With just one day until the big game, here are five things to know about the Eastern Final ahead of kickoff at 3:00 p.m. ET that can be watched on TSN,\u00a0TSN2<\/a>, RDS, CTV and CFL+.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FROM ZERO TO HERO<\/p>\n The Hamilton Tiger-Cats turned things around in quick fashion, going from bottom of the East Division to the top in just one season.<\/p>\n In 2024, the Ticats finished with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Fast forward almost 365 days later and the Tabbies reversed their fortunes, ending 2025 at the top of the East with an 11-7 record and earning a bye to the Eastern Final.<\/p>\n The last time a team started from the bottom and shot up to the top of a division in that timeframe was the Toronto Argonauts. The Argos were 5-13 in 2016, and finished 9-9 (first in the East) in 2017. That year they went on to win the 105th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n Will Bo Levi Mitchell and co. finish their season like Ricky Ray<\/a> and his Argos did, hoisting a Grey Cup one year removed from sitting in the basement? Only time will tell, but first Mitchell needs to face the Montreal Alouettes and Davis Alexander<\/a> who\u2026<\/p>\n DAVIS ALEXANDER STILL HASN\u2019T LOST<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n has not lost a single game as a starter in the CFL.<\/p>\n It\u2019s remarkable, really, what we\u2019re seeing from the young pivot. Alexander was 11-0 in the regular season, dating back to his starts in 2024, and with his win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last weekend, is 1-0 in the post-season.<\/p>\n When he\u2019s on the field, he makes the Alouettes look like a completely different team. He\u2019s poised in the pocket, confident, and not afraid to chuck it down field. Kind of like someone else we know.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s comparisons for sure,\u201d Mitchell said when asked about the parallels between the two. \u201cHe\u2019s been confident. He\u2019s had a great season. He\u2019s great for the league. And fun quarterback to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n The similarities between the two pivots don\u2019t stop there, either. Alexander\u2019s five completions of 30+ yards last weekend tie the most ever in a single playoff game with, guess who? Bo Levi Mitchell, who did so on November 23, 2014.<\/p>\n Who will win this duel on Saturday? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n THE TIGER-CATS WILL MAKE YOU PAY<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Alexander will need to be cautious of the Tiger-Cats defence on Saturday and protect the football.<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s D were turnover machines in 2025, forcing the most turnovers in the CFL (44), helping the team finish the year with a +10 turnover margin. Disrupting passers was also a specialty of Hamilton\u2019s, picking off quarterbacks 27 times (most in CFL), and knocking down 72 passes (second to only Winnipeg who had 73).<\/p>\n But as I wrote about earlier in the week, those turnovers are great to flip field position, but what the offence does after is the most important part. The Black and Gold made opposing teams pay for mistakes, scoring a league-high 134 points off turnovers, 34 more than second place Saskatchewan (100).<\/p>\n Montreal learned that the hard way, giving the ball away seven times in the regular season meetings against Hamilton, including a pick-six in their Week 4 meeting. They also learned that lesson last week in the Eastern Semi-Final, turning the ball over twice and Winnipeg cashed in on those mistakes with points.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t turn the ball over,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see how fast (things happen),\u201d the Als\u2019 pivot continued, after describing the two turnovers, an interception and a fumble, that turned into 14 points for the Bombers last week.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo turnovers in a minute and now we\u2019re down two after being up 12. (I\u2019ve just) got to take care of the football and they do a tremendous job getting hands on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n BIG TIME RECEIVERS, BIG TIME PLAYS<\/p>\n BIG START FOR HAMILTON!<\/p>\n Bo Levi Mitchell connects with Kenny Lawler for 48 yards on the first play from scrimmage! #CFLGameDay<\/a> \u2014 CFL (@CFL) September 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n If you like explosive plays, look no further than the Eastern Final.<\/p>\n The Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats both have quarterbacks who like to stretch the field and each team has the receivers to make the catches.<\/p>\n In last week\u2019s Eastern Semi-Final, Alexander had no trouble throwing deep, connecting on five passes of over 30 yards, using Austin Mack, Tyson Philpot<\/a>, and Charleston Rambo for big chunk plays. Tyler Snead<\/a> didn\u2019t haul in a pass over 30, but he can. The Als 1,000-yard receiver had eight big play receptions in the regular season.<\/p>\n For context about how impressive the Als passing attack was against the league\u2019s top pass defence, BC had the most passes of over 30 yards in the regular season (40) and had none in their Semi-Final win against Calgary.<\/p>\n On the other side, Hamilton\u2019s leading receiver was the king of big plays in the regular season. Kenny Lawler<\/a> hauled in 14 passes over 30 yards, two more than the next best in Keon Hatcher Sr. Lawler is no stranger to performing on the big stage, look no further than last year\u2019s Western Final where Lawler went off for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the Bombers\u2019 win that sent them to the 111th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not a one trick pony,\u201d said Mitchell of Lawler. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing he doesn\u2019t have in his bag. He\u2019s a route runner. He blocks. He leads. He just also happens to be the guy that can make you play down the field over anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBe your best when your best is expected,\u201d said Lawler, when asked about performing in big games. \u201cBig games just call for you to go out there and play your best ball. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do for my guys in that locker room, just to get us to the next step where we want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n The duel between the team\u2019s receivers and opposing defences will be an intriguing matchup to watch on Saturday. Especially since Montreal and Hamilton allowed the fewest passes over 30 yards in the regular season, 20 and 24, respectively. Who wins this chess match?<\/p>\n FRONT SEVEN PLAYMAKERS\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one reason Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund is the MOC nominee from the East!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc5: Eastern Semi-Final LIVE NOW \u2014 CFL (@CFL) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The Eastern Final has plenty of playmakers on all three levels of both team\u2019s defences.<\/p>\n For the Alouettes, Tyrice Beverette has been the heartbeat of Montreal\u2019s defence all season. He\u2019s all over the field, affecting the pass and run game, while also disrupting quarterbacks and making big stops when his team needs them. In last week\u2019s Eastern Semi-Final win alone, Beverette tallied four defensive tackles and another two on special teams, along with a sack. For anyone watching Beverette throughout this year, it wasn\u2019t surprising to see the weakside linebacker rallying to the football.<\/p>\n His teammate, Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund also has the ability to change a game on a dime. You\u2019ll just have to look back at last week\u2019s Semi-Final against Winnipeg once again for a great example of this. Adeyemi-Berglund had four tackles, a sack, and two forced fumbles, one of which he recovered himself. The defensive lineman earned his second straight nomination for Most Outstanding Canadian after collecting a career-high 11 sacks and his first career touchdown in 2025.<\/p>\n Speaking of Canadians, Devin Veresuk has headlined a defensive unit that prides itself on takeaways. Veresuk, a 2025 first round CFL Draft pick, proved that in his first start against Montreal in Week 4. The Ticats decided to move on from their starting middle linebacker at the time, Kyle Wilson<\/a>, and Veresuk was given the opportunity and he more than ran with it. In that game, he picked off McLeod Bethel-Thompson<\/a> and returned it for a touchdown in what head coach Scott Milanovich called the \u201cbiggest single play of our season.\u201d<\/a> He also had a game-high eight tackles in that contest.<\/p>\n Much like Veresuk, Julian Howsare has been outstanding for the Ticats this season. He\u2019s been so outstanding, in fact, that he earned the East Division\u2019s nomination for Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He finished second in the league with a career-high 13 sacks, but sacks weren\u2019t the only way he disrupted quarterbacks this season. According to PFF, Howsare tallied 75 pressures in the regular season, five more than second-best Mathieu Betts.<\/p>\n All four can change the game on a dime. Whichever offence handles them better may be the team that heads to Winnipeg next week for the 112th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n ![\"2023](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Playoff-Logo-Final-800x600.png\"){kind=logo}
2025 GREY CUP PLAYOFFS
\u00bb\u00a0Buy Eastern Final Tickets: Montreal at Hamilton<\/a>
\u00bb 3 storylines to watch in the Eastern Final<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Who has the edge in the Eastern Final?<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a06 stats that may loom large in the Division Finals<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Weekly Predictor: Who wins the Division Finals?<\/a>
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