5 Things To Know | SSK @ BC
It's a Friday night battle and rubber match with huge implications!
(Vancouver)- Back following a bye week, the BC Lions entertain the Saskatchewan Roughriders this week, in the third and final regular season matchup between these two West Division contenders. As far as late September goes, you won’t find a higher-stakes matchup. With more, we present our weekly tradition on the eve of the game: our 5 Things To Know Preview.
Game 14: Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-5-0 ) at BC Lions (7-6-0)
Friday, September 25. 7:30 pm PT, Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place.
TV: Canada: TSN
Stream: CFL+ (U.S. & International)
Radio: 730 CKNW, Lions Audio Network, Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 & SiriusXM 167 Canada Talks.
The Race For A Home Playoff Date
You don’t need to be a math major to figure out the importance of a victory. Should the Lions prevail, they would be tied in points with the Riders and have the season series wrapped up, giving them full control in the chase for second place in the West. While neither team has clinched a playoff berth yet, it’s safe to say the winner will have the upper hand for home-field advantage once the Playoff dance begins. Side note: the Lions could also finish atop the division by winning their remaining five and having the 10-4 Edmonton Elks drop two of their last four. But let’s focus on the here and now. Adding more excitement to the mix is the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who host Toronto earlier on Friday. We could have the potential for a three-way tie for second place at night’s end. A Riders win would essentially give them a five-point edge on the Lions when you factor in the tiebreaker. This is what they call a “swing game.”
Carter Return Boosts Revamped Defence
Given the rash of injuries and recent suspensions to Ronald Kent Jr. and Joshua Hagerty, the fortitude of this much-improved defensive unit was going to continue to get tested. A lot of that concern was softened with the return of 2025 Most Outstanding Rookie finalist Robert Carter Jr. Despite arriving back in town on Tuesday evening and getting only one full practice in, Carter will start at boundary corner. After a full training camp and pre-season slate with the Indianapolis Colts, don’t expect much rust from the athletic defensive back. Carter and the Lions get a nice test this week, as Saskatchewan is expected to have receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker and running back AJ. Ouellette back from injury. Both of these teams have battled injuries to key players this season. A matchup with both closer to full strength is going to be a treat for CFL observers everywhere.
Red Zone Looms Large
Buck Pierce spoke of the importance of capitalizing in the red zone in their last outing, an impressive 48-29 victory over the Montreal Alouettes. The Lions scored touchdowns on all five of their red zone opportunities, one week after not getting a single chance in the first Alouettes matchup. That’s rare in today’s game. Heading into Friday, the Lions and Roughriders are tied for second in the CFL with 35 touchdowns on red zone opportunities. The Lions have converted 35 of 47 total chances (74.5 percent) through 13 games. The team that strikes on more of these chances inside the 20-yard line will have a big upper hand in this contest.
Offensive Playmakers Rising
As Nathan Rourke and the offence continue their quest to be more consistent week in and week out, it’s no coincidence that playmakers Keon Hatcher and Justin McInnis continue to hit their stride. Each has taken turns leading the way in terms of production in recent games. Hatcher enters this week only 51 yards shy of 1,000 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. When the Lions need a big play, you can more often than not rely on the Rourke-McInnis connection to rise to the occasion. The emergence of Jermaine Jackson has been a welcome sign this season as well. Long story short: they should be able to outscore most of their issues on any given week.
What They’re Saying
“We all understand where the standings are right now. Both teams have put themselves in position to have everything they want in front of them, right? It’s two competitive teams that are playing good football, coming off wins, getting healthy; hopefully at the right time. So, it should be a good game.”- Pierce on the importance of this matchup.
“The ‘right now’ aspect is good, but it's always a work in progress from my perspective. We're playing Saskatchewan this week. We played a good game against them the last time we were at home. Looking back on the film these past couple of days, there were mistakes that could have hurt us at the end of the day. Same thing last week against Montreal, where they had a couple of drops. Their running back got off a little bit, so for us, it's to tighten everything down. It's not because you're playing well these past couple of weeks that it's necessarily going to go your way. It’s a work in progress. It’s all hands on deck on Friday night.”- Mathieu Betts on not being satisfied just yet.
Extra Points
Carter’s insertion is one of seven lineup changes for the Lions. Other notables include Lorenzo Mauldin and David Gusta back as Designated Americans on the defensive line. Another newly signed defensive back this week, Oregon Ducks product Thomas Graham, dresses as the third DA. Nationals Jacob Bond and Chase Henning return in special teams roles.
A solid nugget from Lions historian Steve Daniel: twice previously in the club’s 72-season history, the Lions have turned a 1-5 start into an above .500 finish: everyone remembers 2011, when they finished 11-7 on route to a Grey Cup. The 2002 campaign saw the Lions rally from 1-5 to 10-8. That year, they fell to Winnipeg in the Western Semi-Final. They look to accomplish the feat for a third time with an ending similar to 2011.
Rourke and Trevor Harris are set to meet for the fifth time in regular season play. A win for the Lions evens the all-time QB rivalry to three wins apiece. Rourke has a pair of 300-plus-yard outings against Saskatchewan this season, while Harris threw for a season-high 417 yards in the Riders’ victory over BC back in week two.
McInnis suits up in career game number 100 this week. The first 32 of those came in Saskatchewan, the team that drafted him in 2019. He always has a little extra juice to face his old squad.
Hatcher is also only 30 yards shy of passing Paris Jackson (5,757 yards) for tenth on the Lions’ all-time list.
T.J. (664 career tackles) is four defensive stops away from passing Don Wilson for 12th on the CFL’s all-time list.