It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are heavy favourites to lift the Grey Cup at BC Place on Sunday.
After starting the year 2-6, the Bombers won nine of their final 10 games to finish up the regular season 11-7 and earn the top seed in the West Division.
For Ted 💙 #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/YJ5QotDuxD
— y - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) November 10, 2024
Winnipeg then easily disposed of the Saskatchewan Roughriders 38-22 in the West Final last weekend to secure their fifth straight Grey Cup appearance.
On the other hand, their opponent, the Toronto Argonauts, were around the .500 mark all season, but managed to go on the road and beat the Montreal Alouettes in the East Final last weekend.
While the win booked the Argos a ticket to the Grey Cup, it came at a significant price, as starting quarterback Chad Kelly went down with a serious leg injury.
EASTERN FINAL ✅@fallsviewcasino I #PullTogether pic.twitter.com/LL4HRvpoXg
— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) November 9, 2024
That means Nick Arbuckle, who has thrown just 100 passes all season long, will come off the bench to start for Toronto in the big game.
Meanwhile, three-time Grey Cup champion, two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player and 2021 Grey Cup MVP Zach Collaros will be under centre for Winnipeg for a fifth straight championship game.
The significant mismatch at quarterback is just one of the reasons why the Bombers are 8.5-point favourites on Sunday and the Argos are +350 underdogs.
with the summit in sight, the hardest stretch lies ahead.
— CFL (@CFL) November 12, 2024
Tune into the 111th #GreyCup on Sunday, November 17th at 6PM ET / 3PM PT on TSN, CTV, CBSSN, RDS and CFL+. pic.twitter.com/tF9BgCMQSE
But Winnipeg was also favourited in the last two Grey Cups, which both ended in losses to the Als in 2023 and these same Argos in 2022.
That’s why the games are played on the field and not on paper.
Winnipeg won back-to-back Grey Cups in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19), but has left the big game disappointed the last two seasons.
For Collaros, freshly-named CFL Most Outstanding Player Brady Oliveira and company, this year’s game in Vancouver will be a much-anticipated chance at a couple of things.
Primarily, they’ll be looking to right the ship and get their names on the trophy again after heartbreaking, unexpected losses in their last two appearances.
They’ll also surely be looking for revenge on the Argos, who ended the Bombers chance at a three-peat in dramatic fashion two years ago in Regina.
The 111th Grey Cup from Vancouver will kick off at 3 pm Sunday and be broadcast coast-to-coast on TSN.
