After finishing off a pair of games against a hungry eastern team in the Montreal Alouettes, the Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-1) will host the winless Ottawa Redblacks (0-3) in the 2022 premiere edition of “Friday Night Football” at Mosaic Stadium.
Following a split with the Riders, the Alouettes made a coaching change this week with General Manager Danny Maciocia stepping in for Khari Jones. Barron Miles was replaced at defensive coordinator by Noel Thorpe.
Ottawa Head Coach Paul LaPolice is finding himself on the hot seat with the Redblacks stumbling to an 0-3 record. Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson is expecting Ottawa to be have the same intensity that Montreal had in Week 3 when the Rider lost to the Alouettes.
” This is a team that’s got eight days, similar to Montreal who had nine, they haven’t won a game yet, they’re hungry, they know they’ve got a good football team, Sean Burke (General Manager) has done a wonderful job over there, building that roster and I think it’s going to be a battle. We challenged our guys this week to start fast.”
Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo says the Redblacks are a much better team than what their record indicates as they’re led by their defensive line.
“They do a good job of getting after the quarterback and it can be relentless, up front where they feel liked they’re blocked, but they continue to fight through, fight through, it’s never over to until the whistle blows. ”
Heading into Week 5, Riders running back Jamal Morrow was leading the CFL in rushing and in combined yards. (After Thursday’s action, Calgary’s Ka’Deem Carey leapfrogged Morrow) On Friday night, Morrow will meet his former teammate at running back in William Powell. The former Rider needs 56 rushing yards to move into the top 50 of all-time list of rushing yards in the CFL.
The green and white pass rush will be looking to keep up their dominant pass rush against the Redblacks. Saskatchewan leads the CFL in sacks with 21, Pete Robertson is the league leader with seven sacks on the season. The Rider defence is on top of the league rankings for forcing two and outs against opposing offences.
A change on the offensive line for the Roughriders tonight as Andrew Lauderdale will replace Terran Vaughn at left tackle. Vaughn is out with a shoulder injury, the Riders are hoping he is only out of the lineup for short period of time.
Since Ottawa returned to the CFL, the Redblacks have a slight advantage in the head to head matchup with a 7-6 edge.
The Riders will put their perfect record at home for the season on the line when they entertain at Mosaic Stadium.
You can catch the game on 620 CKRM with Countdown to Kickoff is 4:30, Michael Ball will have the opening kickoff at 7:30.
