Saskatchewan Roughriders: 2025 Grey Cup Champions
The 2025 CFL season ultimately belonged to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Long regarded as a passionate fan base in search of fresh glory, Rider Nation finally got its payoff when Saskatchewan beat the Montreal Alouettes 25–17 in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
The Riders leaned on a classic CFL championship recipe: a veteran quarterback, a physical ground game and a defense that hunts mistakes. Trevor Harris, at 39, capped one of the best seasons of his career by guiding Saskatchewan’s offence and earning his first Grey Cup as a starting QB.
The defense did the rest, forcing three interceptions and holding a potent Montreal attack to just 17 points after the Als had stormed through the East on the back of Davis Alexander’s record-breaking unbeaten run to start his career.
This was Saskatchewan’s fifth Grey Cup title and their first since 2013, snapping a 12-year drought and confirming what mid-season odds had hinted at: the Riders weren’t just a nice story, they were the league’s best team front to back.
Add in sold-out stands and record TV and digital engagement for the Grey Cup, and 2025 will be remembered as the year Saskatchewan turned promise into a fully formed championship run.
CFL Biggest Betting Surprise: Calgary Stampeders
If Saskatchewan were the champions, Calgary were the revelation. Coming off a 5–12–1 season in 2024, expectations were modest; many analysts were openly pessimistic about their Grey Cup chances in preseason previews.
Instead, the Stampeders roared back to finish 11–7, good for third in the tough West and a return to playoff football, where they fell in the West Semi-Final to BC.
Early in the year, betting pieces and power rankings alike were already calling Calgary the biggest surprise team in the CFL, noting how quickly they neared last season’s win total and climbed toward the top of the West standings.
Behind improved quarterback play, a retooled offense and a defense that made timely plays, the Stamps flipped their narrative from “rebuilding” to “contender” in a matter of weeks.
From a betting perspective, Calgary was a gift for much of the year: early lines priced them like a fringe team, while their performance looked more like that of a top-three club. For value hunters, they were arguably the single best “overachiever” side of the 2025 CFL season.
CFL Most Underperforming Team: Toronto Argonauts
On the other side of the ledger, it’s hard to look past the Toronto Argonauts as 2025’s most underperforming team. The Argos entered the season as defending Grey Cup champions and opened as one of the favourites in early 2025 Grey Cup odds, only to unravel almost immediately.
Toronto stumbled to a 5–13 record, finished third in a weak East Division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
