The Toronto Argonauts have clinched a berth in the 105th Grey Cup in Ottawa with a 25-21 home win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday afternoon.
The announced crowd at the first-ever home playoff game at BMO Field was 24,929, the largest for an Argos game since making the move to the venue. The home crowd helped propel the team to a 1-0 home playoff record at BMO and improved the team’s all-time home playoff record to 31-15 in 46 games.
The Argos defensive unit was the driving force against the Riders on Sunday, forcing four turnovers and recording four sacks in the game. 17 of Toronto’s 25 points came as a direct result of forced turnovers, including a pick-six by first-year linebacker Terrance Plummer.
After Ricky Ray led the offence on a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive to take the lead late in the fourth, defensive back Akwasi Owusu-Ansah sealed the deal with a forced and recovered fumble.
Head Coach Marc Trestman has now advanced to the Grey Cup in four of six seasons (MTL 2008-12, TOR 2017) as a CFL head coach, winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.
Next Sunday’s Grey Cup will be the team’s first since winning the 100th Grey Cup on home turf in 2012 and the 23rd all-time appearance in the big game. The last time the team played a Grey Cup in Ottawa was in 2004, resulting in a 27-19 win over the BC Lions. In 22 previous Grey Cup games, Toronto owns a 16-6 record.
The Argos will face the winner of the West Division Final between the Calgary Stampeders (13-4-1) and Edmonton Eskimos (12-6-0) in next Sunday’s championship game.