REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers are two teams travelling on different paths heading into their first-place showdown in the CFL West Division on Sunday.
Saskatchewan, which held first place with a 5-5-1 record on Saturday, jumped out of the gate this season with a 4-0 run. However, things have changed in recent weeks with the Riders struggling to one tie and four losses in their last five games.
On the other hand, the Bombers opened the season with four straight losses but are currently on a three-game winning streak. They occupied second place on Saturday at 5-6.
Riders head coach Corey Mace believes his team is in a must-win situation Sunday.
“At this point, I think they're all kind of like that," he said. "I anticipate kind of a playoff vibe. And quite frankly, the games we've been in have kind of had that feel, but it'll be heightened tomorrow, so I believe our approach is going to be we’ve got to treat all (our games) like that."
Saskatchewan defensive tackle Micah Johnson doesn’t want to use the must-win tag, but he agrees the Riders are under pressure to get back on the winning track.
“You try not to use ‘must-win’ terms this early on in the season, but it's definitely a pivotal game. It's a critical game," said Johnson, who leads the CFL in sacks with six.
"It's a game that we need to win, and it's a game that we want to win for sure."
Saskatchewan won the first meeting of the season between the two teams on July 19, recording a 19-9 victory at Mosaic Stadium.
In that game, the Bombers struggled on offence. While the Riders had a clean sheet on turnovers, the Bombers had three — one interception, one lost fumble and one turnover on downs.
The Winnipeg offence didn’t run one play in the red zone during the contest.
For the Bombers to turn things around against the Riders in the Labour Day Classic, veteran receiver Nic Demski feels they need to stress ball security.
“Take care of the ball and stay on the field," he said. "We just had too many turnovers the last time we played there. We didn't stay on the field as much as we would have liked. We’re going to do a better job of that this game."
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros, a two-time CFL most outstanding player, has uncharacteristically struggled at times this season.
His touchdown-to-interception rate in 2024 is six TDs and 12 picks, compared to 33 and 15 in 2023. In 2022, he had 37 TDs and 13 interceptions.
Collaros, like the Winnipeg offence, has found his stride of late and shared how the unit has regained its edge.
“It’s a handful of things and like I always say — and it’s going to sound boring — but it comes down to execution of the play call," he said. "That starts with me as the quarterback understanding what the defence is doing and understanding where to go with the football — whether that’s a run play with a pass-option on it or just a straight drop back and figuring out what the defence is trying to do to us.
“Within that, it’s everybody being aligned properly and getting the proper depths of their routes — all that jargon that we talk about with you all the time. Those little details are what really matter in this game."
The Bombers will be missing left tackle Stanley Bryant, who was placed on the six-game injured list on Saturday. The 38-year-old Bryant, a four-time outstanding lineman award winner, was stretchered off the field in last week’s victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He apparently was suffering from a combination of heat stress and illness. He was taken to hospital and released the following morning.
Sunday’s game is the first in a home-and-home series. The Riders and Bombers meet again on Sept. 7 in Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (5-6-0) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (5-5-1)
Sunday, at Mosaic Stadium
STREAKING ALONG: Winnipeg receiver Nic Demski is taking a 64-game active reception streak into Sunday’s game. His streak consists of the last 12 games in 2019, 12 games in 2021, 13 games in 2022 and 11 games in 2024.
MOVING UP: Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris is 440 yards shy of passing former Riders quarterback Darian Durant for 16th place on the CFL’s all-time passing yards list. Durant amassed 31,740 yards in 12 seasons. Harris has 31,301 in 11.
RUNNING INTO HISTORY: Bombers running back Brady Oliveira has recorded four 100-yard rushing games in 2024, giving him 15 in his career to rank first among active players. Oliveira is fourth on the all-time list of most 100-yard rushing games by a National player behind Andrew Harris (29), Jon Cornish (22) and Normie Kwong (18).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2024.
Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press