The B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders are becoming familiar playoff foes.
The Lions (10-8) host the Roughriders (10-8) on Saturday in a CFL West semifinal, marking the third year in a row they'll square off in the post-season.
Last year, the Roughriders beat the visiting Lions 24-21 in a thrilling West final as Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris hit Tommy Nield for a three-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left to give the home side the win.
Saskatchewan then went on to beat the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup.
In 2024, the Roughriders topped the visiting Lions 28-19 in the West semifinal.
Here's a capsule look at Roughriders vs. Lions, Playoff Part 3:
The schedule
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT at BC Place.
The line
The Lions were favoured by 6.5 points as of Wednesday by BetMGM.
Weather
The game figures to be played indoors with the BC Place roof closed.
At stake
The winner heads to Edmonton to face the Elks (13-5) in the West final on Nov. 7.
The Elks are in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and will be hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2015, when they won the West final and their last Grey Cup.
Season series
The Lions won two of three games, giving B.C. home field for the West semi.
The home team won all three games.
The Roughriders beat the visiting Lions 31-27 in the season opener for both teams way back on June 13. Harris threw for 417 yards and three touchdowns.
The Lions responded with a 30-16 win in Vancouver on Aug. 23. Lions star quarterback Nathan Rourke, the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player, passed for 355 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
The Lions took the tiebreaker with a 31-24 victory over the visiting Roughriders on Sept. 25. Rourke threw for a whopping 375 yards and four touchdowns.
Playoff history
The Roughriders are 3-1 in the post-season under B.C.-born head coach Corey Mace, who got the job in 2024. The highlight, of course, was last year's Grey Cup triumph in Winnipeg.
The Lions have made the playoffs for a fifth year in a row, with head coach Buck Pierce guiding the club the past two seasons. B.C. hasn't been to the Grey Cup since 2011, when the Lions beat Winnipeg at BC Place.
Four key matchups
Surging hosts vs. inconsistent guests
The Lions have been the hottest team in the league since August, winning nine of their final 12 games after a 1-5 start. Two of those losses were the final two games of the season, both of which were meaningless as the Lions were locked into second in the West.
The Roughriders, meanwhile, lost four in a row after Labour Day to fall down the West standings. They did win their final two games to ensure they'd make the West playoffs, but scored just 16 points in each contest — though Harris was rested for the season finale after the Roughriders clinched a playoff spot the previous week.
Lions QB Nathan Rourke vs. Roughriders secondary
The Canadian-born Rourke torched the Roughriders in their previous two meetings. Saskatchewan ranks seventh against the pass, so it is not a strength of the team.
If the Roughriders somehow limit Rourke and his three 1,000-yard receivers (Keon Hatcher Jr., Justin McInnis and Jermaine Jackson through the air, the quarterback is capable of running the ball himself or handing off to bruising running back Zander Horvath.
Mace, also the defensive co-ordinator, will have to devise an excellent game plan to give his team a shot against Rourke, who is searching for his first Grey Cup.
Roughriders RB AJ Ouellette and QB Tommy Stevens vs. Lions defensive front
Ouellette missed 10 games this year and didn't have one 100-yard outing, but he's just a year removed from finishing second in the league in rushing. If he can find his 2025 form, he can test the Lions' league-best rushing defence.
The Roughriders also have a beast of a short-yardage QB in Stevens, who scored 17 touchdowns this year and also can be called upon to try for bigger gains on specially designed plays.
If Saskatchewan can have some success with the run, that should open the door for Harris to have bigger windows for top receivers like KeeSean Johnson and Kian Schaffer-Baker.
Lions middle LB Darnell Sankey vs. Roughriders middle LB Jameer Thurman
OK, they don't play against each other, but these two excellent professionals do play the same position
Thurman, 31, was a CFL West all-star the past two years, while Sankey, 32, was a CFL East all-star the past two seasons with Montreal before joining the Lions this year. Sankey played for the Roughriders in 2022.
Sankey was second in the league in total tackles this year, while Thurman was fifth.
Prediction
Lions 34, Roughriders 17
