Alouettes vs. Tiger-Cats Prediction: CFL East Division Final Point Spread, Odds
The first spot in the 112th Grey Cup will be filled Saturday afternoon when Montreal visits Hamilton in the Eastern Final, with the Alouettes as 2.5-point favourites on the CFL odds and a total of 52.5 points.
CFL Odds and Betting
Montreal at Hamilton kicks off the CFL’s Division Final Saturday at 3 p.m. ET from the East, with BC at Saskatchewan in the Western Final starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. The winners meet in the 112th Grey Cup from Winnipeg on Nov. 16. The Alouettes and Roughriders are +200 favourites to win the title, with the Tiger-Cats +300 and Lions +350. No long shots here. This marks the first Division Final weekend since 2017 that doesn’t include the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Ticats swept this season series, prevailing 26-9 in Montreal on Sept. 6, and 35-17 at home on June 26 so this spread is a little surprising. That first victory was the 100th career for Ticats QB Bo Levi Mitchell, who was 25-for-31 for 247 yards and two scores. Hamilton also got defensive TDs from Devin Veresuk and Julian Howsare as the Als were without injured starting QB Davis Alexander. He didn’t play in the later game, either, but is healthy now.
Montreal entered this season having won nine straight in the series, including playoffs.
Montreal Alouettes
We predicted the Als to beat visiting Winnipeg 26-23 in the Eastern Semi-Final, but it was much more high-scoring than that as Montreal advanced with a 42-33 victory – but not before blowing a 22-point first-half lead. The Blue Bombers dominated in the third quarter, but a 12-yard field goal from Jose Maltos Diaz sealed Montreal’s win with 33 seconds left.
In his first career playoff start, QB Davis Alexander threw for a season-high 384 yards to go with one passing TD and one rushing. Alexander, still yet to lose as a starter in his career (now 12-0), has at least one passing touchdown in every game played this season.
Tailback Steve Scott III tallied 18 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns and Alexander called Scott the “Derrick Henry of the CFL” after. Tyson Philpot led all receivers with 135 yards (one of three wideouts with at least 95) and had a receiving and rushing score as Montreal had 556 net yards of offence.
This marks the fourth straight Eastern Final appearance for the Alouettes, who haven’t won in it since they captured the Grey Cup in 2023. The Als have beaten the Ticats in each of the last two head-to-head playoff games, with East Semi-Final wins in Montreal in both 2022 and ’23.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton last took the field in Week 21 and routed Ottawa, 35-15, to clinch first in the East Division and why it got last week off and is hosting this game. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for two scores to reach a career-high 36 passing TDs on the year to lead the league as he did in passing yards with 5,296. In the two regular-season wins over Montreal, he passed for 438 yards, two touchdowns and a 74.6 per cent completion rate combined.
Wideout Kenny Lawler led the CFL with 14 receiving TDs and was second with 1,443 yards – one of three Ticats to reach 1,000. Tailback Greg Bell enters playing his best football. In his final seven games, Bell averaged 96.4 yards per game and scored three of his five total TDs in that span. Hamilton’s defence forced a league-high 44 turnovers, intercepting quarterbacks a league-leading 27 times (recovering 17 fumbles) and breaking up 72 passes.
The Ticats scored also led the league with 134 points scored off turnovers. Where that defence struggled was stopping the run, allowing league-highs in yards per game (111.0) and yards per carry (5.7). The Ticats are in their first Eastern Final since 2019, when they beat Edmonton.
Overall, Hamilton has a 12-0 home playoff record against Montreal teams, including the Concordes. In the last 52 years, the team hosting a single-game Eastern Final has a .673 winning percentage. Saturday is a “Blackout Game.”
MTL
HAM