The Roughriders have reached the one-third mark

 Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Kevin Glenn took his family to the Queen City Ex last week.

He didn’t partake in the rides but, in his mind, the first third of the Roughriders’ regular season has been a reasonable facsimile.

“A rollercoaster,” Glenn said after Saturday’s 30-15 CFL loss to the B.C. Lions in Vancouver. “We’re up, down, up, down, up, down — plain and simple. It’s a rollercoaster.”

Saskatchewan completed its first six games with a 2-4-0 record and sits in fifth place in the West Division entering Week 8.

The Roughriders opened the regular season June 22 with a 17-16 loss to the host Montreal Alouettes, who survived when Saskatchewan kicker Tyler Crapigna missed a 45-yard field-goal try on the game’s final play.

The Roughriders were close again July 1, but the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers won 43-40 in overtime after a 33-yard field-goal attempt by Crapigna hit an upright.

Since then, the Roughriders have been on the rollercoaster.

Saskatchewan got into the win column July 8 with an impressive 37-20 victory over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but came back to earth July 22 with a 27-10 loss to the host Calgary Stampeders.

The Roughriders bounced back with a 38-27 home-field triumph over the Toronto Argonauts on July 29, but the momentum Saskatchewan derived from that game wasn’t evident Saturday in Vancouver as the Lions scored the game’s first 30 points.

“We’ve got to be able to put consecutive weeks back to back, play for 60 minutes and not allow teams to jump out of the gate on us,” said Roughriders cornerback Jovon Johnson.

“We’ve got to get off the field, get our offence the ball and allow them to go to work. But as long as our defence is on the field for eight, nine, 10 plays at a time, it wears on you and ultimately it leads to points.”

The Roughriders begin the second third of their regular season Sunday, when they entertain the Lions (6 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).

Saskatchewan’s offence goes into Week 8 of the regular season ranked sixth in time of possession (an average of 29 minutes 48 seconds), sixth in points (an average of 25.5 per game) and seventh in net offence (370.0 yards per game).

Glenn has acquitted himself well as the Roughriders’ No. 1 quarterback, throwing for 1,784 yards with a completion percentage of 70.7. He also has tossed 11 touchdown passes (tied for third-most in the league) and six interceptions.

His ability to deliver the ball quickly has fit the ball-control scheme favoured by offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo, who prefers short and intermediate passes. Even so, Glenn has attempted 38 passes of 20 yards or more (the fourth-highest such total in the CFL) and has completed 16 of them (tied for fourth in the league).

Three Saskatchewan receivers — Naaman Roosevelt, Bakari Grant and Duron Carter — currently are on pace for 1,000-yard seasons.

Roosevelt (37 catches for 458 yards) enters Week 8 ranked second in the league with 16 second-down receptions that produce first downs. Carter (30 catches for 370 yards) is tied for the CFL lead with four touchdown catches, while Grant (31 receptions for 381 yards) and Roosevelt are right behind Carter with three TD receptions apiece.

Tailback Cameron Marshall is third in the league with 344 yards rushing and has done a stellar job in pass protection. Saskatchewan has allowed 14 sacks, the fourth-lowest such number in the league.

The defence, meanwhile, is ranked first in completion percentage against (63.5), fourth in passing yards allowed (an average of 290.0 yards per game), fourth in net offence allowed (373.8 yards per game) and tied for fourth in offensive touchdowns surrendered (15).

But that unit also is seventh in quarterback sacks (11), eighth in rushing yards allowed (an average of 100.8 per game) and tied for eighth in forced turnovers (five).

“This defence is very strong and very resilient and the offence is explosive,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson, who leads the Roughriders in sacks (four) and pressures (15). “Early in away games, we tend to relax and fall behind and then in the second half, it’s like we flip a switch and try to turn it on and it always seems like it’s too late.

“I feel like we’re strong and we’re ready to make plays. We just need to settle in and make those plays.”

Saskatchewan is 2-1-0 at home and 0-3-0 on the road this season. It’s also 0-3-0 against West Division teams — and its next four games also are against western teams.

After facing the Lions on Sunday, the Roughriders have a bye week. Then they’re to visit the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 25, play host to Winnipeg on Sept. 3, and take on the hometown Bombers on Sept. 9.

“It’s a tough division,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “We’ve got to do a better job in the tough games of eliminating the mistakes because good teams take advantage of your mistakes, which is what happened (Saturday) early. That put us back against the 8-ball.

“We’ve got to do a better job of executing at a high level when we’re playing against the good teams.”

Jones has talked all season about the level of character in the Roughriders’ locker room. The coaches’ hope is that the players’ commitment to each other will turn into positive results on the field.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging along,” said centre Dan Clark. “In this league, anything is possible. We don’t show up every week to lose a game. We’ve got to continue on and refocus.”

“We’ve just got to play better ball,” added safety Mike Edem. “We’ve got the guys in the locker room to do it. We’ve got to trust in each other and keep playing.”