Riders host Stamps in important division showdown
It’s another important West Division contest for Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan (8-6) hosts the Calgary Stampeders (7-8) on Friday night. The Riders can sweep the season series 2-0 with a win after earning a 40-37 overtime decision back in June.
Conversely, a win by four or more points would not only move Calgary into a tie with Saskatchewan in the standings but give it the season series — and the tiebreaker if the two teams ended the year with identical records.
The defending Grey Cup champions are coming off a 31-24 road loss to B.C. (8-6) that gave the Lions the tiebreaker in that series.
The Stampeders are coming off a home-and-home sweep of the Ottawa Redblacks. Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 422 yards and three TDs in last week’s 45-31 victory while Jalen Philpot (six catches, 127 yards), Tevin Jones (eight catches, 122 yards, TD) and Clark Barnes (three catches, 109 yards, TD) all cracked the century mark in receiving.
Saskatchewan has dropped its last two contests. Harris completed 26 of 33 passes for 297 yards and a TD last week versus B.C., and the Riders’ offence had the ball for almost 34 minutes in the contest.
But Lions’ starter Nathan Rourke finished 22 of 28 passing for 375 yards and four TDs.
Calgary comes in leading the CFL in offensive points per game (33.1) and offensive TDs (53) and stands second in passing TDs (31). But the Riders should present an interesting matchup with a defence that’s allowed a league-low 35 offensive touchdowns and is second in fewest offensive points (25.5 per game) surrendered.
The Stampeders have allowed 34 sacks this season, behind only Winnipeg (36). Saskatchewan’s defence has 32 sacks, second-most behind Toronto (37).
At Ottawa, two teams eliminated from playoff contention look to snap long losing streaks. Hamilton (4-11) has dropped five straight, including last week’s 37-35 overtime decision in Edmonton that ended its playoff hopes. Harrison Frost completed 17 of 34 passes for 214 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. McLeod Bethel-Thompson is expected to remain the starter for the Redblacks (0-14) after passing for 418 yards and two TDs last week versus Calgary. The offence had 475 net yards, but the Stamps rolled up 520 yards. However, the Ticats are last in offensive yards (330.4) and passing (253.3) and just ahead of last-place Ottawa (23.6) in offensive points scored (23.7).
B.C. Lions vs Toronto Argonauts (Saturday afternoon)
At Toronto, the Argos (9-6) chase a fifth straight win, having already clinched second in the East. Chad Kelly leads the CFL in passing yards (5,067), TDs (33) and interceptions (24) and was limited in practice Wednesday (hand) after not practising at all Tuesday. If he can’t go, veteran Nick Arbuckle will look to improve the team’s record at BMO Field to 5-0. B.C. comes off its big win over Saskatchewan and is looking for a third straight victory and eighth in nine games. Rourke is the offensive catalyst, but Zander Horvath has a CFL-best 16 rushing TDs and is within striking distance of the league records for most rushing touchdowns (19) and total touchdowns (23) in a season.
At Montreal, the Alouettes (11-3) come off a bye week with a chance to clinch first in the East with a win and a Toronto loss to B.C. The Als are 9-2 coming off a bye under head coach Jason Maas, who’s in his fourth season at the helm. They’re also 7-0 at home thus far. Dru Brown starts again for Winnipeg (7-7) with incumbent Zach Collaros (head) out. Brown completed 16 of 28 passes for 193 yards with two TDs and two interceptions in last week’s 30-28 home loss to Toronto. The West Division team did earn a 44-28 win in the last meeting between the two squads in August, although Alexander also had four TD strikes in that contest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2026.
