ROBSERVATIONS: Fair game! … Aug. 1 and QBs’ breakout games … Bell’s words ring true … Riders’ first 36-34 score

Talk about a memory stick!

Seven years ago today, Cody Fajardo was shown holding a corn dog — the stick, actually — after quarterbacking the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 24-19 CFL victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The very same Cody Fajardo is preparing to call signals for the Edmonton Elks in today’s marquee matchup with the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium (5 p.m., TSN, CKRM).

When the teams met on July 23 at Mosaic Stadium, Fajardo and Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris treated the fans to a classic quarterbacks’ duel. They each threw for four touchdowns in a game Edmonton won 36-34, courtesy of a walk-off, 57-yard field goal by Vincent Blanchard.

Fajardo set a career high by throwing for 510 yards. His previous peak total of 430 was registered on July 1, 2019, when he led the Roughriders to a 32-7 victory over the visiting Toronto Argonauts.

Also of note was his 429-yard eruption in a 27-24 Saskatchewan victory at Commonwealth Stadium on Oct. 26, 2019. On that very same evening, the Winnipeg Jets registered a 2-1 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames at that noted mecca of hockey, Mosaic Stadium.

Even with the 430- and 429-yarders taken into consideration, Fajardo’s signature game as a Roughrider was the come-from-behind victory over Hamilton on Aug. 1, 2019.

Shrugging off a sore ankle, Fajardo ran five yards for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. He outran two Tiger-Cats defenders and hurled himself toward Mosaic Stadium’s north goal line. His body never crossed the stripe, but he held out the football as it touched the left pylon. That was sufficient. Touchdown.

The dramatic victory coincided with the Queen City Ex — the result being the novel circumstance of a regular-season exhibition game.

“It meant a lot to me, especially with the carnival here in town,” Fajardo said after the game. “I’m really excited to go get a corn dog, to be honest.

“I’m a big carnival and corn dog guy and I was like, ‘Hopefully the game goes well so I can get a corn dog.’ That’s probably what gave me the will to score that touchdown — that little inspiration of a corn dog at the carnival.”

Corny, yes, but media types — including this one — ate it up!

So did Fajardo, who kept a promise to himself by wading into the midway, ordering a succulent corn dog and, for good measure, posting a photo of himself consuming the fair fare by the George Reed statue.

The picture quickly became a social media sensation.

It happened seven years ago today, courtesy of No. 7.

(The corn dogs, we assure you, are still delectable and an excellent source of protein.)

QB CLASSIC #2

The corn-dog game took place 10 years to the day after another prominent quarterback — Darian Durant — enjoyed his own statement game as a Roughrider.

On Aug. 1, 2009 in Calgary, Durant threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Chris Getzlaf at 13:43 of the fourth quarter to power Saskatchewan to a 24-23 victory at McMahon Stadium.

Until that game, Durant was not entrenched as the Roughriders’ No. 1 quarterback. In fact, then-Head Coach Ken Miller used Steven Jyles behind centre for the second quarter — per the game plan — before Durant returned in the second half and ultimately engineered a late-game rally.

Never again was there a realistic question as to whether Durant was THE guy.

As a first-year full-time starter, he guided Saskatchewan to top spot in the West — a feat the team accomplished for the first time in 33 years — and a Grey Cup berth.

“Doubles” remained a Roughrider through the 2016 season.

A giant image of No. 4 eventually adorned the west-side facing of Taylor Field.

At that same venue on Nov. 24, 2013, Durant quarterbacked Saskatchewan to the first home-field Grey Cup victory in franchise history.

He entered the Saskatchewan Roughrider Plaza of Honour in 2024.

BELL’S SYSTEM

The always-quotable Joshua Bell offered a memorable response when asked when a member of the Roughriders’ defensive backfield will first register an interception this season.

Through six games, Josh Woods — a linebacker — has both the team’s picks.

“If I can tell you when an interception is coming for the back-end guys, I might need to go to the casino,” the Roughriders’ Defensive Co-ordinator said, generating guffaws.

“But I’d bet a loonie or a toonie on Josh Woods getting another one. I would definitely bet that.”

A flood of interceptions is inevitable for a Saskatchewan team that thrived on turnovers during each of its first two seasons under Head Coach Corey Mace.

In 2024, the Roughriders boasted 12 interceptions in their first six games with Mace on the sideline. The 2025 Grey Cup champions had nine thefts at the one-third mark of the regular season.

Now the clock is ticking.

“We’re excited because we definitely know who we are,” Bell said. “Not having interceptions on the board is something we haven’t seen for a six-game stretch, ever, but every year is a new journey.

“We’re excited to see it. When it comes, they’ll come. And they’ll be coming soon.”

The Roughriders last had no DB interceptions at the six-game mark in 2017, when the team’s first two picks were by a defensive lineman (Jonathan Newsome) and a linebacker (Sam Williams).

The dam broke in Game 7. Saskatchewan amassed five interceptions — four by defensive halfback Ed Gainey — in a 41-8 victory over B.C. on Aug. 13, 2017.

Saskatchewan had one pick over its first six games in each of the previous two seasons.

Cornerback Justin Cox registered the Roughriders’ first interception of the 2016 season.

The single pick at this juncture of the 2015 season was by a linebacker — Jake Doughty. His first (and only) CFL interception was at the expense of none other than Trevor Harris when the Argonauts visited historic Mosaic Stadium for a July 5 game.

Harris threw for four scores to power Toronto to a 42-40 overtime victory.

His second career four-TD-pass game in Saskatchewan was on July 23 versus Edmonton.

WILLOUGHBY’S WISE WORDS

Keith Willoughby has worked his numerical magic once again.

He e-mailed me to point out that the score of last week’s Roughriders-Elks game (36-34) “precisely mirrored the result from the previous CFL game” (Winnipeg Blue Bombers 36, Ottawa REDBLACKS 34 on July 19).

“It turns out that this was just the fifth time in league history (in 5,015 regular-season games) that this has occurred,” Keith added.

The previous four instances date back to:

1978: 14-4 scores — Montreal Alouettes over Hamilton Tiger-Cats; Calgary over B.C. (both games on Sept. 17).

1993: 25-24 — B.C. over Ottawa Rough Riders (Sept. 4); Winnipeg Blue Bombers over Saskatchewan (Sept. 5).

2012: 39-36 — B.C. over Hamilton (July 6); Toronto over Calgary (July 7); Mace started at defensive tackle for the Stampeders in the latter game.

2015: 26-23 — B.C. over Edmonton (Aug. 6); Ottawa over Montreal (Aug. 7).

34 SCORED AND SEVERAL YEARS AGO …

• The recent 36-34 score, incidentally, was the first in Roughriders history.

• Saskatchewan now has a 25-8 record in games in which it has scored precisely 34 points. In fact, the Roughriders have put up 34 in both their losses this season. Toronto won 40-34 at Mosaic Stadium on June 27.

• Saskatchewan won the first 12 times it scored exactly 34 points. The first loss with 34 on the board was on Aug. 30, 1981 in Edmonton. As was the case this past July 23, a Roughriders quarterback threw four TD passes in a losing cause (John Hufnagel in 1981; Harris in 2026).

• Quirky stat from the Aug. 30, 1981 game: While throwing for 420 yards, the Roughriders exceeded their rushing yardage by 421! Saskatchewan’s four handoffs produced a net loss of one yard.

• Joey Walters caught six passes for 134 yards and three Roughriders touchdowns during that game — part of a 1981 season in which he amassed a team-record 1,715 receiving yards. Kian Schaffer-Baker is on pace to erase that long-standing mark after catching eight passes for 185 yards in the 36-34 game versus Edmonton.

• The surname game: If you look at the last names, Edmonton’s lineup for that Aug. 30, 1981 game included a natural satellite (Warren Moon), a country (Jim Germany) and a town in Saskatchewan (Neil Lumsden). The Roughriders countered with Chris DeFrance.

• The Roughriders twice scored 34 points during their championship season of 2025. Those games were played on Aug. 2 (Montreal 6 at Saskatchewan 34) and Aug. 31 (Saskatchewan 34, Winnipeg 30).

• Score-wise, the Roughriders have played two George Reed-Ron Lancaster games (34-23). Reed and Lancaster played in the first one — a Nov. 6, 1971 playoff victory over Winnipeg. Saskatchewan’s other 34-23 game, also a win, was on Aug. 13, 2022 in Edmonton. The victorious quarterback: Cody Fajardo!

ROLL CREDITS …

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Jermarcus Hardrick, Angie Reed, Wayne Morsky, Joshua Bell, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Gregg Drinnan, David Gbenda, Dorothy Drinnan, Todd Drinnan, Keith Willoughby, Ian Hamilton, Carolyn Hamilton, Jessica Gelowsky, Roger Aldag, Joanne Aldag, Scott Schultz, Ryder Varga, Hunter Varga, Brian Varga, Braden Konschuh, Aubrey Miller Jr. and Rolan Milligan Jr.