The Saskatchewan Roughriders will experience a little déjà vu today at Mosaic Stadium.
After all, it has been only eight days since the Roughriders last saw the B.C. Lions.
The CFL teams are to meet today, 6 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium in the second game of a home-and-home set. The Lions won the opener 30-15 at BC Place on Aug. 5, building up a 30-point lead before Saskatchewan got on the board late in the fourth quarter.
“(Back-to-back games against the same opponents) makes it easier because you know you’ve got them right back again at home,” Roughriders quarterback Kevin Glenn said. “But at the same time, we’ve played them, so it’s going to be tough.
“We’re going to have to make sure that we put some stuff together because they’ve seen some stuff. We’ve seen some stuff and they’ve seen some stuff, so it’s about who can execute their offence or their defence the best.”
The Lions did that eight days ago, when their offence accumulated 202 yards rushing, 345 yards passing and 27 first downs while possessing the ball for 38 minutes four seconds.
The B.C. defence held Glenn to 186 yards passing, intercepted him twice and pressured him relentlessly before calling off the dogs in the fourth quarter. Two late touchdown passes by backup QB Brandon Bridge made the score somewhat respectable.
Teams in the CFL regularly play back-to-back series — Labour Day and the following weekend are just one example — so coaches know what must be done after their teams lose the opener.
“You have to look at everything you’ve done,” said Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones. “You have to look game plan-wise and see if it’s schematics (that explain) why they’re winning these downs or is it personnel breakdowns or is it busts? Do you need to coach what you’re doing better or do you need to change the scheme?
“Everything is looked at.”
This two-game clash with the Lions is one of two home-and-home series the Roughriders have this season. They’ll also go back to back with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with games Sept. 3 in Regina and Sept. 9 in Winnipeg.
But Saskatchewan has had its problems recently in back-to-backs. The Roughriders lost all three such series in 2016 (to the Calgary Stampeders, Bombers and Lions) and were swept by B.C. in a home-and-home in 2015.
In 2015, Saskatchewan managed a split with the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic and the rematch in Winnipeg. The last time the Roughriders swept a back-to-back series was in 2014, when they beat the Bombers in both games.
“I don’t mind (playing the same team twice in a row),” said Roughriders offensive lineman Derek Dennis. “It’s a nine-team league, so you’ve got to be ready to play the same guys multiple times.
“Back to back is a little more relaxed because you’ve already game-planned for them, so now you’re just trying to fine-tune whatever you thought worked and didn’t work and get ready to compete again.”
Depending on whom you talk to, the home-and-home series either provides teams with an opportunity to redeem themselves … or it doesn’t. Glenn, the 17-year CFL veteran, falls into the latter camp.
“Every game is another game; I don’t look at it as redemption,” he said. “I think we just need to play well regardless if it was B.C. this week.”
Others, meanwhile, think the second game is all about payback.
Defensive back Ed Gainey said the Roughriders have “a chip on our shoulder” — he reinforced the thought by using that phrase twice in a span of 10 seconds — as they look to avenge the loss in Vancouver.
“If we were on the other side of it, then it would be the same thing: We would want to show them that we can beat them in back-to-back weeks,” Gainey said. “I’m pretty sure that they’re going to try to prove that this week.
“It’s definitely about redemption. We got beat pretty bad last week. We’re in our house this week, so we’re going to try to protect our house and try to put our foot on them like they did in theirs.”
In Dennis’ mind, the Roughriders would have something to prove today even if they had won the opener: They would have to show that they deserved the win and that it wasn’t a fluke.
But having lost the game in Vancouver, he believes the Roughriders have to be motivated more by playing better than by a desire for revenge.
“Let’s be honest: That first game, we got embarrassed,” said Dennis, whose team enters the game in fifth place in the West Division at 2-4-0. “For us, it’s more of a pride thing. We have to go out here and not continue to have everybody look at us like the bottom-feeders of this league — and this division most of all …
“I think (Glenn) is just being a little modest (saying the rematch is not about payback). That’s his job; he’s the quarterback, so he’s got to be a little more even-keeled than the rest of us. In a small part, it is redemption, but we can’t let that be our driving force. We’ve got to actually want to perform as professional football players.”
