Green is the colour, football is the game
It was 12 years in the making and it took a lot to get there! The Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 112-year-old Grey Cup championship in a 25-17 victory at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. There were a few key things going on during the game that helped Saskatchewan’s victory.
Davis Alexander
Montreal Alouettes quarterback (QB) Davis Alexander has been dealing with a grade 3C hamstring injury that he suffered back in July. Even though he took the time off, he was still in a large amount of pain.
During the third quarter, Alexander did run a play, trying to avoid a tackle when he visibly reinjured the hamstring. Alexander was already not using his lower body at full capacity, often putting less weight on his injured leg.
Even though he reinjured his leg, he continued to play in the championship game. Now that the Alouettes’ season is over, he revealed to the media that he needs surgery to repair the tendon. It is the worst the tear can be without the tendon being clean off the bone. Following his surgery, he will need four to six weeks or more to recover.
Goal Line Fumble
In the last three minutes of the game, Shea Patterson, back-up QB for Alexander and the back-up QB for the Roughriders during the 2023-2024 season, went in for the QB sneak. During the play, Patterson fumbled the football, causing the Roughriders to turn over the ball at a critical point in the game. Patterson reflected post-game that the snap was clean, but that he was hit from the left side and it caused him, more or less, to fumble the ball.
Trevor Harris
The starting QB for the Roughriders, Trevor Harris, turned 39 before the start of the season. Statistically, most QB’s are in their late 20s or early 30s, but Harris is one of the oldest active Canadian Football League (CFL) players and has been playing the best ball of his career in the last two seasons: Harris had an 85.2 per cent completion percentage in the Grey Cup final, completing 23 of 27 passes during the game. This is the highest completion percentage ever seen in the Grey Cup final. His regular season percentage was 73.5 per cent.
Needless to say, a huge part of the Riders success was due to Harris’ ability to connect with his receivers on passes.
Interceptions
The final key to the Roughriders’ victory would have to be the number of turnovers the team caught. The defensive core for the Roughriders not only shut down Alexander’s offense but they caused some key ball changes for the team.
Just two minutes into the game, defensive back Marcus Sayles caught a massive turnover off a long bomb throw from Alexander that was intended for receiver Tyson Philpot.
Right at the end of the first half, defensive back Roland Milligan caught the second Roughriders interception right at the goal line, preventing the Alouettes from potentially taking the lead.
It was about six and a half minutes left in the third quarter when the Rams’ alumni started making their mark. Defensive back Tevaughn Campbell caught a huge long bomb pass intended for Montreal’s Austin Mack.
Tevaughn Campbell
Tevaughn Campbell is one of the University of Regina’s (UofR) very notable athletic alumni. He was a part of both the Rams football and the Cougars track and field programs and gathered some hefty awards to boot.
In his time with the track program, he won six gold medals, four silver medals, and one bronze medal. Four of those medals were obtained while competing at the national level.
While with the Rams, he was named a Canada West All Star and a USports Second Team All Canadian. He was also listed at number 18 overall on the CFL central scouting list. Campbell finished his senior season with a total of 17 solo tackles and the school’s record for all time yards in kickoff returns. He also made the 2014 East-West Bowl team.
After finishing his Business Administration degree in 2015, Campbell was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders. He was then traded to the Roughriders for the first stint of his career in the green and white.
During the 2017-2018 season, Campbell was traded to Montreal. From 2019 to 2024, Campbell played in the National Football League (NFL) in the USA. During his NFL career, he played for four teams: the New York Jets, LA Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2024, Campbell returned to Saskatchewan, where he would later go on to win the Grey Cup.
Campbell notes that his time with the Rams and Cougars helped him foster good relationships with his teammates that he still has today. There were eight Rams alums playing in this year’s Grey Cup and, for Campbell, getting to win the game with some teammates from when he was 18 and 19 was really special.
A hot topic of conversation following the game was if there was any added sweetness to the victory due to the fact that the Riders won in Winnipeg. Of course, the rivalry has been strong between the Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for decades, but Campbell said it did not really matter to him in the end.
“I don’t think it matters where we won it. We could have won it in North Dakota,” said Campbell. “It was sweet regardless. It’s been 12 years since this province has seen a trophy, and it’s only been four trophies before two days ago.”
Although Campbell had one of the biggest catches of both the game and his career in the second half of the third quarter, he is still very insistent on improving his game. “I feel like there’s a million things I could have done better. I’m very critical about myself,” he reflects.
Campbell finished off the season with a total of six interceptions and 18 defensive tackles.
Mitchell Picton
Mitchell Picton is a homegrown Regina boy and now, a Grey Cup Champion. Picton was with the Rams program from 2013-2017. In 2016, he was named a USports First All Canadian and Canada West All Star. He also held the record for most Touchdown receptions at the school in a season with 24 receptions. In 2017, he held a tied Canada West lead for Touchdown receptions with 53.
Picton totaled 20 receptions this season as well as 226 yards in 14 games. When his teammate, Campbell, was asked about Picton’s performance, he answered, “Every game he played, he went insane,” highlighting Picton’s energy and determination on the field.
Picton has a lot of praise for the Rams program. “I’m very fortunate for our time with the Rams. You know, we run a pro-style offense over there. I think that really did prepare me to be able to be ready to go when I was drafted to the CFL and be able to make an impact in this league […] there’s so many of us that came through that UofR program, and I think that really speaks to the quality of the program,” he said.
Picton’s experience of winning the Grey Cup had an extra special twist to it, being from Regina. His nieces and nephews wore jerseys with “81 Uncle Mitchell” on the back and his whole family was in attendance at the various city celebrations.
Picton remembers the two times the Roughriders won the Grey Cup: in 2007, when he was 12, and in 2013, when he was a freshman with the Rams. “I grew up as part of the Rider Nation, so I kind of understand. I was there in 2007 when we won the Grey Cup. [I was] part of the people, these massive crowds celebrating the team. So, to be on the other side of things now, and be the ones on the military trucks drinking beers and celebrating because we’re the ones that got it done is pretty special.”
Picton also spoke highly of Campbell’s game performance, mentioning how massive his interception was, but how he was not surprised it happened. “[The Rider defense] has always been there when we needed them most.”
Other Alums
Picton and Campbell are two of eight former Rams athletes to have been a part of this season’s Roughriders team. Aldo Galvan, D’Sean Mimbs, Josh Donnelly, Jaxon Ford, Jorgen Hus, and Marc Mueller made up the additional Rams alums.
Another nod to the current Rams roster was that both Picton and Campbell played alongside current Rams head coach, Mark McConkey, when he was competing for the Rams from 2007 to 2013.
