October 19, 2017

The Roughriders have the playoffs in their sights

The Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Calgary Stampeders in CFL action on September 24th, 2017 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK. Derek Mortensen/Electric Umbrella

CALGARY — The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ playoff fate is right where they want it.

In their own hands.

The Roughriders go into Friday’s CFL clash against the host Calgary Stampeders (7 p.m., CKRM, TSN) needing just one victory in their final three regular-season games to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2014.

Saskatchewan (8-7-0) also can claim a spot in the post-season if the B.C. Lions (6-9-0) lose any of their remaining three regular-season contests, starting with Saturday’s game against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos (9-6-0).

But that latter scenario doesn’t concern the Roughriders. Instead, their aim is to take down the Stampeders (13-1-1) on Friday.

“Everybody understands that we’re in control of our own destiny,” Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn said Thursday at McMahon Stadium. “We don’t want to sit back and wait for somebody to lose. What if they don’t lose? If we win, we don’t have to worry about all that other stuff. That’s what our focus is on.

“And what better way to get in than (to beat) the best team in the league record-wise (that) hasn’t lost at home? This will be a good one. This will be one that you can celebrate from the time you’re winning until you’re getting on the plane to go home.”

Calgary is 7-0-0 at McMahon Stadium this season and is riding a 17-game winning streak at home. Since 2008, the Stampeders are 71-16-1 in their own backyard.

Their dominance at home includes a 10-0-1 streak against the Roughriders. The last time Calgary lost a regular-season game to Saskatchewan at McMahon was Aug. 1, 2009, when the visiting team won 24-23.

Glenn also has had his struggles as a visitor in Calgary in his career. According to the CFL, he’s 1-11-0 with road teams in the Alberta city.

“It’s just the atmosphere,” Glenn, who played with the Stampeders in the 2012 and ’13 seasons, said when asked why Calgary is a difficult place to play as a visitor. “You’ve got to give credit to the team. Those guys fight and they have in their mind … that they’re not going to lose.

“But they are beatable here. They have lost games here. I’ve actually been a visiting quarterback and beat them here when I was in B.C. (25-24 on Aug. 1, 2014). It can happen.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we focus on the details and the things that we need to do in order to win. Don’t worry about all the outside noise, focus on the team and I think we’ll be OK.”

The Roughriders lost both of their previous games with Calgary this season, falling 27-10 on the road on July 22 and 15-9 in Regina on Sept. 24.

Stampeders tailback Jerome Messam exceeded 100 yards rushing in each of those contests (135 yards on 28 carries on July 22, and 127 yards on 23 attempts on Sept. 24), so containing him is one of the Roughriders’ goals in Friday’s game.

Saskatchewan also wants to run the ball better — it had 38 yards rushing in the teams’ first meeting and 28 yards in the rematch — and it must contain the Stampeders on special teams.

“You’d better be (nearly perfect) because they’re going to be really close to perfect,” Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “You don’t win as many games as they have — especially games at home — over the past two years if you’re not playing near-perfect.”

The Roughriders haven’t been good enough to beat the Stampeders this season. Calgary had five sacks in each of the previous meetings and controlled the ball for more than 33 minutes in the first game and 36 minutes in the second.

“All props to them; they’ve played pretty well against us,” Roughriders offensive tackle Thaddeus Coleman said. “They’ve been our No. 1 adversary this year.

“But we’re up for a challenge. Third time’s a charm.”

If it is, the Roughriders will kill two birds with one stone. Not only will they beat Calgary, but they’ll qualify for the playoffs — and they’ll do it on their own.

“You can’t do anything about (the post-season scenario) other than just go take care of business,” Jones said. “You can’t worry about anybody else other than yourself.”

EXTRAS: Jones reiterated to the media Thursday that receiver Duron Carter will start at cornerback Friday due to a lack of other options. Told that there was some skepticism in the Stamps’ camp that the move actually would be made, Jones basically shrugged. “Time is too valuable to sit there and waste time,” he said. “Duron’s going to start at corner for us and if they believe it, that’s great. If not, we’ll see them come game time.” … Slotback Naaman Roosevelt was on Saskatchewan’s 46-man roster for Friday’s game, but he’ll be scratched due to a concussion. Jones stressed the Roughriders will be “very careful” with Roosevelt, whom they hope will be healthy if/when they make the playoffs … Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has a career record of 56-8-2 as a CFL starter, including 7-0-0 against Saskatchewan.