The Saskatchewan Roughriders are one win away from ending their agonizing championship drought.
It's been 12 years since the organization last played for a Grey Cup, and the Roughriders know they cannot afford to waste the opportunity that is in front of them when they take on the Montreal Alouettes in Winnipeg on Sunday.
Finishing the regular season with the CFL's best record at 12-6 was a great achievement for Saskatchewan, but as we've seen in past seasons, having the best regular season doesn't guarantee anything.
No one knows that better than the Montreal Alouettes, who broke their championship drought in 2023 after finishing second in the East and knocked off a Toronto Argonauts team that went 16-2 during the regular season to reach the Grey Cup.
For Saskatchewan, this final hurdle isn’t just about execution; it also comes down to the intangibles and not letting emotions get to them in key moments.
Here are five things the Roughriders must do to win the Grey Cup.
1. Let Ouellette set the tone
The last time A.J. Ouellette played in a Grey Cup, he had two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the Argos' win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The 30-year-old bounced back from an injury-riddled season in 2024 to put up a career-best year with 1,222 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Establishing the run game is a crucial element for the Roughriders offence because it forces the defence to respect its balanced attack, and that was the case against the B.C. Lions in the West final.
When the Roughriders struggled to get points on the board in the first half, Ouellette was finding ways to get the chains moving as he rushed for 113 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
“He was clutch when we needed him,” quarterback Trevor Harris said about Ouellette's performance. “He was running the ball downhill and was very physical.”
Given how aggressive the Alouettes are on defence, Ouellette can take pressure off his offensive line from having to drop back in pass blocking by putting them in more favourable passing situations.
Montreal held Ouellette to fewer than 100 yards in both meetings this season, and in the East semifinal, it made Brady Oliveira a non-factor, holding him to 38 yards rushing.
Getting the run going also allows the Roughriders to control the flow of the game and try to establish more time of possession on offence. Saskatchewan will also need to be ready to get creative if it wants to get Ouellette more involved in the offence if he's not able to get going early.
2. Give Harris a clean pocket
The Roughriders allowed just 26 sacks on the season, which tied the Alouettes for the second-best mark in the league.
In the West final, Harris wasn't sacked and surprised a few when he decided to keep the ball for a 10-yard gain when it looked like the pass rush was going to bring him down.
The Alouettes would certainly love to have the 39-year-old moving around and scrambling out of the pocket, but the Roughriders' offensive line has been up to the task.
As good as this Saskatchewan offensive line has been, Montreal did tie for the league-high in sacks with 45, and in their two meetings, the Alouettes had two sacks.
What Harris also does that makes him a tough quarterback to bring down is get the ball out quickly, even if it's for a shorter gain. It's all about managing the pressure from the pass rush and not dropping back too long to the point that he becomes an easy target.
“He’s done it for such a long time. He’s super-efficient and he does it well. He can get you out of a jam because he’s looking to his fourth read," head coach Corey Mace told reporters. "Some quarterbacks can’t stand back there and do that. And he can let it loose pretty quickly, to let the ball out fairly quickly. Then, if big chunk plays are need, he can obviously do that.”
Noel Thorpe's defence has been a tough unit to crack because he likes to disguise coverage and blitz packages to force the quarterback to make a mistake.
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas has coached Harris on a couple of occasions, so he certainly understands what the veteran is capable of, but knows that it will be tough to get him off his game.
“It’s difficult,” Maas said, about getting pressure on Harris. “He’s seen it all. There’s not too many things that man hasn’t seen. He’s super-experienced and he does get rid of the ball and diagnose things rather quickly.
"It’s the same old thing when you talk about experienced quarterbacks — you’ve got to affect him some way, whether that’s pressure in the pocket or giving him different looks — just slowing him down a little bit. You don’t have to slow him down a ton, just enough where he hesitates slightly."
3. Test Alexander's hamstring
The biggest storyline heading into this game is the health of Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander.
In the East final against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Alexander tweaked his hamstring, an injury that has hampered him on a couple of occasions already. It was clearly something that was giving him problems, as he wasn't as mobile and had to get on the bike to work the injury on the sideline.
There's no question that Alexander likes to use his mobility to try to buy time for big throws or take off to move the chains. How much he'll be able to do that will be the question and something the Roughriders should be trying to exploit.
Alexander is also going into this game with the mentality that he wants to leave everything out on the field, so the Roughriders can't bank on him being timid because it is the final game of the season.
“He looked great to me, better than I thought he would be,” Maas said, about how Alexander looked after the team's first practice. “I think he probably felt better than he thought he would, too.
“There’s been a lot of work put into his body already this week and there’s going to be plenty more to do.”
4. Look out for the deep threat
The last thing Saskatchewan wants is it have Alexander feel comfortable in the pocket and be able to throw the ball deep.
Montreal is not short on playmakers who can help push the ball deep, and the Roughriders know this all too well.
In the one and only time he played Saskatchewan, Calgary native Tyson Philpot had one of the best performances by a receiver, with 238 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns. The 25-year-old isn't shy to the big stage as he secured the game-winning touchdown back in 2023, which earned him the Most Outstanding Canadian award.
The Alouettes have many other players capable of making big plays, such as Tyler Snead (who led the team with eight 30-plus yard plays), Cole Spieker, Charleston Rambo and Alexander Hollins. One player who could be an X-factor is Austin Mack, who has been dealing with a leg injury. But if he is able to play, he could be another deep threat to account for.
Saskatchewan already had to deal with a big-play quarterback in Nathan Rourke, who threw for 290 yards but had only one play that went for more than 30 yards. It also forced an interception (technically a bobbled ball by the Lions receiver) that changed the complexion of the West final.
When the Alouettes offence put up 48 points on the Roughriders in Week 15, Saskatchewan's defence was dealing with many injuries and this time around it will have its full complement of starters. That should make a difference in trying to limit Montreal's desire to push the ball down the field.
“Consistency is always a goal, whether it's in performance, the roster,” Rolan Milligan Jr. told reporters on media day. “You try to get a group of guys that learn how to play together, mesh together well, and having those guys back is huge for us. TC was All-CFL this year, Sayles was All-CFL last year, Reavis is All-CFL, DeMarcus is making plays, and (linebacker) Antoine (Brooks Jr.) is making plays. So being able to have that continuity and continue to grow together is always a good thing.”
5. Mace has to continue to make bold calls
It's easy to look at decisions made in the moment and wonder what the coach might be thinking, and there was a lot of that when Mace made a big gamble late in the West final.
Facing third down late in the fourth quarter and trailing by four, the Roughriders head coach made the bold decision to punt the ball away with 1:48 left on the clock, betting on his defence to deliver one more stop.
It did that, and his faith was rewarded as the offence got the ball back and marched down the field to get the game-winning touchdown.
It’s the type of play that could’ve easily backfired, but Mace was willing to put the trust and faith in his players to deliver in the crunch, and that’s part of the reason he’s a two-time nominee for the CFL’s coach of the year award.
That bold decision is one that some coaches have to weigh and, in some cases, they play it safe to avoid getting scrutinized for being too bold or aggressive when the situation doesn't call for it.
"I've made aggressive decisions, I think, before for this team and it hadn't worked out for us in games prior," Mace told reporters after the game.
"I totally get (the booing). Just have faith."
That type of faith the head coach will look to have in his players once again on the big stage.
It also helps that his players will back up the coach's aggressive mindset.
"I trust Corey Mace. He knows what he's doing," said Harris, about his coach's decision to punt the ball late.
"I'm sure that there was people at home going, 'What are you doing?' And now they're like, 'Mace is the man.'"
Given what we've seen from Mace during his time as a head coach, any moment that requires a risky decision, he won't hesitate to show trust in his players to come through in those moments.
