Just a few months ago, the B.C. Lions had every reason to believe they could finish first in the CFL West and earn a bye to the division final.
Just a few days ago, the Saskatchewan Roughriders had every reason to believe they were destined for that first-place finish before Mother Nature gave a huge helping hand to their prairie rivals.
Instead, the Roughriders (9-8-1) and Grey Cup host Lions (9-9) have to battle it out in Saturday's CFL West semifinal in Regina.
A tie against the Ottawa Redblacks back in August during a seven-game winless skid ended up giving home-field advantage to the Roughriders.
Saskatchewan won four in a row after that winless stretch to solidify second, while the Lions lost eight of 11 after starting 5-1 to drop down the standings.
Here's a capsule look at the West semi.
Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. CT at Mosaic Stadium.
The Roughriders were favoured by 3.5 points as of Thursday by BetMGM.
The high is 10 C with wind at 24 km/h. Because of the start time, it will get cooler as the game goes on.
The winner goes to Winnipeg, where the Blue Bombers will host the West final for a fourth year in a row on Nov. 9.
Winnipeg is in the driver's seat thanks to some wild weather.
A sudden wind storm while the Montreal Alouettes were punting in the dying seconds with a two-point lead on Winnipeg last week caused a very short punt, giving the Blue Bombers the break they needed to kick a walk-off 51-yard field goal and clinch the West.
Had the Blue Bombers lost, the Roughriders could have finished first with a win in a game that started about an hour later against last-place Calgary. Once Winnipeg won, Saskatchewan decided to rest many starters and lost a meaningless finale.
It was 1-1, with each team winning at home.
The Roughriders crushed the Lions 39-8 in the penultimate game of the season to lock B.C. into third. Nathan Rourke started at quarterback for the Lions before the team switched to Vernon Adams Jr. for a season-ending win over Montreal and this coming game.
The Lions won 35-20 over Saskatchewan in Vancouver in July as Adams Jr. threw for 451 yards.
The Lions have lost to the Blue Bombers in the West final the past two years, with Rourke starting in 2022 and Adams Jr. last year.
The Lions have the longest drought in the league since last appearing in the Grey Cup game — they won at home in 2011 against Winnipeg.
The Roughriders are back in the playoffs after missing the previous two years. Saskatchewan lost the previous two West finals against Winnipeg.
The Roughriders haven't been to the Grey Cup game since winning at home over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2013. That also was the year of the last Roughriders-Lions playoff matchup, as Saskatchewan prevailed 29-25 in a West semi.
Corey Mace (Saskatchewan) vs. Rick Campbell (B.C.)
Mace, 38, is in his first year as a CFL head coach after being defensive co-ordinator for the Toronto Argonauts the past two years, winning the Grey Cup in 2022 and being part of a 16-2 team in 2023. He was named the West finalist for coach of the year on Thursday.
The former CFL and NFL defensive lineman started coaching with Calgary as a position coach from 2016 to '21.
Campbell, 53, is in his third season as head coach of the Lions and also serves as co-GM.
Campbell is feeling the heat as the Lions loaded up to make a Grey Cup run at home, so a loss here could raise questions about his job status.
Prior to coming to B.C., Campbell was the first head coach of the Ottawa Redblacks. He guided the team to a Grey Cup win in 2015, along with two other appearances in the title tilt.
Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan) vs. Vernon Adams Jr. (B.C.)
Harris, 38, is in his second season with the Roughriders. He's dealt with multi-game injuries both years but has played well in recent weeks.
Harris had a 20-9 touchdown-interception ratio in 12 games and the best efficiency rating in the league of any quarterback who started the majority of games. He was excellent last time out against B.C., completing 25 of 30 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Adams Jr., 31, was playing at a most outstanding player level before a knee injury took him out in early August. When Rourke returned from the NFL later that month, the Canadian got the starting job.
But with the team struggling, the Lions turned back to Adams Jr. for the season finale, and he led them to victory against the Montreal Alouettes.
It will be fascinating to see what the team does in the off-season — the cap likely will prevent them from keeping both — but the Lions will ride with Adams Jr. for now.
The two quarterbacks also have an interesting personal history.
Harris took over for Adams Jr. as starter for the Alouettes early in the 2022 season.
Three years earlier, Harris set a CFL record for playoff percentage to lead Edmonton to a road win over Adams Jr.'s Alouettes in an East semifinal.
Lions WR Justin McInnis vs. Roughriders DB Rolan Milligan
No sure thing these two will square off the entire game, but it's a compelling subplot if we get this individual matchup.
McInnis is the first Canadian to win the league's receiving title since 2010.
Milligan was Saskatchewan's most outstanding player nominee and is a finalist for the defensive player of the year award. He led the league with eight interceptions this season.
Lions offensive line vs. Saskatchewan defensive front
The Lions gave up a league-leading 42 sacks, which may be a big part of the reason why two top quarterbacks couldn't lead the team to anything better than a .500 record.
The Roughriders were fourth in the league with 36 sacks, so they can get after the quarterback.
Adams Jr. can be a difference-maker, but he needs time to operate.
Roughriders RB A.J. Ouellette vs. Lions defensive front
When the powerful Ouellette gets going, he's as tough to stop as anyone at his position.
While Harris had a big day last time out against the Lions, he was helped in a big way by Ouellette's ability to effectively run the ball (16 carries for 84 yards).
B.C. was fifth in rush defence this year.
Roughriders 24, Lions 21
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