This weekend is the biggest for Canadian football. Both the U Sports and CFL Champions will be crowned.
History of Grey Cup & Vanier Cup Weekend
Late November has always been the most important for Canadian football. Since the inception of the Vanier Cup 1965, the two games have played within a week of one another in almost every year.
The Vanier Cup is awarded to the top Canadian University team. The matchup used to be determined by a panel which selected the top two teams to play for the title. It has since shifted to a play-in event. The Vanier Cup used to be played in the same host city as the Grey Cup as part of a larger weekend of festivities. They shifted to their independent games in 2017.
The Grey Cup is the second-oldest trophy in North American professional sports. First awarded in 1909, university football teams used to be the ones who competed for it. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues won the first three instalments. They competed against a handful of other football teams in Toronto, eventually expanding to Hamilton.
The CFL was formed in 1958 and adopted the Grey Cup as its championship trophy. Only one American team has ever hoisted the Grey Cup. In the 90s the CFL attempted to expand into the United States, which proved to be a failure. During that four-year test run, the Baltimore Stallions won the Grey Cup in 1995.
Canadian Football vs American Football
This weekend’s games are important for Canadian football. Canadian rules and American have both similarities and differences.
What’s the Same
The two forms of football share the same overall goal: score more points than the other team. To do that, teams will battle for field position, attempting to get first downs. Teams move the ball by either running it or throwing to an eligible receiver. Teams have a limited amount of attempts to get a first down – normally 10 yards. If they do not get the yards needed, then they forfeit the ball to the opposition.
Scoring happens in the form of touchdowns, field goals and safeties. A touchdown is when the offensive team gets the ball into the end zone, which is worth six points. A field goal is when a team decides to attempt to kick a placed ball through the uprights in or behind the endzone. Successfully doing so is worth three points. A safety occurs when a team gets tackled with the ball inside their own endzone. This awards two points to the defensive team.
Positionally, the formations are relatively similar between the two forms of football. A quarterback will have the ball snapped to them from their centre. They are able to throw to receivers who have to declare themselves as eligible. They are able to hand the ball off to running backs who specialize in picking up yards while running.
Defensively, defensive backs patrol the open field to negate passes. Defensive linemen will try and penetrate the opponents’ offensive line to try and tackle the quarterback or ball carrier. Linebackers serve as middle-men between linemen and defensive backs. Both forms of the game also have designated kickers and punters.
What’s Different
The dimensions of a Canadian football field
The fundamentals are the same between American and Canadian rules; however, there are vast differences in small areas.
There is one scoring difference between Canadian and American rules. In Canada, if a kicked ball goes into the endzone, the receiving team must run the ball out. Failure to do so results in a single point for the kicking team called a “rouge”. It is the only instance in football that a team can score a standalone point (point-after kicks only occur after touchdowns).
For starts, Canadian rules football is played on a larger field. The field measures 110 yards long by 65 yards wide. They have 20-yard end zones with the uprights inside them. American fields are smaller, measuring 100 yards long by 53 and a half yards wide. They have just 10 yards with which to work in the end zone. The uprights are placed behind the endzone, only coming into play when a field goal is attempted.
The discrepancies in field size allow for Canadian football to have one more player than American rules; American rules allow for 11 players, Canadians have 12. On the field, the difference comes with having one more defensive back on defence, and another receiver on offence. American rules will typically run three receivers, a running back, fullback or tight end plus a quarterback and five offensive linemen. Canadian will have two wide receivers, two slot receivers, a full back, a running back, a quarterback and five linemen. Jobs for all these positions vary depending on the play being run.
This Weekend
The 55th Vanier Cup
The Vanier Cup will be played in Laval, Quebec between the final two remaining university programs. The Montreal Carabins will play the Calgary Dinos.
Montreal is coached by Danny Maciocia. Their success this season can partially be attributed to offensive coordinator, Anthony Calvillo. The former Montreal Alouettes quarterback is a CFL Hall of Famer and is taking his first stab at coaching.
The Carabins finished the RSEQ season 6-2 with the second-best offence. They upset the defending-champion Laval Rouge et Or in the RSEQ Championship, guaranteeing a new national champion in 2019. Montreal dismantled the Acadia Axemen 38-0.
The Calgary Dinos are back in the Vanier Cup for the first time since 2016. The Dinos won the Hardy Cup as Canada West champions 29-4 over the Saskatchewan Huskies. They then defeated the McMaster Marauders 30-17 in the Mitchell Bowl to advance to this weekend’s contest. They have 2018 Hec Crighton-winner, Adam Sinagra leading the charge at quarterback. The fifth-year QB was tied for the most touchdown passes in Canada West with 13. In the Mitchell Bowl, Sinagra threw for 261 yards and a touchdown against the Marauders.
The 55th Vanier Cup will begin at 1 pm on Saturday.
The 107th Grey Cup
The 107th Grey Cup will be played in Calgary on Sunday. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers will duke it out to see who the champion of the CFL is. Neither team has won the Grey Cup since the 90s. Winnipeg last won it in 1990, while Hamilton hasn’t hoisted it since 1990. Hamilton has more recent Grey Cup experience, last playing in the big dance in 2014. Winnipeg hasn’t been in the championship game since 2011.
STAGE IS SET | https://t.co/0gtb7CD13i @Shaw_CFL #RoadtotheGreyCup #GreyCup pic.twitter.com/wsf6oinZa0
— CFL (@CFL) November 18, 2019
Hamilton finished the regular season atop the East Division with a 15-3 record. They had a bye to the Eastern Finals, where they easily handled the Edmonton Eskimos 36-16.
Brandon Banks was just named the CFL Most Outstanding Player for the season. Banks led the league in receptions (112), receiving yards (1550) and receiving touchdowns (13). Throwing the ball to Banks will be Dane Evans. The second-year quarterback threw for 386 yards and a touchdown in the East Finals. Defensively, Simoni Lawrence will lead Hamilton. The linebacker led the CFL with 98 total tackles, four sacks and three interceptions in 15 regular-season games.
The Blue Bombers finished the regular season with an 11-7 record, good for third in the powerhouse West Division. They knocked off the defending-champion Calgary Stampeders in the West semis, then survived a thriller against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Finals 20-13.
Winnipeg has been led by the top running back in the CFL, Andrew Harris. The ten-year veteran led the league with 1380 rushing yards, scoring four touchdowns. He also collected another 529 yards and four touchdowns through the air. This, while being suspended for two games earlier in the year.
At quarterback, the Blue Bombers have Zach Collaros. The Bombers QB was injured for most of the year, only playing in two regular-season games. He was a force in the West Final, throwing for 267 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions against the Roughriders.
The two teams met twice in the regular season. Hamilton won both meetings by a combined score of 56-28. As is the case in November, the weather will play a factor. Forecasts in Calgary are showing a mix of sun and clouds with 3 degrees expected during the day. It will likely get colder as the sun sets.
The Grey Cup will kick off at 6 pm on Sunday from McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
