PREVIEW: REDBLACKS welcome defending champs to TD Place

The Ottawa REDBLACKS return to TD Place on Friday night to host the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Ottawa comes into Week 5 at 0-3, after nearly storming back and completing an incredible comeback in Montreal last Sunday night before falling 37-35 to the Alouettes. There were plenty of positives for the REDBLACKS to build off of and carry that momentum into Friday’s contest.

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, arrives in the nation’s capital at 2-1, looking to rebound after suffering its first loss of the season last week, falling 40-34 to the Toronto Argonauts.

The REDBLACKS showed plenty of fight in their most recent outing, overcoming a bleak first half, posting 29 second-half points to nearly complete the 15-point comeback. Still, ultimately, they fell just short to the Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium.

Jake Maier completed 27/38 passes with three touchdowns and one interception and looked the most comfortable he has all season in the second half. Justin Hardy led the way on the receiving end, posting seven receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown, while Keelan White tallied two touchdowns of his own, including a spectacular catch in the back of the Montreal end zone.

Now, the REDBLACKS will look to carry that momentum back home against a Roughriders team that is coming off a championship and has established itself as one of the CFL’s early contenders. Saskatchewan opened the season with back-to-back wins over the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders before falling to the Toronto Argonauts in Week 4. The Riders have been one of the league’s more balanced teams through the opening month, getting contributions on both sides of the football.

Ottawa also gets a boost with some veteran reinforcements in the lineup, including the return of Eugene Lewis, Alonzo Addae, Adrian Frye and Lucas Cormier, while newly acquired quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson will make his debut, backing up Jake Maier.

National receiver Keelan White is listed as a game-time decision with an ankle injury and is expected to see how it feels throughout the day before a final decision is made. It should be noted that the REDBLACKS are coming off a short week and are about to head into another short week with travel to Edmonton, adding another layer to any injury decisions.

Scouting the opposition

The defending Grey Cup champions head into TD Place after suffering their first loss of the season last week, falling 40-34 to the Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium.

Former REDBLACKS quarterback Trevor Harris leads the Riders for his fourth season in green and white, and the 40-year-old quarterback hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Harris leads the CFL in passing yards per game (third overall) and has thrown eight touchdowns compared to only one interception.

On the receiving end, Kian Schaffer-Baker leads the team with 384 receiving yards, while Samuel Emilus’ three touchdown receptions are the most by any Rider.

On the defensive end, the Riders two-headed threat of James Vaugthers and Mike Rose has combined for four sacks on the season and will be a challenge for the REDBLACKS offensive line. All-CFL linebacker Jameer Thurman is also a player the REDBLACKS will need to be aware of as they work through their offensive game plan.

The Riders will be without a few key players for this contest, including power back AJ Ouellette and 2024 Most Outstanding Defensive Back Roland Milligan.

In Their Words

“They play sound football and that’s what we’re looking to do. We can’t have self-inflicted wounds. We need to play a clean game, we can’t have any turnovers and we need to get some turnovers on defence. I told our guys, let’s go down fighting. The last few weeks we kind of died a slow death on defence, so we want to be more aggressive this week.” Head Coach and General Manager Ryan Dinwiddie on what the team needs to do to have success against Saskatchewan.

“We went up tempo so no huddle and had some double cadence, where line up in formation with no plays called, see the defence and get us in the play we need to. We’ll mix that in throughout the year and kind of grow into that. Those guys feel comfortable now, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we did quite a bit of that tomorrow.” Head Coach and General Manager Ryan Dinwiddie on building off the second half in Montreal.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to get a win. We’re simply trying to go 1-0, and they happen to be the next opponent. It’s nice to play against my friends and the people I used to talk trash to in practice every day, but at the end of the day, I’m an Ottawa REDBLACK and we need to go win a football game.” A.J. Allen on the emotions of facing his former team.

Kickoff from TD Place is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with fans able to watch on TSN and RDS, or listen live on TSN 1200 and 104.7 FM.