By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

When is a loss a win?

Oct 22, 2025 | 9:38 AM

The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer’s and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Pattison Media.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have apparently finished first nine times in their history, so maybe they should be excused following their 17-16 loss to the Stony Mountain Blue Bombers.

It’s more like over 30 when you review the early years of the team, but since 1976 it apparently includes years like 1989, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2025. When you look at 1910 and just the years the Riders finished first, they did it in 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1951, 1966, 1968, 1969. 1970, 1976, 2009, 2019. 2025 which makes this the 30th Divisional or Conference first place finish in 115 years. If the Riders win the west, then to use a baseball analogy, they win the pennant and if they go to the Grey Cup this year, this will mark the 20th time they are participating in the national championship.

The Riders against Winnipeg decided to rest many of their starters because the Rider do not play a meaningful game until the western final on November 8, a month away. The Riders put Trevor Harris on the sideline and started Jake Maier who did not turn the ball over as many thought.

The Riders had their B and C group of receivers and other than the inadequate running attack without AJ Ouellette, the Riders offense held its own against the Bombers and if Maier had been left in instead of pulled in the fourth quarter, the Riders would have won because Maier was at least moving the ball instead of Coan’s steady two downs and a punt.

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I would have loved to have beaten the Bombers, but I remember in 2013 when Calgary lost defensive lineman Micah Johnson and another defensive lineman whose name escapes me in their last game after finishing first. The loss of those two defensive linemen two weeks later in the western final was crucial as the Riders ran through the Stampeders to win the west and host their own Grey Cup.

Mace was playing on the Stampeders defensive line then although he had torn his shoulder labrum in week 1 and he lost the whole season rehabbing the injury. He did see how the injuries affected the Stampeders attempt to get to the Grey Cup, so his philosophy of not risking star players health comes from experience.

The fact the Riders forced the Bombers, who had their starters except for Nic Demski in, to go to the last seconds to kick a winning field goal makes you wonder if the Riders had put in their starters, would they have blown the Bombers away? Probably, but this game, more than any other, seemed to send a message to Bomber fans the window is closing on their five-year run to be in the Grey Cup.

The Bombers have gotten old and held on to too many vets for loyalty reasons. Zack Collaros may have another year, but the new offensive coordinator in Bomber Country seems to be trying to hasten that exit.

The Riders took heat from their fans, unaccustomed to first place finishes no matter how they are counted, for not going all out to get the win. The win would not have eliminated the Bombers, but I would suggest the reality of how bad their team is hit the fans collective heads and they are drifting between hoping to come through the east and maybe if they get their Grey Cup berth, the league would force the Riders to vacate the Bombers dressing room which would be used for the western division champion.

I think the timing of Coan coming into the game was prearranged by the coaching staff in advance, The injury to Chad Kelly in the eastern final has impressed on other teams the necessity of having a backup quarterback who does not wilt under the lights.

The week the Riders will be playing more starters because they still have two weeks before the western final and reps help keep starters and backups fresh and ready to step in. BC will likely bring in their starters because if Calgary beats Edmonton on Friday, BC will be under pressure to win and finish second and will be going all out to make sure they accomplish the job.

The Riders will have Harris play for some portion of the game, probably the first half, just to get some work and maybe try some stuff to make the Lions think if they come back for the western final. The Riders are walking a fine line between resting starters to keep them from getting injured before the western final and keeping continuity for their offensive and defensive units going heading into the western final.

The Lions and Riders are the final game of the regular season, and I would think that looking at the Edmonton-Calgary game, Calgary should win that and put pressure on the Lions to win to finish second. The Riders will put more starters in circulation specially to get them going and the performance of the defensive unit may well be the deciding factor in who wins.

The Lions have been on a five-game streak and Nathan Rourke has been building a solid case for himself as the most outstanding player, but I like the Riders lining up against the Lions more than I do the Riders lining up against the Stampeders. All streaks are made to be broken and I suspect the Riders tinkering on the defensive unit, especially the moving of CJ Revis out to safety where his communication has helped the back ups play much better and will make life difficult for Rourke to move the ball.

It should be a preview of the western final, but the Riders will eke out a 28-27 win over the Lions to finish 13-5 and send the Lions on the road to Calgary for the western semi-final.

Things start on Friday with Ottawa at Hamilton and this game has a certain meaning on the standings. With a win, Hamilton can clinch first which makes what Montreal does against Winnipeg on Saturday interesting because if Montreal cannot make it to first, they may decide to play nothing but back ups especially since they will face Winnipeg in the eastern semi final and don’t need to lose any players to injury or give Winnipeg any trade secrets.

Ottawa tried to make it close in a 39-28 loss to Montreal with Tyrie Adams taking the reins at quarterback. I would suspect this will be the last game for Bob Dyce as head coach. Dyce is a nice guy, but bottom-line Ottawa may have some talent in their lineup, but they do not have the depth to compensate for injuries and their coaching staff just made some mind-blowing decisions that cost Ottawa at least three games.

Ottawa should make it close against Hamilton and I would not rule out an upset due to Hamilton not having a defense, but Ottawa will probably have problems with Adams throwing interceptions. Hamilton will probably pick up an interception to kill a final Ottawa drive and come away with a 29-26 win to clinch first place.

The other half of the Friday double-header is Calgary at Edmonton where Calgary will be looking to get a hold of second place. Calgary ran over Toronto 44-13 as the Stampeders unleashed their running game and maybe sent a message to the rest of the league of what the Stampeders will look like in the playoffs.

Edmonton is coming off a 37-24 loss to BC which eliminated the Elk and showed why you cannot lose a bunch of games at the start of the season and expect to turn it around and get into the playoffs. Edmonton has a major question of what to do with Tre Ford, the Canadian quarterback who had six games before being yanked for Cody Fajardo.

Mark Killam, the Elk head coach, said he thought Ford had a future as a quarterback, but maybe not in Edmonton. Ford can scramble but cannot seem to run an offense and clearly needs coaching to help him realize his potential and you can see a change of scenery trade this offseason.

Edmonton will be going for the win because they are trying to sell to their remaining fans there is a viable team that is just on the verge of contending. I suspect Calgary will come out running until they get control of the game, then move in their back ups and wear Edmonton out in a closer than it sounds 28-24 win by Calgary.

Then on Saturday the first game is Montreal and Winnipeg and as we have seen, a lot needs to be seen on Friday to determine how these teams approach the game. Last year a similar game between these two featured the gust of wind that shortened a Montreal punt and allowed the Bombers to win and clinch first place.

This year should be close and considering this is likely a preview of the Eastern Semifinal, expect the teams to mostly play it close to the chest except for some trick plays.

If Hamilton beats Ottawa, Montreal will likely go to back up mode and keep Davis Alexander out of the roster and prevent the Bombers from injuring him in this game. McLeod Bethel Thompson doesn’t lose much as a Montreal quarterback and if he is given a game plan of being a game manager, the Bombers offense is so inept it shouldn’t hurt Montreal.

The Bombers are looking for hope, it will lie in the belief that eventually the Bombers will turn to Brady Olivera to key their offense and they can become a bully ball team. As a lifelong Rider fan, I can only say this is the triumph of hope over experience and Montreal will tee up a 27-24 win over the Bombers and get a good feel for them before doing it over again next weekend for the eastern semifinal.