“It’s win or start packing”: Riders ready to battle B.C.
Rob Vanstone
Tevaughn Campbell welcomes a test from one of the best.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting strong-side cornerback looks forward to facing a high-powered B.C. Lions offence, led by star quarterback Nathan Rourke, in Saturday’s CFL Western Semi-Final (2:30 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
“Our last game or two, we were against backup quarterbacks,” Campbell noted before the Roughriders left for Vancouver. “Sure, it’s still a football game, but we want to go against the best quarterback. We want to go against the best players.
“We always welcome a challenge. It’s just the competitor in us from when we were young, just wanting to get better. When you were a kid and you had the tackling drills and the coach would say, ‘I want you and you,’ there’s no fear. You’ve just got to go out and do it. You can’t tell the coach ‘No.’
“That kind of built that energy in you, that dog in you, that wants to go against the best every time. If you play the best and win, what does that make you?”
What does it take to repel Rourke?
“I don’t know that there’s too many people who know how to stop Nathan Rourke,” Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace told reporters on Friday in Vancouver.
“He’s a hell of a player and I’m sure he’s going to make some plays out there. We’ve got to make sure that we limit the really big ones and make sure that we make one more play than their defence does.”
WIN … OR ELSE
The Lions would like to emulate the 2025 Roughriders by winning it all in the season that followed a Western Final loss.
Saskatchewan, for its part, is aiming to become a repeat Grey Cup champion for the first time in franchise history.
“Everybody understands what it is,” Mace said. “It’s backs against the wall for everybody in the post-season.
“I know we’ve had important games in the back half of the year — games we tried to approach with a playoff mentality — but we’re here now.
“It’s win or start packing.”
Saskatchewan will be the visiting team in a “win or start packing” Western Semi-Final for the 14th time.
The Roughriders have won six of the previous 13 contests, excluding years in which the Semi-Final was decided by a best-of-three or two-game-total-points series. A comprehensive history:
Nov. 7, 1965: Winnipeg 15, Saskatchewan 9 — Late in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders advanced to the Blue Bombers’ 10-yard line before a Ron Lancaster pass, intended for Jim Worden, hit an upright. (See also: Cody Fajardo, Western Final, 2019.)
Nov. 12, 1972: Saskatchewan 8, Edmonton 6 — Jack Abendschan kicked a game-winning, 27-yard field goal at 10:12 of the fourth quarter.
Nov. 12, 1989: Saskatchewan 33, Calgary 26 — The difference was Brian Walling’s 50-yard TD run with 1:38 left at McMahon Stadium. Saskatchewan went on to win a championship.
Nov. 11, 1990: Edmonton 43, Saskatchewan 27 — The Roughriders led 24-21 early in the third quarter before being outscored 22-3.
Nov. 15, 1992: Edmonton 22, Saskatchewan 20 — On the final play, Dave Ridgway slipped while attempting to win the game with a 40-yard field goal.
Nov. 14, 1993: Edmonton 51, Saskatchewan 13 — Edmonton rushed for 273 yards.
Nov. 13, 1994: Calgary 36, Saskatchewan 3 —Allen Pitts caught 12 passes for 189 yards and snared one of Doug Flutie’s three TD passes.
Nov. 2, 1997: Saskatchewan 33, Calgary 30 — An 8-10 Saskatchewan side shocked the Stampeders as Reggie Slack rushed for 102 yards and threw for 278.
Nov. 2, 2003: Saskatchewan 37, Winnipeg 21 — The spectacular Kenton Keith ran for TDs of 35, 30 and 21 yards.
Nov. 7, 2004: Saskatchewan 14, Edmonton 6 — Henry Burris threw for both Saskatchewan scores.
Nov. 5, 2006: Saskatchewan 30, Calgary 21 — The Roughriders trailed 21-5 before scoring 25 unanswered points. Keith keyed the playoff win (repeat) with 141 rushing yards and two TDs, one of which was as 75-yard sprint.
Nov. 11, 2012: Calgary 36, Saskatchewan 30 — Darian Durant threw for 435 yards and four touchdowns, helping Saskatchewan go ahead 30-29 with 52 seconds left. Calgary scored the winning TD 32 seconds later, courtesy of a 68-yard bomb from Drew Tate to Romby Bryant.
Nov. 16, 2014: Edmonton 18, Saskatchewan 10 — The host team led 17-0 in the second quarter.
TALKING TIME IS OVER
The final media availabilities for the Western Semi-Final were held on Friday afternoon in Vancouver.
“Those are just words,” Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris told reporters. “Tomorrow we’ve got to go out and put pen to paper and do what we’re supposed to do.
“There’s no group I’d rather be taking the field with tomorrow than those guys. I’m excited to tee this one up. I just told them in (the locker room): ‘I haven’t been this excited to play a football game in quite a while.’ ”
That is quite a statement for the 2025 Grey Cup MVP, who has played in so many important games.
“I’m 40 years old,” Harris said, “and I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas at this point.”
Round 1 of the 2026 CFL playoffs will take place 174 days after main training camps opened across the league.
“We’re not ready for the season to be over,” Harris stated. “It has gone so fast. I think everybody will attest to that. It feels like just yesterday that we reported to camp, and here we are sitting here with the name tags on the desks (in the interview room). That means it’s playoff time.
“We want to go play another week, so let’s do it.”
HUNGER GAMES
The Roughriders have an abundance of Grey Cup experience — something most of the Lions are still looking to acquire.
“The mindset for us hasn’t changed,” Mace said on Friday. “We’re not ignorant to the fact that we have experience in big games. However, we are very hard on ‘2025 has nothing to do with this team.’ This team is just as hungry as the team that was here last year.”
The Roughriders’ starting middle linebacker was quick to concur.
“I’m hungrier than ever now,” Jameer Thurman told the media. “Everyone loves the feeling of winning. Everyone’s always chasing that. Everyone’s always hungry — especially come playoff time, because we’re trying to get a ring on our fingers.”
During Friday’s media conference, one reporter noted that the Roughriders aren’t receiving as much playoff hype as the Edmonton Elks, Montreal Alouettes, or even the Lions.
“Good,” Thurman replied. “I love when people overlook us. I love when we are not respected in the eyes of everyone else.
“This season has been an up-and-down year for us as well, so we deserve that a little bit. But it’s playoff time now. Anything can happen.”
SAFETY SWITCH
With Nelson Lokombo sidelined by a hip injury, Jaxon Ford will start at safety for Saskatchewan.
“We have all the confidence in the world for him to go out and make some plays for us,” Mace told reporters.
Ford made 11 regular-season starts — nine at safety and three at strong-side linebackers. He made his first CFL interception when the Roughriders visited BC Place on Aug. 23.
One other lineup move: Zack Fry will make his 12th start of the season at left guard. Thomas Perry, an American, started at that position in each of the final three regular-season games. Daniel Johnson is the sixth offensive lineman.
HEAD COACH’S HOMECOMING
Mace, who hails from Vancouver, isn’t making a big deal about coaching in his hometown during the playoffs.
“I’m going to have dinner with my mom and my stepdad and my cousin,” he said. “That’s the perk of it.
“I don’t really care where the game is at. Playoff football in itself is too danged exciting.”