Trevor Harris understands the cyclical nature of Canadian professional football.
“Unfortunately … and fortunately,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback said with a laugh after Monday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
“Fortunately, because I’ve got experience. Unfortunately, it means I’m getting old.”
Harris, 38, is also accelerating the aging process of rival defensive backs.
His quarterback-efficiency rating (102.8) is second-best in the CFL this season.
In only seven games, Harris has thrown 15 touchdown passes.
But the only numbers that genuinely matter to him can be found in the standings.
With a 5-7-1 record, the Roughriders are third in the West Division as they prepare for Friday’s road game against the Calgary Stampeders (4-8-1).
Calgary has closed the gap considerably since early in the season, largely because the Roughriders are winless in seven games (0-6-1).
That concerns Harris, obviously, but this isn’t anything he hasn’t seen before.
“I’ve been around a long time and I’ve been on teams that have won Grey Cups that have had losing records at this point in the season,” the 12th-year CFLer noted.
“I’ve been on teams that have made it to Grey Cups and made it to East Finals and been within a shred of the Grey Cup. Those teams start to play well late.
“The biggest thing is they band together. We’ve got a locker room that is banded together and believes in one another. The guys love each other and we’re going to keep working. We’re going to keep pounding the stone.
“I promise you, we’re going to flip over every single stone we possibly can to maximize who we are and what we are this season.”
Harris is the proud owner of two Grey Cup rings, earned with the Toronto Argonauts (in 2012) and Ottawa REDBLACKS (2016).
Toronto was 7-9-0 in 2012 before winning its final two regular-season games and all three playoff contests.
Four years later, Ottawa shrugged off a losing record (8-9-1) by capturing a championship to cap the third season in REDBLACKS history.
A year later, the REDBLACKS were 5-9-1 before winning their final three regular-season games and playing host to the East Division Semi-final — won 31-20 by Saskatchewan, a cross-over participant in the 2017 playoffs.
Harris was also a member of the Montreal Alouettes when they extracted themselves from a 4-7-0 crater and ended up playing host to (and winning) the 2022 East Semi-final.
A comparable reversal of form by the Roughriders of 2024 would not surprise Harris in the least.
“I’ve reiterated it and echoed it: I like this team,” he stated. “I think we’re going to look back toward the end of the season and like where we’re at going into the playoffs.”
Congestion in the West Division creates an opportunity for the Roughriders, who are only three points behind the current first-place teams — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-6-0) and B.C. Lions (7-7-0).
Edmonton (5-8-0) is just one point behind Saskatchewan and one point ahead of Calgary (4-8-1).
With only five points separating first and fifth, anything can happen during the stretch run — especially when you consider that the Roughriders are not the only team to have experienced ebbs and flows in 2024.
Winnipeg began the season with four losses in succession before going on a 7-2-0 run.
Edmonton lost its first seven games before enjoying a 5-1-0 resurgence.
B.C. was 5-1-0 — as were the Roughriders at one point — but has since gone 2-6-0.
Calgary, which had records of 2-1-0, 3-3-0 and 4-4-0, is now winless in five (0-4-1).
That one tie, however, was against the league-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2-1) on Saturday.
Montreal has twice defeated Saskatchewan, with the combined margin of victory being seven points. The average points differential in the Alouettes’ other eight wins: 11.1.
Over the past seven games, the Roughriders have been outscored by a total of 26 points. Average margin: 3.71.
Consider, too, that four of Saskatchewan’s past five games have been decided on the final play. The outcome of the other game during that stretch was not cemented until just 34 seconds remained in the fourth quarter.
Being close, even against a formidable opponent, isn’t of the slightest solace to Harris.
“We were finding ways to not win a game,” he lamented. “Everybody took their turn. Everybody’s already done taking their turn. I said, ‘No more turns left.’ ”
There could be several twists and turns over the rest of the season. Harris, who has pretty much seen it all since his rookie season of 2012, can attest to how things can change at this time of year.
Experience has also taught him this: Do not look too far ahead.
“We’re making sure that we’re honed in on the details,” he said.
“We’re not thinking about, ‘We’ve got to do this in the next five games.’
“Once you get into the ‘have to’ (mentality), that’s when you start applying pressure. If you’re in the present moment, there’s no such thing as pressure.
“We’re just going to exist in the moment and crush every moment.”
