The Roughriders want to regain their mojo

HAMILTON — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are eager to get back on the horse.

One week ago, the CFL team was riding high after putting together a three-game winning streak — a run that had the Roughriders at 5-4-0 and ahead of the B.C. Lions in the West Division standings.

But then Saskatchewan was beaten 48-28 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday at Investors Group Field. The loss, combined with the Lions’ victory over the Montreal Alouettes, dropped the Roughriders back into fifth place in the West and took the shine off the winning streak.

“(The defeat) actually was like a little wakeup call, but it also left a bad taste in our mouths,” quarterback Brandon Bridge said Thursday at Tim Hortons Field, where the Roughriders are to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN).

“I think our guys are hungry. Everyone wants to set the tone from the first kickoff and really show everybody that Saskatchewan is actually a team they have to worry about in this league. We’re not like the past couple of years, where we’ve been losing and at the bottom of the West. We have something that we can play for and we’re actually a dominant team.”

The Roughriders posted records of 3-15-0 in 2015 and 5-13-0 in ’16 and missed the playoffs both seasons. They started the 2017 campaign with just two wins in their first six games, but then ran off three straight victories to match last season’s win total after just nine games.

But the Bombers knocked the Roughriders out of the saddle on Saturday, putting up the most points Saskatchewan had surrendered this season. Winnipeg’s 410 yards of net offence was the second-highest such total the Roughriders had allowed in 2017, behind only the 535 yards that the Lions accumulated in a 30-15 victory over Saskatchewan on Aug. 5.

The Bombers converted 18 of 26 second-down opportunities (69.2 per cent, easily the best performance against Saskatchewan in 2017) and got two return touchdowns from Maurice Leggett (one on an interception, one on a punt) to overcome the Roughriders’ season-high 471 yards of net offence.

Winnipeg also carried the day on special teams, recovering an onside kick attempt and an onside punt try. As well, Leggett’s punt return was the result of a trick play that caught the Roughriders off-guard.

“I wouldn’t say that we went in there overconfident by any means,” Saskatchewan guard Peter Dyakowski said. “We knew they were a good team. It was a game where they played well and made some good plays. We played well and made some good plays, too, but we didn’t play well enough in certain areas where we needed to.

“It’s not lost on us. We lost the game, it’s gone, but we can still take some positives from it and learn something. We can also look at what went well and make sure that we know what we’re still capable of and take that confidence going into this week.”

Asked Thursday what things have to change from the Winnipeg game to Friday’s contest, Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones was blunt.

“We can’t throw interceptions for touchdowns,” he began. “We can’t give up punt returns for touchdowns. We can’t let the quarterback get outside the pocket and scramble 10 times which results in 21 points. Those are the biggest things.”

Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols did get loose on the Roughriders — and he isn’t nearly the running threat that Tiger-Cats pivot Jeremiah Masoli is.

Since replacing Zach Collaros as Hamilton’s starter two games ago, Masoli has completed 36 of 64 pass attempts for 450 yards with one touchdown and he has rushed nine times for 84 yards. He also has extended plays with his scrambling ability.

Masoli has helped the Tiger-Cats win two straight games — they’re now 2-8-0 — so the Roughriders are eager to end that streak and avoid a losing streak of their own.

“It was a tough environment to play in (in Winnipeg), but with that being said, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes,” said Saskatchewan defensive back Ed Gainey. “It’s going to be another hostile environment tomorrow (and it’ll be) a windy game. We’ve got to do what we do and continue to make sure that we’re getting our jobs done as professional athletes.”

“Coach has been really harping that everyone just goes back to how we started winning football games,” added Bridge. “That was everyone doing their own jobs and not trying to do too much. Just do your job and everything else will happen.”

Saskatchewan’s defence welcomes back linebackers Otha Foster III and Jeff Knox Jr., both of whom were signed this week after returning from the NFL. Gainey called the additions of the two veterans “a morale boost for our team.”

Whether it translates into a victory remains to be seen.

“The way the West is, every game has a playoff complexion,” Dyakowski said. “We know how good the players are on that (Hamilton) team and their record right now doesn’t reflect what those guys are capable of. We’re not taking them lightly by any means.”