Riders don’t have history on their side

The Saskatchewan Roughriders won’t have history on their side as they chase a fifth Grey Cup title.

Saskatchewan (11-7), in the CFL playoffs for the first time since 2014, visits the defending-champion Ottawa Redblacks (8-9-1) in the East Division semifinal Sunday. The Riders secured a post-season berth as the crossover squad by finishing fourth in the West Division but accumulating more points than the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-12).

So the Riders will have to beat both Ottawa and the Toronto Argonauts (99) on the road to advance to the Grey Cup game later this month at TD Place. Now, that’s possible given Saskatchewan defeated both teams this season and was not only 5-4 on the road but also a solid 6-2 versus East rivals.

Trouble is, no crossover team has ever made it to the Grey Cup since the rule was adopted in 1996. Saskatchewan becomes the 10th crossover team in league history but the visiting squad has just three wins in 12 playoff games.

Saskatchewan last won the Grey Cup in 2013. Edmonton beat Hamilton 27-24 in last year’s East semifinal before losing 35-23 to Ottawa in the conference final at snowy TD Place.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan last met in the CFL playoffs in 1976 when Tony Gabriel’s late 24-yard TD grab earned the then-Rough Riders a thrilling 23-20 victory at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium.

The season series was 1-1 with each game decided by a point.