Elks fans, it’s finally here. The Elks finished 13 and 5, took first place in the West, and beat the B.C. Lions 28 to 16 in the West Final to get back to the Grey Cup for the first time since the 2015 Grey Cup win. Sunday in Calgary, the Elks face a Montreal team that is absolutely unreal and is going to be a tough task.
The Alouettes finished 14 and 4 and opened up as favourites to win the Grey Cup while having the Most Outstanding Player and the Most Outstanding Canadian on one offence. While Montreal looks very hard to beat, I like the Elks a lot more in this matchup than the West Final versus B.C. If the Elks do these three things, I am very confident they will win the football game.
1. Limit Davis Alexander
Everything Montreal does offensively starts with the Most Outstanding Player, Davis Alexander. The Alouettes are second in the league in passing yards at 320.6 yards a game, and they led the CFL in net offence, yards per play and fewest sacks allowed, with just 19. The two regular season games against the Elks showed how dangerous he really is. With the Elks having the best defence in the Canadian Football League, in the first matchup, the Elks’ overtime win in June, he threw for 356 yards.
In Montreal’s 48 to 30 win in August, he completed 22 of 28 passes for 352 yards. If you expect the Elks to shut down Alexander like they shut down Rourke, it is quite unlikely. They will have to get pressure and keep him in the pocket to be successful.
Malik Carney was second in the CFL with 11 sacks, Noah Taylor had 10, and defensive back Tyrell Ford led the league with seven interceptions. The big thing is that Alexander was shaky last year in the 25 to 17 loss against Saskatchewan, where he threw three interceptions. The pressure of the big game and it being a must-win for the Alouettes could get to him. If there is a defence to shut Montreal down, it’s the Elks.
2. Dominate the ground game
The number one way for the Elks to control the clock is on the ground. The Elks led the CFL in rushing at 127.6 yards a game, led it in rushing attempts with 406, and averaged 5.7 yards a carry, tied for second in the CFL. When they are able to run the ball, it lets the offence get into a rhythm and lets the defence ride the momentum while keeping Alexander on the bench.
Justin Rankin ran for more than 1,000 yards this season while scoring 10 touchdowns. He scored two touchdowns in the Elks’ overtime win over Montreal in June. In the August loss, he got seven carries for 62 yards. As of mid-August, four of the five times he got 10 or more carries, he ran for 100 yards. Feed him early and often. The Elks have also won eight consecutive games when he runs for 100-plus yards. ShunDerrick Powell gives the Elks a second option, with 236 yards on 35 carries and a 6.7-yard average through the first 16 games.
The biggest story in this game is Cody Fajardo. He’s playing his former team, the one that traded him away, and he is a hugely underrated part of the run game too. He finished fourth in the CFL with 4,788 passing yards while also running for 517 yards and eight touchdowns. Against B.C. last week, he threw for 274 yards and a touchdown and ran for a huge 84 yards and another touchdown. When the offence wasn’t able to do much, Fajardo put them on his back and used his legs to continue drives. He talked a ton in the media about not sliding and leaving it all on the line. If he can hurt Montreal with his legs again, the Alouettes’ defence will have a ton of trouble.
3. Be themselves and be “Grey Cup crashers”
This Elks team is a young team. Before the West Final, the Elks hadn’t played a playoff game since I was a young kid. I am 18 years old now, and for a lot of guys in the Elks locker room, last Saturday was their first playoff game. The Grey Cup is a big stage, and even though the Elks looked very solid against B.C., they can’t let that inexperience show. They don’t need to do anything crazy. They need to play the same way they did in the 13 games they won. Keep dominating defensively, run the ball, and let the leaders take control. The Elks also have Fajardo, who has played in 8 playoff games and won a Grey Cup in 2023, to settle everyone down with his leadership. Everyone says they have what it takes to be a championship-winning football team. Now it’s their time to prove it.
The pressure is also all on Montreal. The Alouettes were favourites to win this Grey Cup from start to finish. After losing last year’s final, when Alexander almost brought them all the way back, they have been waiting all year for the shot at redemption, and most people expect them to win it. The Elks went into the season with the longest Grey Cup odds in the league and have nothing to lose. If Edmonton plays loose and plays its game, that pressure could move to the other sideline. I really do believe that when the Elks are the underdogs, the favour should go to them. They play like crashers, and I would be worried if I were part of the Montreal organization.
Why Elks fans should believe
This team has spent all year proving people wrong. They have a quarterback who knows how to win this football game. Fajardo won the 2023 Grey Cup with Montreal, the same team that later let him go. He has a huge chip on his shoulder and just wants to prove the doubters wrong along with this football team. The Elks have also been tough at home, going 8 and 1 at Commonwealth Stadium. Historically, they are also elite in the Grey Cup, normally winning the big game. Now they bring that history and edge to Calgary.
Get to Alexander, run the football and play their game, and the Grey Cup will head back to Edmonton.
Kickoff is at 5 p.m. (Edmonton time) on Sunday, Nov. 15. Go Elks, go!
