What to know for a big weekend of Canadian football
CBC
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After being lost to the pandemic last year, Canadian football's two biggest championships are back. On Saturday, the top university team in the country will be crowned at the 56th Vanier Cup game in Quebec City. On Sunday, the pros will fight for a spot in next week's 108th Grey Cup game when the CFL's division finals are played in Winnipeg and Hamilton.
Here's some stuff to know about all three games:
Vanier Cup: Western Mustangs vs. Saskatchewan Huskies (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET)
Though Laval holds the record for most Vanier Cup victories with 10, Western has played in the title game more times than anyone. This is the 15th appearance for the London, Ont., school, which has won it seven times.
If the Mustangs are able to raise their Vanier Cup record above .500, it'll likely be due to their running game. Lead back Keon Edwards topped the country this season in rushing yards per game (139.7) and rushing touchdowns (nine). But it doesn't even seem to matter who carries the ball. In last week's 61-6 annihilation of StFX in the Mitchell Bowl, three Western backs helped the team rack up an astonishing 469 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. After Edwards (104 yards, 1 TD) and Trey Humes (91 yards, 3 TDs) put the game out of reach, third-stringer Edouard Wanadi stepped in and romped for 238 yards and three scores.
Powerful as Western's ground attack is, it was actually Saskatchewan that led the nation in yards per carry this season at 8.3. The Huskies' go-to guy is Adam Machart, who ran for 158 yards and the winning touchdown with five seconds left in last week's 14-10 Uteck Bowl nailbiter vs. Montreal. The previous week, he piled up 223 yards and three TDs in a playoff rout of Manitoba.
Saskatchewan is making its first Vanier Cup appearance since 2006. The last of its three titles came in 1998.
Given the strength of the opposing running games, Saturday's matchup is shaping up to be a land war (most Canadian university football games are). That's perfect for Quebec City's Laval Stadium, where the wind is known to wreak havoc on passing attempts and the temperature at kickoff is expected to feel like minus-13 C. Read more about how the harsh setting could impact the Vanier Cup here. Watch the game live from the coziness of your own home on the CBC TV network, CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
CFL East final: Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Toronto Argonauts (Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Not much separates these two rivals — both literally and figuratively. Hamilton and Toronto are just a short drive apart on the Queen Elizabeth Way, and this game is a pick 'em in the betting markets. Makes sense: though the Argos (9-5) had a slightly better record than Hamilton (8-6), are playing at home (where they went 6-1) and are rested coming off a bye, their 14 opponents outscored them by a total of nine points this season. The Ticats were a robust plus-68 in point differential (second only to Winnipeg) before handling Montreal 23-12 in last week's playoff game. But the defending East champs didn't fare well against the Argos this year, losing three of their four matchups — including a 31-12 beatdown in Toronto three weeks ago with first place in the division on the line.
Hamilton's strength is its defence, which forced five turnovers last week and held CFL rushing champion William Stanback to a paltry 29 yards on 12 carries. The Ticats' defensive line dominated that game, and the D also features the East nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player — linebacker Simoni Lawrence, who had four sacks, three interceptions and a pair of touchdowns this season. Hamilton will be hunting turnovers against Toronto QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who threw 11 picks in 14 games.
CFL West final: Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
It's the Banjo Bowl, playoff edition. Saskatchewan vs. Winnipeg is the CFL's best rivalry, so it's a treat to see it renewed under such high stakes.
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