Don’t ask Corey Mace about first place.
Not yet, anyway.
“Ask me that when it matters,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Head Coach said, cordially, after Monday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
“I will say that the guys are not satisfied, so we’re in a good spot.”
With a 5-3-1 record, the Roughriders are perched atop the West Division at the midpoint of the CFL’s 2024 regular season.
“The table’s set for us,” quarterback Trevor Harris said. “We control our own destiny moving forward and that’s all you can ask for.”
In the same breath, Harris acknowledged that “it doesn’t feel like” the Roughriders are in first place, alluding to some inconsistent play of late.
The Roughriders began the season with four consecutive victories before going 1-3-1.
The overall performance, though, has produced a division-best 11 points — one more than the B.C. Lions (5-4-0).
The Calgary Stampeders (4-5-0), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-6-0) and Edmonton Elks (2-7-0) round out the West.
Everyone in the division is looking up at Saskatchewan at the midpoint of the regular season for the 10th time in franchise history.
The Roughriders also had sole possession of first place in the West at mid-season in 1954 (5-1-2), 1966 (6-2-0), 1968 (5-2-1), 1969 (6-2-0), 1970 (7-1-0), 1973 (6-2-0), 2007 (7-2-0), 2008 (7-2-0) and 2013 (8-1-0).
As well, Saskatchewan has been tied for first in 1976 (6-2-0, with Edmonton) and 2009 (5-4-0, with Calgary and Edmonton).
The CFL lengthened its regular season from 16 to 18 games per team in 1986.
