B.C. Lions/David Friederich
It appears Cody Fajardo has made an official prediction for who will win the Grey Cup next month: the B.C. Lions.
“B.C. is on a heater right now and reminds me a lot like our 2023 team when I was with Montreal — just got hot at the right time. We went into their den and we got shellacked, it was tough,” Fajardo told the media in Edmonton.
“They flew around coming off a bye week, they showed us some stuff on defence that they haven’t shown all year. In my opinion, that’s a Grey Cup-winning football team. It’s going to be really, really tough facing that team.”
The Edmonton Elks needed to beat B.C. this past week in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive and failed to do so, losing 37-24 in Vancouver. Fajardo threw for 230 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions as the Elks managed only 303 net yards of offence — 203 fewer than the Lions, who are led by M.O.P. favourite Nathan Rourke.
B.C. started the season 5-7 but have since rattled off five straight wins, needing only one more to clinch second place in the West Division. If the Leos are successful in finishing second, they will host the Calgary Stampeders in the West Semi-Final on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Fajardo knows what it’s like for a team to finish strong from his stint with the Alouettes in 2023. Montreal started the season 6-7 that year before going on an eight-game winning streak — playoffs included — to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup.
The Elks won two-straight games heading into Vancouver but ran into a black-and-orange brick wall. Fajardo believes the game was a learning experience for his young team, which appears headed in the right direction for 2026.
“Our young guys, I think they realized how much you have to reset each and every week. You can’t let those past wins — you can take the confidence into the next game — but you have to show up each and every week, or else the game will get out of hand pretty dang quickly,” said Fajardo.
“There’s a lot of talented players in this league, a lot of talented coaches in this league, and a lot of guys that want to win Grey Cups in this league, and so you have to show up each and every week.”
It takes talent, preparation, want-to, and belief in order to win a Grey Cup — things it’s clear Fajardo believes the Lions possess heading into the last week of the regular season.
The Edmonton Elks (7-10) will host the Calgary Stampeders (10-7) at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday, October 24 with kickoff slated for 9:30 p.m. EDT. The Stampeders are coming off a blowout win over the Toronto Argonauts, while the Elks were eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the B.C. Lions.
The weather forecast in Edmonton calls for a high of 14 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 770 CHQR in Calgary and 880 CHED in Edmonton.