GAME PREVIEW: “We’re expecting the Montreal Alouettes”
Rob Vanstone
The Saskatchewan Roughriders anticipate a tough test despite the Montreal Alouettes’ decision to rest three marquee playmakers for Saturday’s CFL game at Mosaic Stadium.
Montreal, which has clinched first place in the East Division, has made the westward journey without two premier receivers — Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead. As well, franchise quarterback Davis Alexander will temporarily serve as the 13-3 Alouettes’ third-stringer, behind Dustin Crum and Caleb Evans.
“We don’t care,” Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said on Friday. “We’ve got stuff to focus on ourselves. We know that we’re playing the Montreal Alouettes. They are a good football team.
“Regardless of who they put out there, those guys have been around winning football. They’ve played football. We expect a great game from these guys.
“We’re in a position right now where we’ve got to focus strictly on ourselves, so that’s where our mindset is.”
Saskatchewan (8-8) hopes to snap a four-game losing streak and, in so doing, clinch a playoff spot. One more Roughriders victory is all that is needed.
A year ago at this time, the Roughriders had nailed down first place in the West with two regular-season games remaining.
Despite deciding to rest several starters, the Roughriders nonetheless provided a considerable challenge for the Blue Bombers (who won 17-16 at Princess Auto Stadium one year ago on Saturday) and B.C. Lions (27-21 victors at Mosaic Stadium on Oct. 25).
Mace’s own example reinforces the reality that an opponent can still be formidable even if some marquee names are withheld from the lineup as a precaution.
“I’ve seen it many, many, many times,” Mace said. “You’ve got to think that there are great players who may not be running out there for them. Usually, that means that they feel really good about their depth. Those guys have been working their tails off.
“As it is in any professional sport, if you get an opportunity, you want to make the absolute best of it, so I’m expecting that from their guys as well. This is professional football. Those are professional football players on a really good team.
“We’re expecting the Montreal Alouettes.”
In place of Philpot, the Alouettes will start Kaseem Ferdinand at a wideout spot. His father, Denny Ferdinand, was a Roughriders running back from 1985 to 1988.
Ferdinand was on the Roughriders’ roster on Oct. 16, 1988 — 38 years ago today — when they defeated B.C. 28-25 at Taylor Field to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 1976.
MILESTONE MONITOR
Coming off Monday’s 44-24 loss in Montreal, the Roughriders are preparing to welcome back two top-tier receivers — Samuel Emilus and KeeSean Johnson.
Emilus has missed six games with a lower leg injury. An ankle injury kept Johnson out of the Thanksgiving Day matchup at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Johnson enters Saturday’s game with 101 receptions for 1,243 yards. He needs two more catches to post the second-highest single-season total in Roughriders history.
Don Narcisse had a team-record 123 receptions in 1995. Joey Walters (in 1982), Craig Ellis (1985) and Curtis Marsh (2000) all had 102-catch seasons. Johnson is the fifth Roughrider to reach 100.
Comparably, one more touchdown pass will give Trevor Harris the second-best single-season total by a Roughrider.
Kent Austin threw for a team-record 35 scores in 1992. Harris, Austin (in 1993) and Darian Durant (2013) are next in line with 31. With two regular-season games remaining, Harris has a chance to tie or eclipse Austin.
After the Roughriders face Montreal, the Green and White will return to action a week later against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
Some other numerical notes:
• Middle linebacker Jameer Thurmanneeds 10 defensive tackles to reach 100 this season. He is also closing in on his career high total of 97, set with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023. As it stands, there are 12 instances of a Roughrider registering 100 defensive tackles in a season.
• Brett Lauther requires two field goals to reach a career total of 300 as a Roughrider. Only two Roughriders have reached that milestone — Dave Ridgway (574) and Paul McCallum (368). McCallum, Rob Bagg and Dan Clark are to be formally inducted into the Plaza of Honour during halftime on Saturday.
• Lauther needs one more point to reach 1,270 and tie Sandro DeAngelis for 21st on the CFL’s All-Time list. DeAngelis’s career included a stop in Saskatchewan in 2012.
• Tommy Stevens needs one score to tie the Roughriders’ record for rushing touchdowns in a season (16 by George Reed in 1968). Still within range is the team record for overall TDs in a season (18 by Ken Carpenter in 1955).
• Kian Schaffer-Baker is 39 yards shy of reaching a season total of 1,000 for the first time.
WELCOME BACK
Justin Herdman-Reed was a member of the Stampeders when he last played in a CFL game — nearly a year ago.
After being activated by the Roughriders for the Montreal game, the 32-year-old linebacker will see live action for the first time since Oct. 24.
Herdman-Reed became a free agent on Feb. 10 but was idle until being signed by Saskatchewan on Sept. 20. He previously played for the Roughriders — usually as a teammate of twin brother Jordan — from 2021 to 2024.
“The opportunity presented itself and I’m just thankful to be here and be back,” Justin said on Friday. “I’m glad to see all the familiar faces. A lot of the same guys are still here. They welcomed me with open arms. It has been a great experience so far.”
Another great experience was the receipt of a call from the Roughriders in September.
“I was in Surrey, B.C., training young athletes with strength and conditioning,” Herdman-Reed recalled. “I was working with the Surrey Swim Club (athletes) and staying in shape as well.
“I knew the call was likely to be coming, especially this late in the season with injuries. I knew something was going to present itself at some point, so I stayed ready and patient.
“Thank God the opportunity presented itself at the right time, before it was too late.”
Once the transaction was consummated, Herdman-Reed scurried back to Saskatchewan.
“I had to quickly get packed and get ready,” he said. “I threw what I could in the suitcase and got on my flight here. I was super excited.
“That time I was off, I was training and waiting for this moment. It’s going to be a great opportunity to go out there and show what I can do. Football has always been my passion, so I’m happy to do what I love.”
Herdman-Reed is poised to become the Roughriders’ 68th active-roster player this season. Saskatchewan dressed 70 players over the course of its championship season in 2025. Seventy-two players appeared in at least one game the season before — Year 1 under Mace.
MOMENTUM FROM MONTREAL
Aubrey Miller Jr. and Mathew Sexton are both coming off standout performances in the opener of a home-and-home set with Montreal.
Playing weak-side linebacker, Miller Jr. had eight defensive tackles, one special teams stop, and the Roughriders’ only sack on Monday.
“Despite how I’m playing, if we lose, it doesn’t matter,” Miller Jr. stated. “We want victories. Victories lead to championships.
“We just want to go 1-and-0. It’s the same for me every week. We know we’re not playing to the standard that we should be, so it’s just a matter of making sure we can get back on track.”
The speedy Sexton is capable of turning the game into a track meet.
In his return to the lineup after missing three months with a broken fibula, he had seven kickoff returns for 174 yards, including a 42-yarder.
“I’m super proud, for sure, but there’s still a lot of work to be done — 1,000 per cent,” Sexton said. “There’s a lot of stuff we left out on the field, just as a squad.
“We’re looking forward to getting back out there and really capitalizing on the stuff that we could have capitalized on last game.”
The seven kickoff returns put Sexton in a nine-way tie for the second-most by a Roughrider in a game. With 174 kickoff return yards, he is tied for 11th-best in franchise history.
Brandon West posted team-record totals by returning nine kickoffs for 231 yards against the visiting Lions on Sept. 24, 2011.
AMERICAN MUSCLE
The Roughriders are poised to start four American offensive linemen for the first time since defeating Montreal to win the Grey Cup on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg.
The lone Canadian, centre Logan Ferland, is listed as a game-time decision due to a knee injury he suffered late in Monday’s game.
The depth chart, issued on Friday, shows two American guards (Thomas Perry and Jacob Brammer) and two American tackles (Payton Collins and Jermarcus Hardrick).
Collins returns to the lineup after missing one game with an ankle injury.
Last year, Saskatchewan started four American offensive linemen in the Western Final and the Grey Cup. Brammer, Collins and Hardrick were joined by left guard Trevon Tate.
Before then, the Roughriders had not used four Americans up front since the 1976 playoffs.
Fifty years ago, Saskatchewan-born centre Gary Brandt was joined by American O-linemen Mike Dirks, Ralph Galloway, Sam Holden and Joe Miller as the Roughriders earned a Grey Cup berth.