Welcome to the 3DownNation 112th Grey Cup live blog, courtesy of longtime contributor and managing editor John Hodge! We’ll have up-to-the-second news, insight, and analysis all afternoon and evening for your enjoyment as the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes play at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
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7:18 p.m. EST — Trevor Harris just tested the midrange of Montreal’s defence for the first time and it paid off as he found Dohnte Meyers for a 29-yard catch-and-run. The Alouettes have forced Harris to go through a number of reads virtually every time he’s dropped back thus far. This time, he found the right one.
7:13 p.m. EST — We’ve got our first touchdown of the game! Shea Patterson, Montreal’s short-yardage quarterback, has punched in a one-yard plunge off the left side on third-and-goal. SASKATCHEWAN 1, MONTREAL 7.
7:09 p.m. EST — We’ve got our first big play of the game! Tyson Philpot was wide open down the seam and Davis Alexander found him for a 37-yard gain. The throw was ugly but Philpot made a nice adjustment to the ball and secured the catch. Here’s an article I wrote on Philpot this week. Also worth noting: Malik Carney, Saskatchewan’s best pass-rusher, was injured on the play and left the field favouring his right leg.
7:05 p.m. EST — Trevor Harris and Kian Schaffer-Baker were unable to connect on second down, forcing Saskatchewan to punt. The incompletion was just as well, given that the receiver was three yards shy of a first down. Montreal’s defence is as good as any in the CFL but the Roughriders are going to have to find a way to push the ball downfield at some point if they’re going to win this game.
7:01 p.m. EST — Joseph Zema’s punt took a Montreal bounce near the goal line and rolled out of bounds at Saskatchewan’s three-yard line. The Roughriders will start this drive buried near their own end zone.
6:59 p.m. EST — Head coach Jason Maas just made a key decision for the Alouettes. Marcus Sayles was all over Charleston Rambo on a deep pass along the west sideline but there was no call from the official. Maas chose not to challenge for pass interference, possibly because his team still has second down upcoming.
6:57 p.m. EST — We have our first point! Jesse Mirco’s punt rolled into the end zone and out of bounds for a rouge. SASKATCHEWAN 1, MONTREAL 0.
6:55 p.m. EST — We almost just had the second interception of the game as Kabion Ento jumped an outlet pass from Trevor Harris intended for A.J. Ouellette but was unable to complete the catch. This marks the second time in three playoff games that Ento has dropped what likely would have been a pick-six. Saskatchewan will punt here.
6:51 p.m. EST — We’ve got a turnover! Davis Alexander looked for Tyson Philpot on a post route but the ball was under-thrown, allowing Marcus Sayles to make the interception. The veteran cornerback returned the ball 25 yards to his team’s 38-yard line. Alexander threw into double coverage on the play but Philpot had a step on both defenders — the quarterback just needed to put more air on the ball and the receiver likely would have scored.
6:50 p.m. EST — Stevie Scott III ran for nine yards on the opening play from scrimmage following a 23-yard kickoff return from Tyson Philpot.
6:48 p.m. EST — This is my eighth consecutive day of Grey Cup coverage and we’re finally about to get the opening kickoff. LET’S. GO.
6:47 p.m. EST — The video screens here just conducted a poll of the crowd, asking them to make noise if they fall into certain categories. Winnipeg fans got the loudest cheer, followed closely by Saskatchewan fans. The cheer among those rooting for Saskatchewan was a little louder than those cheering for Montreal.
6:45 p.m. EST — With rule changes incoming for next season, this could very well be the last CFL game ever where a missed field goal automatically results in a rouge. I don’t want to jinx anything, but imagine today’s game were decided on such a score?
6:43 p.m. EST — Saskatchewan has won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Montreal will receive.
6:41 p.m. EST — Canadian prime minister Mark Carney was just introduced to a loud chorus of boos as well. I guess his decision to pick Saskatchewan did not elicit any last-second support.
6:40 p.m. EST — Proulx was just introduced to the crowd to a chorus of loud boos. I’ve never understood why fans don’t seem to like Proulx. Officiating is an extremely difficult job and he’s good at it. Then again, maybe they were yelling “Proulx!”
6:37 p.m. EST — The crowd yelled “True North!” and “Blue!” extremely loudly during the national anthem. To me, that’s confirmation that most of the fans here are locals.
6:36 p.m. EST — Métis country artist Catie St. Germain just sang the national anthem but the media was treated to a private concert from head official Andre Proulx’s, whose microphone unwittingly live in the press box. Proulx is a talented official but he won’t be selling out Carnegie Hall anytime soon.
6:33 p.m. EST — There are seven voters for Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian this year. One of them is 3DownNation reporter J.C. Abbott.
6:29 p.m. EST — The Alouettes are now entering the field of play using the same south tunnel. There is plenty of cheering, but also a strong chorus of underlying boos.
6:27 p.m. EST — The Roughriders are coming out of the tunnel on the south side of Princess Auto Stadium and heading to the east-side bench. This is the same tunnel the Blue Bombers use, though the west bench is their home side. Interestingly, the Manitoba Bisons use the east bench when they play at home.
6:25 p.m. EST — Trevor Harris just appeared on the in-house video screens for an interview with TSN and there was a strong cheer. The crowd is around 30 percent green and they’re bringing the noise.
6:20 p.m. EST — Montreal has officially confirmed that Austin Mack and Pier-Olivier Lestage are active today. Personally, I’m thrilled for Lestage. The Université de Montréal product didn’t dress when the Alouettes won the Grey Cup in 2023.
6:14 p.m. EST — Our Lady Peace is performing. Three decades after its release, ‘Starseed’ is still a banger.
6:07 p.m. EST — A couple hundred cheerleaders representing all nine CFL teams have formed a square at midfield surrounding the drum lines from Winnipeg and Edmonton. It’s a pretty awesome visual with all the different colours. According to the in-house announcer, this is the first time in Grey Cup history all nine dance teams have performed together.
6:04 p.m. EST — Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has picked the Saskatchewan Roughriders to win the 112th Grey Cup. I expect his polling in the province to substantially improve.
6:02 p.m. EST — The Grey Cup is freakin’ awesome. I know we all know this, but sometimes it’s worth reiterating.
6:00 p.m. EST — We’ve got an in-house video playing that just showed the infamous “thirteenth man” clip from the 97th Grey Cup. I’m not sure the fans in the stands — many of whom are donning green — feel thrilled about that.
5:55 p.m. EST — Four large pickup trucks adorned with lights just took the field with both teams heading back to the locker rooms. It appears we’re getting close to a performance from Our Lady Peace. Eat your heart out, elder millennial rock and roll fans.
5:50 p.m. EST — Davis Alexander is going through walkthrough with the full offence. He just rolled out of the pocket to his left and looked pretty good running full speed. He then walked around a bit, seemingly testing how his hamstring feels.
5:41 p.m. EST — The Alouettes have two offensive starters with game-time decision designations: receiver Austin Mack and left guard Pier-Olivier Lestage. We’ll have to wait another 40 minutes or so to see whether or not they’ll play.
5:34 p.m. EST — The press box has Mountain Dew Zero Sugar for the first time ever. Shout out to whoever made this possible.
5:26 p.m. EST — Montreal just had a bunch of players run out from the tunnel and they were met with a hearty round of boos. Thus far, this is clearly a Saskatchewan crowd.
5:22 p.m. EST — A slew of Roughriders just took the field to a warm reception from the crowd. The seats are probably only about 10 percent full — mind you, the concourses are packed — but I’d estimate close to half the crowd is wearing green.
5:20 p.m. EST — Davis Alexander is on the field, walking around and lightly throwing the ball to teammates. I’d suggest he has a slight limp.
5:17 p.m. EST — A special congratulations to longtime CFL reporters Judy Owen and Paul Friesen on their induction into the media wing
5:12 p.m. EST — The CFL added advertisements to the lower back of all player uniforms for the playoffs. For anyone wondering, they have remained for the Grey Cup.
5:06 p.m. EST — A warmup kick just sailed through the back of the end zone and hit a member of the security team squarely in the hands, though they dropped it. Hopefully, that’s the only bad drop we see today.
5:04 p.m. EST — We’ve just had a brief Davis Alexander sighting, though Montreal’s quarterback wasn’t yet fully in uniform. When he takes the field, we’ll report how well he’s running on his injured left hamstring.
5:00 p.m. EST — We have players in uniform! The kickers, punters, and holders for both teams have taken the field and are starting their official warmups. As was announced earlier this week, the Alouettes are wearing all-blue and the Roughriders are wearing white uniforms with green helmets and green pants.
4:48 p.m. EST — The media centre at Princess Auto Stadium is absolutely packed, which is great to see given the state of the industry. The Blue Bombers eliminated one-third of the press box this past offseason to create two extra suites, which was bizarre timing. Winnipeg probably won’t host another Grey Cup for a decade, so it would have made sense to wait one more year to do the renovation.
4:37 p.m. EST — Montreal head coach Jason Maas just told the media Davis Alexander will have to be a “bit cautious” early in the game to feel out his injured hamstring. The fiery quarterback indicated that he expects to feel somewhere between 75 and 90 percent today.
4:31 p.m. EST — Fans have started to trickle in here at Princess Auto Stadium. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them are wearing green.
4:28 p.m. EST — When asked how much confidence he has in Brett Lauther, Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace offered the following quote: “No confidence — conviction.” Lauther had easily his worst season as member of the Roughriders in 2025 but Mace still appears to strongly believe in his abilities.
4:25 p.m. EST — That was fast. The heaters are working again.
4:22 p.m. EST — The heaters located above the front row of the press box are not working, though a maintenance person has been summoned. Hopefully, the issue is rectified soon or this will become a problem into the night.
4:16 p.m. EST — There are around 20 players warming up on the field for Montreal along with maybe a half-dozen Roughriders. They aren’t in pads yet as the official warmup won’t start for at least another hour.
4:14 p.m. EST — The weather in Winnipeg is as good as anyone could have hoped for: two degrees with minimal wind and a mix of sun and cloud. Considering the conditions at some previous Grey Cups in the Manitoba capital, these are practically idyllic.
4:11 p.m. EST — I’m extremely proud of all the content 3DownNation has produced this week. Please check it all out for insight, news, and analysis on all of this week’s pertinent topics. You can also check out the latest episode of the 3DownNation Podcast before kickoff if you’d like.
4:07 p.m. EST — The stadium wrap for this year’s Grey Cup is an awesome blue-and-yellow prairie landscape. It pops nicely in-person but it looks especially great on camera. Typically, the walls that surround the playing surface at Princess Auto Stadium are a plain blue, which is a little boring. The next time the Blue Bombers re-do their stadium wrap, it’d be smart if they opted for something reminiscent of what’s currently installed. It’s great.
4:02 p.m. EST — My official pick for this year’s Grey Cup is a 27-24 win for the Montreal Alouettes. For picks from all of our contributors, click here. I polled several CFL coaches, players, and executives this week and most gave Montreal a slight edge, though Saskatchewan is the favourite according to oddmakers.
4:00 p.m. EST — We’re finally here! Let’s do this.
This year’s Grey Cup is exclusively on TSN, RDS, and CTV in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ globally.
