At the five-game mark, the Saskatchewan Roughriders boast a victory total they have reached 14 times in a span of 79 seasons.
Despite a strong start to the 2025 CFL campaign, the 4-1 Roughriders are emphasizing the valuable lessons that can be learned from the first defeat — Saturday’s 24-10 setback against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
“One of the paradoxes in football is that when you win, mistakes happen, and sometimes you can go, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get better,’ but a lot of times we’re a little bit more critical when it causes a loss,” quarterback Trevor Harris said after Tuesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
“Sometimes that’s a good thing. I don’t think there’s ever been a team that has gone undefeated in the CFL, so it’s good for you at some point. You’re going to have that.
“The only thing this means is that we’re not going undefeated. It’s going to be up to us how we respond.
“We’ve got a great, championship-calibre team in that locker room, so I expect nothing less than for us to come out and get better this week.”
In the post-Second World War era, the Roughriders have twice been 5-0 (in 2008 and 2013).
They have been 4-1 on 12 occasions (1967, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1989, 2010, 2022, 2024 and 2025), dating back to 1946.
In 1948, the Stampeders posted the only umblemished record (12-0) in the history of Canadian professional football.
Calgary was then a part of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, which also included the Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The CFL was formed in 1958, when the WIFU merged with the eastern-based Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (also known as the Big Four).
Three CFL/WIFU/IRFU teams have registered only one loss — the 1949 Stampeders (13-1), 1949 Ottawa Rough Riders (11-1) and the 1981 Edmonton club (14-1-1).
Since the CFL lengthened its regular season to 18 games per team in 1986, the high-water mark for victories is 16.
Edmonton (1989) and the Toronto Argonauts (2023) both went 16-2. Oddly enough, neither team reached the Grey Cup Game. (The 9-9 Roughriders defeated Edmonton 32-21 in the 1989 Western Final.)
Saskatchewan was the CFL’s final unbeaten team in 2025. Calgary left Saskatchewan with a victory and a 4-1 slate nine days after handing Winnipeg (now 3-1) its first defeat.
“I think that (loss to the Stampeders) was one of the best things that could have happened to us, especially as an offensive line — realizing where you are and not getting too confident or complacent,” centre Logan Ferland said.
“That’s exactly what that game did. It made us realize where we are. We have to keep pushing every day.”
That is also the message from a Corey Mace-led staff leading up to Saturday’s road game against the B.C. Lions.
“I don’t want to take zero credit away from Calgary,” the Roughriders’ Head Coach said. “They’re a really good football team. They’re coached well. They play hard.
“But we have to be better if we need to match anybody in this league (physically).”
Accordingly, the Roughriders practised in full pads on Tuesday. Did that send a message to the players?
“Maybe … I don’t know,” Mace said with a sly grin.
“It was just a good practice. We wanted to compete a little bit and I thought we accomplished that.”
EXTRA POINTS
• Defensive halfback Rolan Milligan Jr. (back) and cornerback Marcus Sayles (hip) did not practise on Tuesday. Cornerback Tevaughn Campbell, who missed Saturday’s game with a groin injury, was a limited participant in this week’s first workout. Mace said he “definitely wouldn’t be shocked if all three of them were playing” on Saturday.
• Receiver Samuel Emilus, who has missed the past three games with a foot injury, was a full participant in Tuesday’s workout. Returner Mario Alford (hip) did not practise.
• Roughriders middle linebacker Jameer Thurman needs 23 defensive tackles to reach a career milestone of 500.
