The Montreal Alouettes are a rare road favourite in a CFL division final.
Now, they have to prove they deserve the love from oddsmakers.
Als star quarterback Davis Alexander carries a 12-0 career record as a starter into Hamilton Stadium for Saturday’s East final against the Tiger-Cats.
The Als (10-8 in the regular season) finished two points behind the Ticats (11-7), but Alexander played just seven of Montreal’s games as he battled injury.
Combine that with the Ticats’ 1-6 record against playoff teams with their starting quarterback and you can see why many feel Montreal can emerge with a ticket to the Grey Cup.
Here’s a capsule look at the East final:
buildin’ towards saturday ????You won’t wanna miss this one. Wear black. pic.twitter.com/XWmORrvC06
The schedule
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET / noon PT, at Hamilton Stadium.
The line
The Alouettes were favoured by 2.5 points as of Thursday by BetMGM.
Weather
The afternoon high is 8 C. Partly cloudy skies are expected with winds of 13 km/h.
At stake
The winner goes to the Grey Cup on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg to face the winner of the West final later Saturday between the visiting B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Season series
The Tiger-Cats won both games, but Alexander wasn’t available in either contest for Montreal.
Hamilton rebounded from a 0-2 start with a big 35-17 win against visiting Montreal on June 27, starting a six-game win streak for the Ticats that put them atop the East for good.
On a les yeux rivés sur le grand prix ‼️We’re headed to Hamilton this weekend for the Eastern Final????! pic.twitter.com/7nkqxNMukB
McLeod Bethel-Thompson started at QB for Montreal and threw two interceptions. Ticats QB Bo Levi Mitchell, the East finalist for CFL most outstanding player for the second year in a row, completed 25 of 31 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ticats also beat the Alouettes 26-9 in Montreal on Sept. 6. Alouettes fourth-string QB James Morgan passed for just 138 yards and one interception.
Hamilton showcased an oft-criticized run game that afternoon with Greg Bell scampering for 156 yards and one touchdown.
Playoff history
The Ticats return to the post-season after missing out last year in Scott Milanovich’s first season as head coach. Hamilton followed up consecutive Grey Cup losses to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019 and ’21 with East semifinal losses to the Als in 2022 and ’23.
The Tiger-Cats have the CFL’s longest Grey Cup drought, with their last championship coming way back in 1999.
The Alouettes beat the visiting Blue Bombers 42-33 in the East semifinal last week, with Alexander throwing for 384 yards and one touchdown, and Stevie Scott III rushing for 133 and two majors.
The Alouettes are making their third consecutive playoff appearance under coach Jason Maas and sixth in a row, overall. The Als won the Grey Cup in Maas’s first year before losing to the visiting Argos in last year’s East final.
Three key matchups
Tiger-Cats offensive line vs. Alouettes pass rush
The Alouettes tied for the league lead with 45 sacks. Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, voted the East’s top Canadian player the past two years, led the Als with 11 sacks, while CFL All-Pro linebacker Tyrice Beverette added seven.
They go against a Ticats team that was fourth in the league in sacks allowed. Hamilton has had some wobbly moments on its O-line, especially during a shocking Labour Day loss at home to the Toronto Argonauts, and Mitchell isn’t a huge threat to run anymore.
If Mitchell gets time, he’s as good as anyone in the league. He also has a deep group of receivers, led by star free-agent signing Kenny Lawler. The Als need to limit Mitchell’s time to scan the field to have their best chance.
Davis Alexander vs. Tiger-Cats linebackers
While Alexander is quite capable of beating teams with his arm, he also isn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run.
That puts pressure on the Tiger-Cats linebackers to respect both parts of Alexander’s game.
Big stage. Bigger moment. Davis Alexander delivered! ????Presenting your Eastern Semi-Final Player of the Game, fuelled by @GatoradeCanada.#GCPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/hIQp4bGETQ
Guys like rookie middle linebacker Devin Veresuk, the second-overall pick in this year’s CFL Draft out of Windsor, and SAM linebacker Reggie Stubblefield, a former Alouette, will face stiff challenges.
“(Alexander) opens up a lot in terms of the scramble game,” Veresuk told reporters in Hamilton this week, “He can use his legs and also be almost like a second running back. So it’s something us (the linebackers) and the whole defence have to keep an eye on, not letting him ruin the game with his legs. Get on your guy in coverage, watch his eyes and chase him down.”
Tiger-Cats head coach/offensive co-ordinator Scott Milanovich vs. Alouettes defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe
This could be a great chess match. Milanovich has had great success with veteran QBs (Ricky Ray, Mitchell) as well as developing then-young quarterbacks (Trevor Harris, Zach Collaros). The 2012 Grey Cup champion coach with the Argonauts, Milanovich this year found ways to get the Ticats’ running game going after a slow start, making Hamilton more diverse.
Milanovich goes against one of the best defensive minds in the business in Thorpe. He’s been a defensive co-ordinator or assistant head coach in the CFL since 2013, and helped the Als win the Grey Cup in 2023.
Prediction
Alouettes 28, Tiger-Cats 17
