110th Grey Cup Playoffs: Division Semifinals Recap

This season has gone by so, so fast! It seems like yesterday that I was counting down the days until the 2023 CFL season started, especially since the Toronto Argonauts would be the defending champions. Now, here it is, November has arrived, and it's playoff time in Canada! This time, however, the games are on Saturdays now. I guess the CFL finally decided that they didn't want to clash with the NFL, at least for the first two rounds anyway.

So the Division Semifinals kicked off with the Eastern game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montréal Alouettes, and the first score of the 110th Grey Cup Playoffs...was a rouge by the Als. God, I love rouges. I've been watching the CFL since 2013, and my fascination with rouges (also known as singles). Hamilton countered with a field goal, and that was the score after the first quarter: 3-1 in favor of the visiting Tiger-Cats. The Als took over the second quarter, putting up 13 points, resulting in a 14-6 halftime lead for the home team, and from that point, it ended up being all Als. All Hamilton could muster was field goals, and in the end, the Alouettes took it to Hamilton by a score of 27-12.

For the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the longest current Grey Cup drought continues: they have not won the big one since 1999--the only team to have never won the Grey Cup in the 21st century. Yes, even the Ottawa Redblacks, who debuted in the CFL in 2014, won a Grey Cup. The amazing thing is that Hamilton has definitely had their chances. They've been in the Grey Cup in 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2021, but no dice in any of those years. It's back to the drawing board for the TiCats, while the Als fly off to Toronto once again.

Next up was the Western Semifinal in Vancouver, where the BC Lions played host to the Calgary Stampeders. A thought I had: the Stamps entered the playoffs with a 6-12 record. They only won one-third of their games. Wouldn't it be something if the Stampeders actually pulled off the upset over the Lions? Calgary did get the first touchdown in, so maybe, just maybe, we could see a shocker here. Then the Stampeders woke up from their dream, and the Lions took over...big time. Absolutely dominated the Stamps the rest of the way, including outscoring Calgary 28-6 in the remainder of the first half. It was over right there. Calgary made it just a bit closer, but in the end, the Lions won 41-30.

So the Final Four is all set in the 110th Grey Cup Playoffs, with both games taking place on Saturday, November 11. First off is the Eastern Final in Toronto, Ontario, and for the second straight year, it will be the defending Grey Cup Champions, the Toronto Argonauts, hosting the Montréal Alouettes. It's amazing. A few years ago, Hamilton was the rival I would watch out for--now it's Montréal. This is the third straight year that the Eastern Final will be in Toronto, and of course, last year saw the Argos defeat the Als before winning the Grey Cup against the Bombers.

The Argos are 32-16-1 at home in the playoffs, while the Alouettes have a 11-26 road playoff record. Toronto swept the season series over the Alouettes this season, and this game will be their first one with any meaning in over two months.

After this, the Western Final will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and it will be another rematch: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the BC Lions. I saw this coming, as in the early weeks, BC was attempting to establish themselves as the top team out West, but the Bombers did managed to regain control and finish in first place. For the Bombers, this is their fifth straight Western Final appearance; a stretch that has seen them reach the Grey Cup three times, and win two championships. As for the Lions, they are in the Western Final for the 2nd straight year, and they are looking to get to the Grey Cup for the first time since they played in the 100th game in 2012.

Winnipeg has a home playoff record of 42-19-2, while BC is 11-25 as a road playoff team. The home team in the Western Final is 29-20 all time. Winnipeg won the season series 2-1, with BC's win coming in Week 3, while the Bombers won in Weeks 9 and 18.

The Division Finals will air on TSN in Canada, and on CFL+ for those of us in the U.S. and other countries. The winners will face each other in the 110th Grey Cup, which will take place in Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday, November 19.

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