The Grey Cup spotlight will be on Davis Alexander this week in Winnipeg.
The Montreal quarterback takes an unblemished 13-0 career record as a CFL starter into the Alouettes’ Grey Cup showdown with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Nov. 16.
But all eyes will be on the charismatic American leading up to the big game after he tweaked his left hamstring in the Alouettes’ 19-16 win over Hamilton in the East Division final Saturday.
Alexander twice spent time on the injured list with the injury that limited him to just seven games in his first full season as Montreal’s starter. The Alouettes were 7-0 under Alexander but 3-8 in games he didn’t start.
“Davis has played with this injury for a few games, he played the majority of our training camp with it,” said Montreal head coach Jason Maas. “I know he knows how to deal with it but it remains to be seen how bad it is.
“If he does not go, we’ll still have the same expectation on our team, which is to go in and win.”
There’s no doubt in Alexander’s mind that he’ll play. When he tweaked the hamstring in the fourth quarter against the Tiger-Cats, Maas instructed backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson to begin warming up only to have Alexander emphatically state he wasn’t coming out of the game.
Alexander is 11-0 during the regular season for Montreal: the best start ever to a CFL career. He has won both of his post-season starts.
Montreal and Saskatchewan will meet Sunday for the third time in the Grey Cup. The Alouettes defeated the Riders in 2009 (28-27) and 2010 (21-18).
Alexander didn’t enjoy his best outing versus Hamilton, completing 19 of 26 passes for 210 yards with a TD and interception while rushing seven times for a team-high 64 yards. But he didn’t scramble on Montreal’s seven-play, 36-yard final drive, completing two of three passes for 28 yards.
“That’s a really good question, I couldn’t answer that for you,” Alexander said when asked if he could’ve run on the drive. “I didn’t play the cleanest game, but I don’t have to be Superman for this team to win.
“Whether people believe that or not, I hope now they do. This is a full unit, it’s one heartbeat. We talk about this all the time, we’re as resilient as it comes.”
Maas said if Alexander’s mobility is limited against Saskatchewan, Montreal will adjust accordingly on offence.
“When you have that hindrance, then you have to trust the offence and the offence is built with answers,” said Maas, a former CFL quarterback. “We’d have to come up with a gameplan that plays to what he’s able to do.
“I don’t care if the other team knows that or not, it would be based on us executing. I know he [Alexander] is fully capable of playing in that pocket and making good decisions and chopping the ball down to a bunch of guys that I believe can make plays on our offence.”
Maas will make his second Grey Cup appearance as a head coach. He won twice as a player with Edmonton (2003, ’05) and as an assistant with Toronto (2012).
Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace will make his Grey Cup debut as a head coach. He won a championship as a defensive lineman with Calgary (2014) and two as an assistant with the Stampeders (defensive line coach in 2018) and Toronto (defensive co-ordinator in 2022).
If Alexander starts Sunday, he’ll face Saskatchewan for the first time this season. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, each winning on the road as Bethel-Thompson got both starts for Montreal.
Saskatchewan won the first meeting 34-6 in Montreal on Aug. 2 but the Alouettes claimed a 48-31 shootout victory in Regina on Sept. 13. Bethel-Thompson threw for 379 yards and three TDs with two going to Canadian Tyson Philpot, who had nine catches for 238 yards.
Stevie Scott III rushed for 125 yards on 19 carries (6.6-yard average).
Saskatchewan makes its first Grey Cup appearance since 2013 when it defeated Hamilton 45-23 in Regina. On Saturday, Trevor Harris’s three-yard TD pass to Tommy Nield with 11 seconds remaining rallied the Riders past the B.C. Lions 24-21 in the West Division final.
Harris finished 26 for 38 passing for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Running back A.J. Ouellette – who won a Grey Cup with Toronto in 2022 – ran 17 times for 113 yards.
Harris, 39, is chasing a third Grey Cup championship after earning rings with Toronto (2012) and Ottawa (2016). Harris also started for the Redblacks in their 27-16 loss to Calgary in the ’18 CFL title game.
Alexander, 27, would make his first Grey Cup appearance. This is Montreal’s second time in the game since 2023, when it downed Winnipeg 28-24.
Montreal will chase its ninth Grey Cup championship overall. Saskatchewan comes in having won four titles.
