is anchored by CFL all-stars Patrick Neufeld and Stanley Bryant.
The Argonauts defensive line features a guy now playing in his sixth Grey Cup in a row in Davis.
Davis is as clutch as they come, so the Bombers need a plan to limit his impact.
This ‘n that
Thirteen Blue Bombers players are projected to start their third Grey Cup in a row. Conversely, no one on the Argos offensive line has started a Grey Cup game … The Blue Bombers set a CFL record, going 56.2 per cent on second down this year. That’s how you win lots of games … Fun Grey Cup for North Bay, Ont., the hometown of O’Shea and Argos offensive lineman Ryan Hunter, who won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. BayToday.ca did a story on the pair this week. “I don’t think North Bay is torn,” local high school football coach Sean Mullan said. “It is two football greats who will continue to be successful in the sport that they love.” … The West team has won the last six Grey Cups played in West cities. … Says here it’s a good move by the CFL to move the division semifinals and finals to Saturday next year. The Grey Cup will stay on a Sunday. Could be some fun football-hockey Saturday doubleheaders in a perfect world – how about an East final on the hill at McGill and the Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada a few hours later? … Argos senior adviser Jim Barker gave O’Shea his first coaching job as special teams co-ordinator with Toronto in 2010. Two years later, O’Shea was on the staff of Scott Milanovich (now the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback coach) for the Argos’ Grey Cup win. … The Maple Leafs and Jets both have home games on Monday, which makes you think the Grey Cup is destined to be in a hockey arena one day after it is awarded … The Grey Cup has plenty of subplots, but the off-season could be just as fun with quite a few teams unsettled at quarterback.
Prediction
Blue Bombers 31, Argos 17