{"id":279738,"date":"2025-11-13T05:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/279738\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T05:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:30:15","slug":"grey-cup-hopefuls-weigh-in-on-changes-coming-to-cfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/279738\/","title":{"rendered":"Grey Cup hopefuls weigh in on changes coming to CFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Sunday\u2019s Grey Cup championship game in Winnipeg, players and coaches weigh in on this final chapter, before the CFL makes changes next season, including field size, goal post location, and play clock.<\/p>\n

For those on the field, they say it\u2019s just a part of the game\u2019s evolution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel any kind of way with them changing the rules. There are good things in the CFL games, there are good things in the NFL game, I feel like why would you not merge it all, you know what I\u2019m saying, and make the best game, so I feel like it\u2019s a great move from the league,\u201c said Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, a linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, a linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes. (Photo Credit: Francisca Oppong, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Stevie Scott, Alouettes running back, added, \u201cTo me and my teammates, we don\u2019t really see too much of a big change or drastic change cause at the end of the day we love football. We love ball and we will go out there and do whatever, no matter if the goalpost is in the front or it\u2019s in the back, the fields smaller. We are just gonna go out there and play ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Stevie Scott, Alouettes running back. (Photo Credit: Francisca Oppong, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Jameer Thurman said, \u201cAs a defensive player, it\u2019s nothing to change, anything as far as just the goalpost moving to the back. Other than that, we still gotta go out there and play football.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the championship looming, both the Saskatchewan Roughridgers and the Montreal Alouettes are focused on preparation, strategy, and the challenge ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201c1-0 every week. That\u2019s been our mentality and motto since week one, and I think we\u2019re week 20 something, it\u2019s been the same motto. We take it one week and a time, and the motto hasn\u2019t changed. To go 1-0 this week,\u201d said Dohnte Meyers, Riders wide receiver.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dohnte Meyers, Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver. (Photo Credit: Francisca Oppong, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Cantin-Arku saying, \u201cI feel like it\u2019s too finish. You know, we came all the way here from Montreal. At one point of the season, we lost five in a row. I feel like no one believed we could be here, so it\u2019s really to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the kick-off just days away, they feel the \u2018Peg has delivered on the Grey Cup celebrations in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s been electric for me, this is the biggest game I\u2019ve played in,\u201d said Meyers. \u201cYou could feel the energy in the room, you could feel the energy in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changes coming to the CFL<\/p>\n

Starting next season, teams will no longer be able to win games with a single off a missed field goal that sails through the end zone. No points will be awarded for errant field goals, punts, or kickoffs that go through the end zone \u2014 either in the air or via a bounce.<\/p>\n

If a returner fields a missed field goal, punt, or kickoff in the end zone and either kneels or is tackled in the end zone trying to forward the ball, a single will be awarded.<\/p>\n

Also, there will be a 35-second automatic reset on the play clock. Teams currently have 20 seconds to get a play off, but that usually doesn\u2019t begin until it\u2019s blown in by an official, who usually does so once the 10-yard chains are set and player substitutions have been made.<\/p>\n

Next year, once a play is dead, the 35-second clock will begin.<\/p>\n

In keeping with that, each\u00a0CFL\u00a0stadium in 2026 will have team benches on opposite sides of the field to facilitate substitutions. Both benches are on the same side of the field at some stadiums.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2027,\u00a0CFL\u00a0fields will be modified. They\u2019ll be reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, end zones will go from 20 yards to 15 yards, and goalposts will be moved from the goal-line to the back of the reconfigured end zones.<\/p>\n

Kickoff for the Grey Cup is 5 p.m. Central\/ 6 p.m. Eastern.<\/p>\n

-With files from the Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of Sunday\u2019s Grey Cup championship game in Winnipeg, players and coaches weigh in on this final chapter,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-279738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}