The Saskatchewan Roughriders have clinched a spot in the CFL playoffs.
Now they have to find out where they’ll be playing — and that process continues today when they play host to the Montreal Alouettes (7:30 p.m., CKRM, TSN).
Saskatchewan and the Edmonton Eskimos remain in a battle for third place in the West Division. The team that finishes fourth will cross over into the East Division playoffs.
The Eskimos (10-6-0) have a two-point lead on the Roughriders (9-7-0) and each team has two games remaining on its regular-season slate.
Edmonton plays host to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday and then visits the Roughriders on Nov. 4.
That latter game could determine the order of finish in the West Division and where teams will be when the first round of the playoffs arrives Nov. 12.
To set up tonight’s game, here’s one man’s list of five things (or people) that bear watching:
1. Duron Carter: For the second straight week, the receiver-turned-cornerback will be a focus of attention. There was a lot of chatter when the Roughriders revealed that they planned to start Carter at corner in their game Oct. 20 against Calgary, considering he had never before started a game at the position at any level of football. But Carter silenced the skeptics, making two tackles and scoring a touchdown on a 43-yard interception return. Head coach-GM Chris Jones said Carter would play both ways against Calgary, but he played exclusively on defence. Jones said the same thing this week, so Carter may get more opportunities on offence against Montreal.
2. Kevin Glenn: The Roughriders pulled the veteran quarterback after just two offensive possessions in Calgary and replaced him with backup Brandon Bridge. It was the second time in three games (and the third time in the past five outings) that Glenn was hooked early by Jones. The 38-year-old pivot has tried to take the moves in stride — it has happened to him before in his 17-year CFL career, after all — and said it doesn’t stress him because it’s out of his control. But Glenn would like to be able to play through slow starts instead of getting pulled, so it’ll be interesting to how long the leash is today.
3. Chad Owens: After missing Saskatchewan’s first 15 regular-season games, the diminutive slotback turned in a stellar effort against the Stampeders. Displaying the talents possessed by savvy veterans around the CFL, Owens had five catches for 78 yards in Calgary to lead the Roughriders in both categories. The 35-year-old starts again today in place of Naaman Roosevelt (concussion) and Owens is hoping to replicate the numbers he had last week in this game against Montreal — the team with which he began his CFL career in 2009.
4. Man in the middle: Henoc Muamba quietly has been a force as Saskatchewan’s middle linebacker this season. Muamba entered the week ranked eighth in the CFL in defensive tackles (73) and ninth in defensive plays (96). In addition to his tackles, that latter number also includes special-teams stops (11), pass knockdowns (four), forced fumbles (three), quarterback pressures (two), interceptions (two; a third was wiped out by penalty) and tackles for losses (one). Muamba went into the week tied for the CFL lead in forced fumbles and his two picks tied him for fourth in the league among linebackers.
5. Darian Durant: The Alouettes quarterback is to start a game in Regina for the first time since being traded by the Roughriders in January. Durant spent 11 seasons with Saskatchewan before the trade, which resulted from stalled contract negotiations between the team and the player. It’s unclear how much Durant will play today — the Alouettes are trying to evaluate talent in their final two regular-season games — but he is expected to start the game in the city where he had his finest moments as a CFL player.
