The Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-7-1) and Calgary Stampeders (4-8-1) meet Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET (CFL+/TSN). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Roughriders vs. Stampeders odds, and make our expert CFL picks and predictions.
The Roughriders are 0-6-1 straight up (SU) and 2-5 against the spread (ATS) in their last 7 games. They dropped back-to-back games to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before their Week 15 bye. After losing 35-33 as a 2.5-point home favorite Sept. 1, they lost 26-21 as a 2.5-point road underdog Sept. 7 — the Over/Under (O/U) went 1-1 in the home-and-home set.
The Stampeders covered as 6-point underdogs in a 19-19 tie with the visiting Montreal Alouettes Saturday with the Under (49.5) hitting. Calgary is 0-4-1 SU and 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The Stampeders went 2-1 SU and ATS in 3 meetings with the Roughriders last season, with the O/U going 2-1. In their most recent meeting Oct. 13, 2023, Calgary covered as a 3.5-point home favorite in a 26-19 win as the Under (48.5) cashed.
Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Head Coach Delivers Heated Lecture
After returning to drills for the next hour, Mace then ordered his players off the field and into the locker room with 10 minutes left in the scheduled practice, where he could again be heard scolding his group.
The players returned to the field for the final 15 minutes before the workout ended and Mace addressed the media.
“We’ve just got to approach every day like we’re trying to accomplish something,” said Mace when asked what the message to his team was. “I thought it wasn’t our best day today.
“We didn’t meet the standard.”
While Mace has addressed his team at times during practice this season, Tuesday’s practice was the most heated and also the first time all year that the first-year head coach has pulled off the field in the middle of a workout.
“We talk about the standard that we want in this facility and I just felt we didn’t meet it really since the beginning of the day and it kind of trickled into practice and we had to address that,” he said. “I thought we had a great day (on Monday) and we’re always looking to be better each day.
“I thought we kind of failed at that today. So, it was just a message that we’ve got to come to work, we’ve got a lot to play for; we’ve got to prove it each day though.
“You know what it’s supposed to look like and it just kind of didn’t look like that today.
“We just didn’t meet our expectation and that’s something that I think is my job to hold everybody to that expectation and when we don’t, we just need a subtle reminder.”
Mace was also asked how he would describe “the standard” that he is looking for.
“Coming to work every day and looking to find ways to get better,” said the head coach. “Really, fighting complacency regardless of the circumstances.
“There’s no perfect; there’s always something to work on. So, you want to make sure that the guys in the room, the staff and everybody in this building truthfully is finding ways to improve each day.
“And that’s the standard. When you see it and it’s not, that’s the disappointing part.”
In the locker room, veteran quarterback Trevor Harris was one of the captains who decided to return to the field for the final 15 minutes of the workout.
“We didn’t bring the energy,” said Harris. “The good coaches have a good pulse for when the lock-in isn’t right and when the energy is not right.
“You can feel the urgency from the guys and just a couple lacklustre plays here and there is what’s cost us games and today was just a great message I thought from Mace that it wasn’t acceptable and we can’t have it.
“The standard wasn’t met today and the message was sent, received and the response will be very good.”
Players Respond to Mace’s Message
After getting off to a 5-1 start to begin the 2024 CFL season, the Riders are winless in their last seven games (0-6-1).
And while the urgency to pick up a victory is obviously becoming more evident, Mace said the team’s record or winless streak didn’t factor into what happened Tuesday.
“I would say it was isolated,” said Mace. “This truthfully doesn’t have anything to do with the last however many weeks.
“We just didn’t meet the standard for who we want to be today.
“Week 16, Week 1, training camp; when we don’t meet the expectations, it has to be talked about.”
Now Mace needs his players to respond as the Riders (5-7-1) will hold a closed practice on Tuesday before travelling to Calgary on Thursday before Saskatchewan’s Week 16 matchup against the Stampeders (4-8-1) on Friday night (7:30 p.m., TSN).
“You want to see a little bit of fire,” said Mace. “I’ve got faith in these guys and I’m quite certain how they’re going to respond.
“This team has shown nothing but to be resilient and to claw and scratch for everything.”
As the team returned to the field for the final 15 minutes on Tuesday, linebacker Nick Wiebe limped off the field and had to be carted to the locker room. There was no update on his status after the workout.
The Calgary product, who was selected by the Riders in the second round of this year’s CFL Draft, made his CFL debut in Week 14 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Defensive back Rolan Milligan (personal) missed Tuesday’s practice but posted to social media that he and his partner have a baby arriving. Defensive lineman Micah Johnson (illness) was also absent after fully practising Monday while fellow defensive lineman Malik Carney (ankle) missed a second straight day. After being limited Monday, linebacker Justin Herdman-Reed (elbow) didn’t practise Tuesday.
The Riders also added another quarterback to the roster on Tuesday as American Michael Hiers signed with the club.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound pivot recently attended rookie mini-camp with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers following two seasons at Samford University, where the 25-year-old suited up for 24 games for the Bulldogs.
In 2022, Hiers was named the Southern Conference’s offensive player of he year after throwing for 3,544 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading Samford to its conference title since 1991.
Roughriders’ Receiver Embraces Mace’s Message
“We probably needed to be screamed at a little bit. Sometimes it takes that just for you to get refocused. Sometimes depending on the moment in your life, you need a refocus, and that was just one for the team,” Bane Jr. “Thank God he did take us inside because the words weren’t too pleasant, but again, we needed to refocus, and I think we did exactly that.”
According to Bane Jr., Mace’s words lit a fire under the team Tuesday when he stopped the practice on two separate occasions, which helped them revise the team’s approach.
“Just good energy,” Bane Jr. said. “You could tell everybody was gonna come in and focus today.”
Mace stated he could not be more proud of his team and how they responded at practice on Wednesday.
“Exactly how I figured, excellent practice,” Mace said. Right from meetings, everything was on point.”
Bane Jr. is hungry to play again after coming off the bye week knowing his team needed the rest.
“That bye week was very timely,”Bane Jr. said. “I’m hungry. We’re all hungry and I know you’ll see it on game day.”
The five-foot-nine, 178-pound receiver is in his second year with the Riders. This year Bane Jr. has been targeted 70 times with 46 balls resulting in receptions for 546 yards plus five touchdowns in 12 games. Bane Jr. knows Saskatchewan’s remaining five games are important, four coming against West Division teams.
“Every game is going to be a playoff atmosphere, plain and simple,” Bane Jr. said. “We have to bring it game after game, we can’t let any slip.”
The Roughriders are playing a must-win game against the Calgary Stampeders and need a victory to realistically control their playoff fate. Mace has ties to the Stamps since he was with the team as a player 2010 to 2015 and later as a coach 2016 to 2021.
“Great people over there,” Mace said. “I look forward to seeing those people and having those conversations that are not always over text messages.”
On a personal note, Mace is also excited to see his in-laws and perhaps go to a favourite restaurant that his taste buds miss.
The Riders play Friday as the team takes on the Stampeders. Countdown to Kickoff starts at 4:30 p.m. with Justin Dunk and Wes Cates. Kickoff goes at 7:30 p.m. live on 620 CKRM from McMahon Stadium with Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder.
Roughriders vs. Stampeders: A Closer Look
The Calgary Stampeders (4-8) play the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-7) at McMahon Stadium on Friday. Calgary opens this game as 3-point dogs. The O/U opens at 51. The starting quarterbacks are Trevor Harris and Jake Maier.
In their last contest the Roughriders faced the Blue Bombers and were defeated 26-21. Trevor Harris went 21/33 with 287 yards passing and added 2 TD's. He tossed 2 picks on the day. Frankie Hickson paced the team in rushing during the game. He tore off a long run of 17 yards but he wasn't able to run one in for a touchdown. He racked up a total of 46 yards by way of 9 carries which gave him an average of 5.0 yards per carry. Kian Schaffer-Baker was the receiving yardage leader with a total of 120 yards on 6 catches. He had an average of 20.0 yards per catch during the game.
Concerning putting points on the board, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are sitting at 25.6 points per outing. As a team they hold an average of 78.7 yards on the ground which is 9th in the CFL. The Roughriders have racked up 4,539 total yards this season. When it comes to scoring, Saskatchewan has totaled 21 passing touchdowns and 9 touchdowns via the ground.
The Roughriders sit in 4th in the league in terms of their opponents scoring, giving up 25.4 PPG. Opposing teams are running for an average of 4.4 yards per run and 73.3 rushing yards per contest for the season. In total, they have conceded 953 running yards through 13 games. Regarding yards through the air, the Roughriders have surrendered 3,662 yards which ranks them 7th in the CFL. Over the course of their 13 games, they are conceding 281.7 yards per game through the air as well as giving up a completion percentage of 67.7%. Over the course of this year, they have yielded 355.0 yards per outing which has them sitting 4th in the CFL.
In their last game the Stampeders went up against the Alouettes and ended up tying by a score of 19-19. Dedrick Mills paced the team in rushing in the game. He had a long run of 15 yards but he wasn't able to rush for a TD on the day. He ran for a total of 122 yards on 21 carries which had him averaging 6.0 yards per run. Reggie Begelton was the leader in receiving yardage by earning 68 yards on 7 receptions. He had an average of 9.7 yards per reception in the game. Jake Maier went 29/37 with 236 yards passing and tossed 1 TD. He finished the game without throwing an interception.
During the season to this point, the Stampeders have earned 3,411 passing yards in addition to holding an average of 262.4 passing yards per game, which has them ranked 6th in the CFL. The Calgary Stampeders hold an average of 352.1 yards per game which has them ranked 7th in the league. They average 89.7 yards per game on the ground and have run for 1,166 yards overall. Concerning this team's ability to score points, the Stampeders rank 8th in the league holding an average of 23.2 PPG.
Calgary has allowed a total of 1,518 yards on the ground (116.8 yards per contest) and 14 touchdowns via the rush this year. The Stampeders are giving up 29.3 PPG, which has them sitting 8th in the CFL. Overall, they have given up 381 points in total. They have given up 19 touchdowns from the passing game and 263.5 yards/game, which has them in 3rd in the CFL.
Will the Roughriders Bounce Back?
The Roughriders are in a desperate need for a win to salvage their playoff hopes. While the Stampeders are not in great shape either, the Roughriders have the edge on paper and the added motivation after the fiery lecture from their head coach. It remains to be seen if this wake-up call will be enough to push the Roughriders over the hump and get back on the winning track, but it’s a must-watch game as the team battles to stay alive in the playoff race.
