The table is set for the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16th. Let's grab a fork and dig into how the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders punched their tickets to this year's final.

Saskatchewan came within one game of the final last year and seemingly used that as motivation this season. They claimed the best record in the CFL at 12-6. Trevor Harris turned back the clock this season. At 39 years old he had one of his best seasons of his career. Harris threw for 4,549 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also led the league in completion percentage which was a tall task with the amount of injuries the Roughriders' receiving corps went through this year.

Saskatchewan had 10 players who caught at least 15 passes this season, led by the tandem of Keesean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers, who both put up over 1,000 yards each and combined to score 12 touchdowns. Samuel Emilus also contributed with nearly 600 yards all while sustaining two separate injuries this season.

With the number of injuries to that squad, the Roughriders needed to have a solid run game, and A.J. Ouellette delivered. He rushed for a career-high 1,222 yards and matched his career-high of 8 rushing touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown, which was needed due to the injuries the receivers had gone through.

Of course, one cannot mention injuries without also mentioning the Montreal Alouettes. Montreal saw not one, two or even three, but four different quarterbacks under center this season. Though the majority of the reps were shared by McLeod Bethel-Thompson and their star QB, Davis Alexander.

Alexander was limited to only 8 games this season but still managed to throw for over 2,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. Injuries are a part of the game, and the Alouettes had to lean on the "next man up" mentality, as they also had 9 players with at least 13 catches.

The Alouettes grinded out some gritty performances on the back of their defense. They were able to attack opposing quarterbacks in most of their games, which often led to rushed throws, sacks or even interceptions.

In the first round of the playoffs, Montreal went toe-to-toe and won a high-scoring game against the Winnipeg Bluebombers (42-33) to deny them a chance to play at home in the Grey Cup. They then traveled to Hamilton to play the top-seeded Tiger-Cats in the East Final. That game was a low scoring affair, and Montreal needed a walk-off field goal to secure the victory (19-16) and book their ticket to the 2025 Final.

Saskatchewan took advantage of their bye in the first round of the playoffs and faced off against the B.C. Lions in the West Final. The Roughriders were down by 4 and needed a touchdown. They got it with only 11 seconds left in the game to secure their own victory (24-21) and set a date against the Alouettes.

Both the Alouettes and Roughriders have battled through injuries all season, showing the kind of grit and determination that championship teams are made of. While only one will take home the Grey Cup this year, the real winners will be the fans. They'll be treated to a thrilling, high-stakes showdown between two storied teams in Winnipeg on Sunday—an instant classic in the making that promises to deliver unforgettable moments, drama, and all the excitement that only the Grey Cup can bring.

Every year, reporters and journalists inform the public that the championship game will be thrilling and will come down to the wire. The truth is, we can only hope for that outcome, because the alternative is a lopsided, boring affair. The 112th Grey Cup had everything: three lead changes and a finale that came down to the final play.

In a game that featured four separate quarterbacks, all playing a pivotal role in the outcome of this game, it was the Saskatchewan Roughriders who prevailed, winning their 5th Grey Cup in franchise history, 25-17 over the Montreal Alouettes in Winnipeg.

Coming into this game there were lots of questions about the starting quarterbacks. Trevor Harris had won 2 Grey Cup championships as a backup but was unsuccessful in his lone start. Davis Alexander came into this year's final with a perfect record in games he had started in his CFL career but had injured his hamstring late in the East Final the week prior. Both men had lots to prove to everyone in the stands and watching at home.

Alexander's first pass of the game was a deep ball that was intercepted by the Roughriders' Marcus Sayles. Saskatchewan was unable to capitalize on the turnover, but it did get the crowd—who were mostly wearing green—something to get excited about. The first major score of the game was a two-yard rushing play by the Alouettes' Shea Patterson, who usually comes in for quarterback sneaks. Although he was stopped on his first attempt, his second found the end zone and gave the Alouettes an early 7-1 lead.

Later in the first quarter, the Alouettes thought they had forced a turnover on downs with a goal-line stand to deny the Roughriders a chance of scoring a touchdown of their own, but a challenge by the Roughriders' head coach, Corey Mace, for illegal pass interference, got the ball back into Saskatchewan's hands. It was their turn to bring in their backup quarterback, Tommy Stevens, for a quarterback sneak of their own to retake the lead 8-7.

From that point, the rest of the half belonged to the Roughriders. A.J. Ouellette, Saskatchewan's star running back who set a career high in rushing yards this season, was nearly unstoppable in the second quarter. He rumbled for a 32-yard reception, with the majority of those yards coming after the catch. He followed that effort up a few plays later with a touchdown of his own. It was announced before the start of the game that the Roughriders' number-1 receiver, Keesean Johnson, was not going to play in the final, bringing even more importance for Ouellette to have a strong game.

The Roughriders took a 15-7 lead into halftime. Machine Gun Kelly performed during the intermission and gave both teams an extended break to catch their breath.

The Alouettes had zero momentum, and Alexander's injury concerns were a hot topic. He went into the half with two interceptions and no touchdowns—not the usual numbers we are used to seeing from him.

The second half started much like how the first ended, with the Roughriders getting another touchdown as well as a field goal, growing their lead to 25-7 and looking like this was going to be a blowout.

If the Alouettes wanted to stay in the game, they would need to put up some points quickly, as they were running out of time. Almost on cue, they delivered with a touchdown by Stevie Scott III on the final play of the third quarter.

Momentum is always an interesting thing in sports—it can change at a moment's notice and is hard to turn back around. The Roughriders did not have a two-and-out for the first three quarters, but in the fourth, after giving up a touchdown, they did. The Alouettes got the ball deep into Saskatchewan territory, put up a field goal, and cut into the deficit, changing the game that looked like it was going to be a laugher, into a one-score game.

Saskatchewan missed a 31-yard field goal attempt and then gave up a 51-yard passing play, the longest offensive play of the game. The Alouettes got the ball onto the two-yard line and brought in Shea Patterson for another quarterback sneak. Tevaughn Campbell, who already had an interception earlier, stripped the ball out of Patterson's hands. The fumble was recovered by Sayles in the end zone—easily the biggest play of the game. The Alouettes got one more possession late in the game with Alexander throwing up a deep ball that fell incomplete, ending the game.

"I would love to say that we haven't had close games before" Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said. "But our entire season, there have been a lot of close games. It wasn't a new situation for us.... We've got some celebrating to do now."

Saskatchewan's Harris won the 2025 Grey Cup MVP, finishing 23 of 27 for 302 yards—the best completion percentage in Grey Cup history for a quarterback. Samuel Emilus, who grew up an Alouette fan, won Most Valuable Canadian for the Roughriders. Saskatchewan had great performances from multiple players. It wasn't just one guy; it was a team effort.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes put on one of the most entertaining Grey Cups in recent memory. While only one team left with the trophy, the city of Winnipeg won in its own right, hosting a week-long celebration that showcased the very best of Canadian football. But the biggest winners were the CFL fans who packed the stands and upheld one of Canada's oldest and proudest traditions. The 112th Grey Cup may be over, but its legacy will be felt for years to come.

The Lane Kiffin Decision between Ole Miss, LSU, and Florida is straight out of pro sports. The difference in pro sports is that these schools wouldn't be allowed to negotiate with a coach until the season is over or after a certain point in the playoffs.

Again, college football is a little different from pro sports because of the transfer portal, NIL, recruiting, the signing period, and the academic calendar. But the fact that Ole Miss has said a decision is coming next Saturday after the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State has the writing of LeBron James and his PR staff all over it.

Recall that when LeBron took his talents to South Beach and the Miami Heat, he hosted this TV special on ESPN. That is when the Cleveland Cavaliers found out he was leaving. Now, maybe they knew before then, and Ole Miss will get an identification before Saturday, but it is not a good look.

That Decision Special still follows LeBron around to this day. It is a big reason some NBA fans don't like him. Now he has returned and brought a championship to Cleveland, but it is hard to change public perception.

Lane Kiffin just repaired his image after bouncing from school to school and job to job year after year. To leave a school high and dry right before the College Football Playoff after what Lane Kiffin has accomplished at Ole Miss would be a giant setback to his reputation.

Say he leaves for the LSU Tigers job and fails to win the BIG game because Kiffin has yet to accomplish that like James Franklin and Brian Kelly before him, does he get back to the position of coaching a prominent SEC school again?

Sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side. Just look at his history of coaching jobs. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at USC from 2005-06, followed by a brief stint with the Oakland Raiders from 2007-08.

When he was with the Raiders there was talk he wanted back in college football and had been looking at the Tennessee job. He leaves and coaches the Volunteers for a season before taking his 'dream job' as USC's coach from 2010 to 2013.

Things did not work out as planned with the Trojans, despite one 10 win season and compiling 28 total wins in his time at Southern Cal. But he didn't win the big game, nor did he win a National Championship.

Kiffin was let go and he had to serve as the offensive coordinator on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama from 2014 to 2016. To reach the position he is in now at Ole Miss, Kiffin coached at Florida Atlantic University from 2017 to 2019.

In the 2020 season, he began his stint as the Rebels head coach. Kiffin has compiled four 10-win seasons and potentially two 11-win seasons if they defeat Mississippi State next week in the Egg Bowl. Not to mention multiple Bowl wins with a school in the SEC.

Lane Kiffin wants to be the toast of the town as he likes the spotlight of being chased for jobs. Imagine if he had stayed at Tennessee instead of pursuing a job Pete Carroll had. Same situation now with Ole Miss and LSU. Just because one of his mentors, Nick Saban, coached at LSU doesn't mean he needs to.

Kiffin is writing his own legacy with Ole Miss. There is an outside shot with help; they could play for the SEC Championship. But there is a real good chance they'll make the College Football Playoff.

Again, the system of College Football and College Athletics is broken, so this is no fault of Kiffin's. But there is a shot the committee punishes Ole Miss for not having their head coach and potential players who want to enter the portal and leave. They will not be the same team.

But imagine if he does stay and continues to build a program like Ole Miss and makes them an SEC powerhouse. That is what made the great college football coaches so special. Again, the game was different back then, but the landscape is changing, and Kiffin is the king of the portal, but he can also recruit and coach.

Lane Kiffin doesn't need this show next week. He can make a decision now if he wants to. He can make it on Monday, after the weekend games are over. There is no need for what is happening right now to play out in Oxford. It is not this hard to make a decision.

Don't be like Aaron Rodgers or LeBron James. Be the adult. If Kiffin wants to leave, he should. If he wants to stay, then say it. Regardless, Kiffin has ignited a bidding war, and he will become one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. That is a fact.

However, if things fail at LSU, there is no going back. He might end up like James Franklin coaching in the ACC or Big 12. Not sure he wants to do that.

This Lane Kiffin Decision is bad look for College Football and needed to be resolved long before it got to this point.

It is going to be an emotional night for Mitch Marner as he returns to Toronto on Friday with his current team, the Vegas Golden Knights, to take on his former club, the Maple Leafs.

It was a tumultuous relationship between Marner and the Maple Leafs during his time in Toronto. And maybe not so much the organization itself, though he had his fair share of battles throughout the years, but it was more so with the fans, who ultimately determined his fate.

That fate triggered his no-movement clause in his contract (six-year deal, $65.41 million, with a cap hit of $10.9 million) that he signed in September 2019, kicking in as he entered the final year of his deal in 2024-25.

But after the public negotiations that went on with that six-year contract extension in 2019 and being the scapegoat for the Toronto Maple Leafs failures in the playoffs, even though others on the team did not live up to their contracts either, Mitch Marner knew his time in Toronto was up.

But if the organization was going to play hardball with him, he was going to play hardball with them. Despite what has been said publicly, Marner knew he needed to go to a place where the spotlight was off of him and a quieter hockey market. Even though playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs was a dream of his.

But it was clear that things were heading towards a messy separation. That happens in relationships: a messy divorce. It is clear that the Maple Leafs and Marner had one of those messy divorces.

As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes, the Maple Leafs tried to lay the groundwork for a new extension with Marner, as they did with Auston Matthews, but got no assurances he was going to stay. So things were already percolating in Marner's mind about a change of scenery.

As NHL Analyst and Sirius XM Host Ryan Paton stated in an interview over the summer, Marner had made up his mind: he wanted out of Toronto, effective at the start of the 2023-24 season.

"When Kyle Dubas was still in Toronto, he was let go. There was that trade deadline where they knew that Marner's no-move was going to kick in," Paton said. "And I remember the discussion even after that; this wasn't a few months ago. This was back when Dubas was still there. Not that he was there 15-20, years ago. But this was back a little bit of time."

"The discussion was that this may come back to bite Toronto, because I think at that time, they didn't think Marner would re-sign with the team. I think this has been in the works in Marner's mind since the end of last year. I think he had no intention whatsoever of re-signing with Toronto."

Remember, the Maple Leafs tried to trade Marner at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. Current Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving tried to get Marner to waive his no-movement clause, but Marner was having none of that.

"Like they went to him at the deadline, as you know, and they said, Hey, can you waive it because we want to get Mikko Ratanen, and don't forget there was that report that came out that the Leafs were pretty much engaged in talks with Vegas and Carolina in a three way deal to try to get Rantanen some way to Toronto and Vegas would get Mitch Marner and then Carolina, and the whole hiccup was, well, what are we going to get in all this? And that just didn't materialize," Paton continued.

The relationship between Marner and the Maple Leafs was always heading south, given how things played out with not only his entry-level contract but the six-year contract that followed.

Mitch Marner was calculated in his efforts to get to Vegas as he decided last year was the right time to play hardball with the Maple Leafs

While that is petty, it makes sense. He was done playing in that market and wanted to go to a place where he was part of the team, not part of a core four, and where everything wasn't questioned all the time.

Despite what he did in a Maple Leafs uniform, recording 741 points (221 goals and 520 assists), including 102 last season with Toronto in 657 regular-season games and recording 63 points (13 goals and 50 assists) in 70 playoff games, he is having fun playing hockey again.

When asked if it is easier to play hockey in Vegas than in Toronto, when the Golden Knights visited the Devils back in December, Marner told Full Press Hockey that he was just focused on playing the game

"I don't know. Maybe," Marner said. "I'm just focused on here and focus on playing hockey here. So it's been a lot of fun."

Marner has been asked to take on a lot more this season under Bruce Cassidy. He is playing center in place of William Karlsson, who is injured. In 49 games this season, Marner has 52 points (12 goals and 40 assists).

It has been said before, and it needs repeating, the Toronto Maple Leafs will regret not re-signing Mitch Marner because players like that don't grow on trees. Yes, change was necessary, but at what cost? A player was driven out of the market by the fan base because they needed a fall guy.

There was a reason Marner wasn't staying in Toronto for the rest of his career. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction Mitch Marner gets on Friday Night in Toronto.