Saskatchewan Roughriders at Ottawa Redblacks

Sunday, 1 p.m.

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 (9-9) 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. The season series was 1-1 with each game decided by a point. Glenn will make his 11th career playoff start for Saskatchewan but Ottawa must be wary of Brandon Bridge, a Mississauga native, who has played well this season both coming off the bench and as a starter. The six-foot-five 230-pound Bridge is a multi-threat player who can run upfield or buy his receivers time downfield. And with Carter (73 catches, 1,043 yards, eight TDs), Roosevelt Naaman (75 catches, 1,035 yards, eight TDs) and Bakari Grant (84 catches, 1,033 yards, five TDs), Saskatchewan has a solid receiving corps that also includes Chad Owens, Rob Bagg and Caleb Holley. And there’s also Carter’s contributions on defence as a cornerback. Saskatchewan kicker Tyler Crapigna made 36-of-42 field goal tries this year (85.7 per cent) and all 43 converts he attempted. He hit all seven field goals he tried in the two games against Ottawa.

Pick — Saskatchewan