On Sunday afternoon at BC Place, the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a 41–24 upset for the 111th Grey Cup, after a strong fourth quarter performance from the Argos.
UBC alumni Kyle Samson and Daniel Kwamou were in attendance as players — Samson for the Blue Bombers and Kwamou for the Argonauts. Samson was drafted by Winnipeg after graduation this summer while Kwamou played for the T-Birds from 2018–22.
Samson dressed to play in his first Grey Cup game but Kwamou was on injured reserve.
Winnipeg chose to receive first and despite that early win, the team seemed nervous, having to kick out of both their opening drives. Toronto, on the other hand, looked composed even with back-up quarterback Nick Arbuckle starting. Although Arbuckle often hesitated or waited before passing, it paid off with the Argos averaging more yards per pass and fewer interceptions than the Bombers. On their first drive, they charged down and converted a field goal for an early lead.
Winnipeg struck back, putting together a strong push toward the end zone. Quarterback Zach Collaros started it off with a beautiful long pass to Ontaria Wilson, before Most Outstanding Player Brady Oliveira did what he does best — rushed for a first and goal. Terry Wilson capitalized, having a short run protected by the o-line to earn the touchdown. The conversion was good and put the Bombers up 7–3 at the end of the first quarter.
Defence held strong in the second and the teams went back and forth with punt returns after incomplete passes and failed rushes. Winnipeg broke through first in the 11th minute, with an Oliveira rush and O. Wilson reception leading to a first down close to the goal line. After a sack on Collaros, the Bombers turned to a field goal, which split the posts evenly to increase their lead to 10–3.
Toronto rebounded with a field goal of their own, after an eight-play drive down the field. Their momentum continued, with Benjie Franklin intercepting a Collaros’ pass. Arbuckle continued his strong passing game, connecting well with his wide receivers — particularly Dejon Brissett, who held onto the ball amid a back flip tackle — and set the Argos up for another successful field goal to tighten the lead to 10–9 before halftime.
The Argos continued scoring, tying the game with a rouge off a punt, and kept up their strong attack. Their constant pressure on the Bombers gave them possession most of the game and they earned another touchdown, after recovering a dropped Winnipeg ball, to take the lead 17–10. From there, it was clear the Bombers began to get in their own heads. It didn’t help when Collaros cut his finger and left the game to get stitches.
Although he returned, the injury was noticeable. After the game, Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said Collaros’ return to the game was a turning point for his team.
“I was watching Zach throw on the side, right? I'm like, ‘He can't throw,’” he said. “I think Zach's a great quarterback, one of the best … but at the same stage, I said, ‘He's beat up.’”
“Once that happened, I felt like we had it.”
Collaros’ injury, coupled with an ill-advised loose ball interference penalty before the fourth quarter, pushed the Bombers further away from the championship. They managed a field goal, but then Brissett answered with a 17 yard touchdown. On the next play, DaShaun Amos intercepted and the Argos again marched down the field for a field goal to increase their lead to 27–16. Collaros threw two more interceptions which resulted in touchdowns.
The Bombers got a last-minute touchdown, complete with a two-point conversion, but it wasn’t enough to recover and the Argos had already begun to celebrate their 41–24 victory, douching Dinwiddie in orange Gatorade.
With the win, Kwamou became the first UBC alumni to win a Grey Cup since 2018, when Riley Jones won with the Calgary Stampeders. This also marks the Argos’ second Grey Cup in three years, while the Bombers are now 0–3 in the championship game the past three years.
Aside from the game itself, there were multiple memorable appearances — Prince Harry was presented a CFL jersey ahead of the 2025 Vancouver-Whistler Invictus Games (which will be at the UBC Aquatic Centre from February 6–18), the Jonas Brothers performed a great halftime show and late in the fourth quarter, a female streaker took to the field.
After the game, Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea was somber.
“Anytime you don't win your last game, there's a tendency to view it as failure, and I don't know about that,” O’Shea said. “We just didn't play our best football at the end.”
Although the game didn’t go in Samson’s favour, getting to the Grey Cup in his rookie year is no easy feat, especially coming back to the city he went to school in.
“[It’s] definitely special being back in Vancouver, especially dressing in front of friends and family that came out,” he said.
Just over a year ago, Samson was in a similar position, having just lost the Vanier Cup to the Montréal Carabins, and is using that experience to cope with this heartbreak.
“Just got to look up and keep looking forward and get ready for next year.”
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