Riders look to improve playoff odds in stretch against Lions, Bombers

REGINA

It may only be the midpoint of the CFL season, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing for their playoff lives.

The Riders, fourth in the CFL West Division at 5-4, open a four-game stretch Friday against visiting B.C. that includes home-and-home series with the 7-1 Lions and the 9-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Craig Dickenson agreed with a suggestion from a reporter that this fourgame stretch might be the toughest during his tenure as Riders head coach.

“It’s going be a tough one but the nice thing is two of the games are at home,” said Dickenson, who has a 27-14 record as head coach. “We also feel like we’re going to play better football than we have as it feels like we’re getting better as a team. And maybe these teams we’re playing in Winnipeg and B.C. are a little bit worn down.

“But this is one game at a time territory. If we can win this one, we’ll be happy and hopefully be prepared to get the next one.”

The Lions beat the Riders 32-17 in Regina on July 29, overcoming a 17-point deficit in recording the victory. Quarterback Nathan Rourke spearheaded the comeback, finishing the game 27-of-33 passing for 336 yards and two touchdowns.

In his first year as a starter, Rourke is compiling ridiculous numbers. He has passed for 2,906 yards to date, the most at the eight-game mark by any quarterback since 1994 (Winnipeg’s Matt Dunigan, 3,032).

Rourke is on pace for 6,538 passing yards, which would rank second in CFL history behind Doug Flutie’s total of 6,619 set in 1991 with the Lions.

Rourke is also on pace to break the league record for both completions and passing touchdowns in a season. He’s projected to finish with 509 completions, topping the current record of 481 set by Henry Burris in 2015 with the Ottawa Redblacks.

Flutie’s record of 48 touchdown passes, set in 1994, would be passed by the projection of 52 this season for Rourke.