Top Ten Grey Cups of the last 40 years: Part 2

               Part 2 of our Grey Cup Top Ten lists focuses on #6 through to #3. Here we go.

#6. 1981: Edmonton Eskimos – 26, Ottawa Rough Riders – 23

                The biggest story heading into this game was the fact that Ottawa had a 5-11 regular season record while Edmonton posted a 14-1-1 mark. The talk was not IF the Esks would win but by how much. But the game started looking like the biggest upset in Grey Cup history would happen. The Riders’ defense stopped Edmonton’s powerful offense time and time again, and Ottawa slowly built their lead.

                Two Gerry Organ field goals and a Jim Reid one-yard touchdown run gave the Riders a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Sam Platt ran 14 yards for another Ottawa touchdown, boosting the lead to 20-0. Edmonton managed a single point before the half ended on a missed field goal that wasn’t returned out of the endzone.

                Edmonton came out strong in the second half and Ottawa defense tried to hang on. A two-yard touchdown run by Jim Germany and a quarterback sneak by Warren Moon closed the Rider lead to five points at 20-15. In the fourth quarter, Organ kicked another field goal to make the score 23-15, but another Moon touchdown and a two point convert tied the game at 23.

                With four minutes to play, Ottawa looked like they were on the Cup-winning drive when receiver, Tony Gabriel, caught a 20-yard pass with an Eskimo defender practically hanging onto his back. However, the referees called both players for pass interference and the play was called back. Replays clearly showed it was a bad call and should have only gone against Edmonton. Ottawa would eventually punt the ball and the Eskimo offence gradually moved the ball into field goal range where kicker, Dave Cutler, booted the winning field goal as Edmonton avoided the upset, 26-23.

#5. 2005: Edmonton Eskimos – 38, Montreal Alouettes – 35 (OT)

                This would be the first time in 44 years that the Grey Cup went into overtime. The game got off to slow start offensively as Edmonton led by a score of 3-1 after the first quarter. A touchdown pass from Ricky Ray to Ed Hervey added seven more to the Edmonton tally and they went into the half with a 10-1 lead. When the second half started, the fun began.

                Montreal running back, Eric Lapointe scored on a one-yard plunge for the Alouettes’ first major of the game. The convert made it 10-8 but Edmonton added a field goal to take a 13-8 lead. Lapointe scored another TD and Montreal added a field goal to take a 18-13 lead, but before the third quarter ended, Edmonton had another touchdown of their own with Tony Tompkins returning a kick off 96 yards. At the end of the third quarter, Edmonton led 20-18.

                In the fourth, the two opposing quarterbacks scored touchdowns with Montreal pivot, Anthony Calvillo running a bootleg for one yard while Ray snuck in for the Edmonton touchdown, which was followed by a two-point convert and a 28-25 Eskimos’ lead. As time expired, Montreal kicker, Damon Duval, kicked a field goal to tie the game at 28.

                Montreal had first possession in the OT. (Several years earlier, the CFL had adopted the NCAA Football overtime method where both teams would have a possession starting at the 30-yard line. If both teams scored the same number of points, another overtime would follow, same format.) Both teams scored touchdowns in their opening possession of OT, forcing a second. After an Edmonton field goal, Montreal took possession, but a penalty and a sack brought up a third and 33 from the 45 yard line. Montreal failed to convert and the Eskimos had the Cup for the second time in three years.

#4. 1994: B.C. Lions – 26, Baltimore CFLers – 23

                Despite having their original name (Baltimore CFL Colts) blocked by the NFL after a threat of a lawsuit, the Baltimore club became the first team based out of the United States to play for the Grey Cup. The B.C. Lions, after two road wins in the playoffs against Edmonton and Calgary, would represent the West Division and, essentially, Canada.

                The game had a Canada vs USA feel right from the beginning and the Vancouver crowd would voacally support the Lions throughout the game. B.C. scored first on a Lui Passaglia 47-yard field goal, but Baltimore would strike back with a touchdown run by quarterback, Tracy Ham, and a 46-yard interception return by Karl Anthony to take a 14-3 lead. Late in the second quarter, with the Balitmore offence pinned deep in their own end, Ham threw a pass that was intercepted by Charles Gordon and run seventeen yards into the endzone. A Baltimore field goal made the half time score 17-10 in favour of the U.S. squad.

                Another Baltimore field goal at the beginning of the third quarter gave the team a ten point lead but by the end of the quarter, the Lions tied the score on a one-yard TD run by back-up quarterback, Danny McManus and a 42-yard field goal by Passaglia.

                After the teams traded field goals early in the fourth, B.C. started what looked like the game-winning drive, but Passaglia missed a 37-yard field goal with 1:02 left in the game. Baltimore went two and out and had to punt the ball back to the Lions. After a few plays moved the ball to the Baltimore 31-yard line, Passaglia made good on his second chance, booting a 38-yard field goal to give B.C. the victory and keep the Grey Cup in Canada—for one more year.

#3. 1987: Edmonton Eskimos – 38, Toronto Argonauts – 36

                This was a back-and-forth game that saw big plays, both starting quarterbacks get knocked out of the game with injuries, and numerous lead changes. Edmonton kick returner, Henry “Gizmo” Williams, got the scoring started when he returned a missed field goal by Argo kicker, Lance Chomyc, 112 yards for a touchdown and the longest return in Grey Cup history.

                Edmonton led 10-3 by the end of the first quarter, but Toronto rookie running back, Gil Fenerty, scored on a 61-yard pass. After an Edmonton turnover, Fenerty scored again, this time from five yards out and the Argos had a 17-10 lead. A few plays later, the Eskimos fumbled again and Toronto defender, Doug Landry, picked it up and sprinted 54 yards for another Argo touchdown and a 24-10 lead.

                Then Edmonton QB, Matt Dunigan, exited the game with a head injury and Damon Allen, who would lead the Argos to a Grey Cup Championship 17 years later in 2004, would take over for the Eskimos. Before the first half ended, Allen found Marco Syncar for a six-yard touchdown pass and the Toronto lead was cut to 24-17.

                The third quarter was rather uneventful with Edmonton only scoring four points and the Argos getting three. Toronto took a 27-21 lead into the final period. On the first play of the fourth, Allen found Brian Kelly for a 15-yard touchdown pass and after the convert, the Eskimos led 28-27.

                A Chomyc field goal put the Argos back in front, but Allen scrambled for a 17-yard touchdown and gave Edmonton a 35-30 lead with just under seven minutes to go. After Toronto QB, Gilbert Renfroe, went down with a knee injury mid-way through the game, back-up, Danny Barrett, came into the game and was equal to the task. With 2:43 remaining, Barrett ran 25 yards into the endzone giving the Argos their lead back. But the two-point convert failed and the lead was only one.

                Edmonton drove down the field and into field goal range, where kicker Jerry Kauric booted the game winning points from 49 yards to give the Eskimos their first Grey Cup victory since they won five in a row in the late 70s/early 80s.

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Top Ten Grey Cups of the last 40 years: Part 1

                Since this is Grey Cup week, I thought I’d give my list of the top ten best Grey Cup games since 1975. I will start with some honourable mentions, then look at #10 to #7.

Honourable Mentions

1991: Toronto Argonauts – 36, Calgary Stampeders – 21

                This game was close until the Argos’ special teams took over early in the fourth quarter. With the score 22-21 Toronto, Raghib “The Rocket” Ismail returned a punt 87 yards, putting the Argos up 29-21. The following kickoff was fumbled, Toronto recovered, and QB Matt Dunigan threw a 36-yard pass to Paul Massotti to bury the Stamps.

1995: Baltimore Stallions – 37, Calgary Stampeders – 20

                The first and only Grey Cup won by an American based team, the Stallions were led by an 82-yard punt return by Chris Wright, a four-yard fumble return by Alvin Walton and five Brian Huerta field goals. The Stamps never really threatened Baltimore’s control of the game.

2002: Montreal Alouettes – 25, Edmonton Eskimos-16

                Montreal won its first Grey Cup since 1977. After being in contention since their re-incarnation in 1996, the Alouettes were strong defensively during the game. The Eskimos trailed by eight when they scored a touchdown with 19 seconds to play, but the two-point convert attempt failed. Still, at 18-16, they still had a chance to win if they recovered the onside kick. Instead, Montreal’s Jermaine Copeland grabbed the onside attempt and raced 47 yards to the endzone with the game-clinching score.

Okay, now for the top 10 list:

#10. 2009: Montreal Alouettes – 28, Saskatchewan Roughriders – 27

                This will forever be remembered for the game that the Roughriders won, if it were not for a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty. Saskatchewan, who led by as many as 14 points at one point during the game, led by two with time winding down. The Als lined up to kick a 43 yard field goal to win the game. But Montreal kicker Damon Duval missed it wide right and the Saskatchewan players began to celebrate.

                However, the Roughriders had 13 men on the field and were penalized ten yards and Duval was given another chance to win the game, this time a 33 yard attempt, which he hit, giving Montreal their first cup win since 2002.

#9. 1998: Calgary Stampeders – 26, Hamilton Tiger-Cats – 24

                This was a back-and-forth game which featured two All-Star quarter backs: Jeff Garcia for Calgary and Danny McManus for Hamilton. Calgary led 4-3 at the end of the first quarter, and Hamilton took a 16-10 lead at the half. After two single points for Hamilton (one from a missed field goal, the other on a punt that went into the Stampeders’ end zone), Calgary scored a TD on a Garcia run and the third quarter ended with Hamilton ahead 18-17.

                Two field goals by Calgary kicker Mark McLaughlin put the Stamps up 23-18, but Hamilton scored the go-ahead touchdown with three minutes remaining on a four-yard run by Ronald Williams. The two-point conversion attempted was unsuccessful. Now trailing by a point, Calgary drove down the field and McLaughlin kicked the winning field goal as time expired.

#8. 1988: Winnipeg Blue Bombers – 22, B.C. Lions – 21

                While the temperature wasn’t much of a factor in this Grey Cup game, held in Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, the wind played havoc with the kicking and the passing game all day. Tony Cherry scored the first major of the game when he carried the ball in from 14 yards out, giving the Lions a 7-1 lead. Two Trevor Kennard field goals tied the game at seven, but B.C. quarter back Matt Dunigan threw a 26 yard touchdown pass to David Williams to put the Lions back on top, 14-7. Winnipeg QB Sean Salisbury led the Bombers on a touchdown drive of their own to tie the score at 14.

                From there, it was a contest of field goals and single points as the Bombers eventually took a 22-19 lead as time began to wind down. The Lions started what looked like a potential game-winning drive as Dunigan led the team 75 yards down to the Winnipeg seven-yard line. However, Dunigan’s pass on first-and-goal was batted up in the air and intercepted by the Bombers’ Mike Gray to end the threat.

                After Winnipeg conceded a safety in favour of better field position, the Lions got the ball back for one last chance, trailing 22-21. However, they never threatened again and Winnipeg won their second Grey Cup Championship of the decade.

#7. 1976: Ottawa Rough Riders – 23, Saskatchewan Roughriders – 20

                This would be the final Grey Cup Ottawa would ever win. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter with an early field goal, then a 79-yard touchdown on a punt return by Bill Hatanaka. However, before the first half ended, Saskatchewan scored 17 unanswered points, led by two touchdowns from quarter back, Ron Lancaster and a field goal. Steve Mazurak and Rob Richardson were the recipients of the touchdown passes.

                The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter and Saskatchewan led 20-13 heading into the final fifteen minutes of the game. Another Ottawa field goal cut the lead to 20-16, but were stopped on a goal-line stand with just few minutes remaining by the Saskatchewan defense. But Ottawa got the ball back, and found themselves on the Green Riders’ 24-yard line with only 20 seconds left.

                As Ottawa quarterback, Tom Clements, dropped back to pass, receiver Tony Gabriel headed towards the endzone on a post pattern, but quickly changed it into a corner route. The Saskatchewan defender fell for the fake and Gabriel was wide open. Clements' pass was perfect and Ottawa had the touchdown needed to win the Grey Cup.

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Ohio State's loss leaves the door for the College Playoff wide open

                The College Football Playoff (CFP) picture just got a lot cloudier this past weekend, but what a weekend it was. Two big upsets as a couple of teams fell from the ranks of the undefeated. And other teams that appeared out of it only a few short weeks ago, worked themselves back into the picture.

                The updated CFP poll will be released Tuesday evening and it should make for some interesting debate among College Football fans. Personally, I’m excited for the next two weekends and I don’t even know where to begin. Should I talk about who should be the top four, or who doesn’t deserve to be there, or who plays who and what will happen if so-and-so wins? However you look at it, Rivalry Weekend (coming up) and Conference Championship Weekend (first Saturday in December) are going to be too difficult to predict but will offer up a ton of drama.

                Let’s start with the Clemson Tigers. They were last week’s number one in the CFP rankings and that shouldn’t change. The Tigers are now 11-0 after beating Wake Forest 33-13 on the weekend, capping an undefeated conference season (8-0 in the ACC.) They have clinched the ACC Atlantic Division and will play the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Championship on December 5^th. Before that, though, is this weekend’s game against their rival, South Carolina. The Gamecocks have had a miserable season at 3-8 and won’t pose much of a threat to the Tigers. Clemson should still be number one in the CFP when it is released Tuesday evening.

                The Alabama Crimson Tide have a 10-1 record after destroying the Charleston Southern Buccaneers by a score of 56-6. Despite having one loss, to Ole Miss back in September, the Tide have been rolling since that lone setback. They’ve already clinched the SEC West and will play the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship. But rivalry weekend will see them play inter-state rival, the Auburn Tigers, a pre-season favourite for the National Championship and if Alabama wins both games, they will be ranked number two in the final CFP rankings.

                While the first two spots are pretty solid, it’s number three and down that get a little confusing, as well as controversial, perhaps. When the rankings are releases this week, Notre Dame will be number three. I don’t agree with that choice, and I haven’t agreed with the Irish being in the top four for the previous few weeks either. They haven’t done anything this season to prove that they belong in the top four. Yes, they are 10-1. Yes, their only loss is to Clemson by two points. But look at how they’ve struggled in the other games. They turned the ball over five times against Boston College last weekend and barely escaped with a 19-16 win. Struggles against teams like Georgia Tech (unranked), USC (unranked) and Temple (unranked) make me believe that they shouldn’t be—at this point—a top four team. But it seems like the people who vote on the CFP desperately want the Irish in the four-team playoff due to tradition, popularity and all that. A loss to Stanford this coming weekend would definitely knock them out of contention. Not having a thirteenth game due to not being in a conference would hurt them as well.

                Number four will most likely be the Iowa Hawkeyes. They were number five last week and they remain the only undefeated team in the Big Ten after Ohio State lost to Michigan State. The Hawkeyes control their own destiny. They’ve already won the Big Ten West and will play in the Big Ten Championship against either Ohio State, Michigan State or Michigan. Their final regular season game is Friday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They win that and win their Conference Championship game, a spot in the top four is pretty much assured.

                Now for the other contenders. Whoever wins the Big 12 will only have one loss, but not having a conference championship game will hurt them as much as it will the Irish. Three teams still have a shot. The Oklahoma Sooners will play the Oklahoma State Cowboys this Saturday. If the Sooners, whose only loss was a shocking, horrible performance against the Texas Longhorns, will win the Conference with an 8-1 record (11-1 overall). If the Baylor Bears win their final two games, they will finish at 8-1 as well, but their only loss was to the Sooners and therefore they would lose the tie-breaker. Oklahoma State, who was undefeated until they played Baylor on Saturday, needs to beat Oklahoma on Saturday, and hope Baylor loses one of their remaining games. If Baylor wins both, they will be tied with the Cowboys and will win the tie-breaker with the head-to-head.

                In the Big Ten, Michigan State controls its own destiny. The Spartans pulled off the upset against Ohio State and now, with a victory over Penn State, will win the East and play the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes. By winning the Big Ten Conference, the Spartans would be in the best position to pick up a top four spot. It the Spartans lose, the winner of the Ohio State/Michigan game would win the East and have a chance to knock off Iowa for the title. An Ohio State Big Ten Championship would likely move them back into the playoff spot. The Wolverines, on the other hand, have two losses and even winning the Conference would probably not be enough to get the nod for the playoffs. A Michigan Big Ten title would assuredly hand the fourth spot to the Big 12 Champ.

                Confused yet? I hope so. It’s what makes the College Game much more exciting than the NFL.

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