The Saskatchewan Roughriders wrapped up the top spot in the West Division with a 27-19 win over what was left of the Toronto Argonauts.
With the win, Saskatchewan claim the regular-season crown for just the second time since 2009, and they will host the West Final. Given how the past few weeks have gone, that was not necessarily a result that was in doubt. But it is still a milestone that should be celebrated for a group that is just a couple of years removed from back-to-back 12-loss seasons.
This wasn’t a masterpiece from Saskatchewan by any stretch, and there is certainly room for some concern. But the overall achievement shouldn’t be lost, given where this team was a couple of seasons ago.
The nature of things
This is another game that is difficult to break down. Last week, I gave them a pass because they just needed a win. This week is a little similar.
If Saskatchewan were to have come out and blown right through the Arbuckle and McManis-less Argos, I wouldn’t have read too much into it. And if I know that this was a short-handed version of a 5-11 team, the Riders definitely knew that. So, while we’d love to say that “it’s their job” to be 100 percent locked in 100 percent of the time, we all know that human nature means that the give-a-darn meter can vary from week to week.
As we discussed earlier, there is a bigger conversation to be had about trying to turn that on and off. But they came in and got the job done to lock up everything that they could during the regular season, so it is a bit difficult to get on them too much.
Lights out and away they go
In Formula 1, the drivers hit the gas right when the starting lights go out. Maybe the Riders were just waiting for their Lights Out game to get off to the start that fans have wanted them to.
We haven’t been able to say this a lot this year, but the Riders’ offence got off to a great start in this game. Saskatchewan’s passing attack diced up Toronto’s undermanned defence on their opening drive, marching down the field for a TD. Samuel Emilus started it off with a strong catch and run to help set up a Joe Robustelli score.
Saskatchewan hasn’t been fantastic early in games this year, but we now know they will be hosting the West Final in Regina. If the Green and White can get rolling early in that game and get Rider Nation behind them, it could be a long night for whoever is making their way to Regina.
Like he never left
This was not the season that Samuel Emilus wanted, but he is making up for lost time at the end of the year. Emilus had his biggest game of the year, going off for 142 yards in the win. Yes, it is against Toronto’s banged-up defence, but that still has to feel like a huge win for Emilus, who has only been able to play in seven games due to injury.
If he can get to this level consistently in the postseason, he could be a difference-maker who could get them to a championship.
Wake me up when October ends
The biggest question that Saskatchewan now faces is what to do for the next couple of weeks. It is the difficult balance of trying to get everyone enough playing time that they are sharp for the biggest game of the year, while also not getting hurt in a sport where that is an occupational hazard. We saw a prime example of that on Friday night with KeeSean Johnson exiting the game due to injury.
Obviously, if anyone is the slightest bit banged up, it is an immediate no. But you don’t want to fall into the trap of many teams before, where they take their foot off the gas at the end of the season and then can’t get going again once the playoffs start. Given the way the format is set up, Saskatchewan will be playing a team coming off its biggest win of the season to that point. They will have already played in a playoff atmosphere and be in that gear. It is tough to find that after not playing a meaningful game for a month.
The other side of this is getting players who were previously banged up back into rhythm. Emilus, Shawn Bane Jr., and Kian Schaffer-Baker have missed plenty of time already this year. They could really benefit from some live reps to get back to the level they feel they should be at this time of year.
If there were an easy and obvious answer to the rest versus rust debate, then this would be a no-brainer. But the violent nature of football adds such a tricky layer to this that there can’t be a blanket answer. It varies from team to team, player to player, and even drive to drive.
Kicking into high gear
One player who could REALLY benefit from playing well in the last couple of games of the year is Brett Lauther. The struggling kicker went five-for-five against the Argos on Friday night, helping Saskatchewan to this division-clinching win.
The struggles of the Saskatchewan kicker have been well documented and discussed in every social setting across the province all season long. There isn’t anything that Lauther can do between now and November 8 that will make most of Rider Nation feel confident if the team’s championship fate comes down to a kick. But, if he can get on a roll at the end of the year, then at least he’ll be confident should that situation arise, and that might be all the Riders need.
Cold shoulder to the cold plunge
If you’ve seen any health and fitness content from anyone online for even one second, you will know that cold plunges are all the rage. Apparently, Corey Mace doesn’t subscribe to the healing power of cold exposure as he gave a strong, Heisman-esque stiff-arm to the Gatorade bath that was coming his way following his club clinching the West Division regular season title.
Now, I wouldn’t want to get showered with Gatorade either. That being said, Mace is hoping that he’ll have two more icy showers in his future, and this one would EASILY be the warmest of the group. Why not deal with it now on a delightful October evening to get ready for the frigid prairie temperatures in November? It’s not just the players who have to get their bodies playoff-ready.
Final thoughts
After the Riders lost to the Stampeders for the second time, I had a lot of different scenarios going through my head. None of them included Saskatchewan wrapping up the division with this much time to spare. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that these last two games against Winnipeg and B.C.wouldn’t matter one ounce for the Riders’ division hopes.
So now, Rider fans across Canada will gather at the table for Thanksgiving and not have to worry about what trash-talk their cousins from Winnipeg will come armed with. Or maybe that’s just my personal experience. Either way, the Riders have far exceeded what most people would have considered their best-case scenario for the season at the beginning of the year. And they are now one home win away from reaching most fans’ new bar for what success this year actually looks like.
Peter Klein is a Saskatchewan-born, Calgary-based CFL analyst. He is a lifelong fan who has been covering the league across multiple platforms for the last 17 years.
