WINNIPEG — The Saskatchewan Roughriders sport a 10-2 record for only the third time in franchise history.
Saskatchewan reached double digits in victories by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21-13 on Saturday before 32,343 spectators at a sold-out Princess Auto Stadium.
“It’s great — I’m not going to lie to you,” receiver Joe Robustelli said with a smile. “Coming out here and being able to make plays with my family, it’s amazing.”
Winnipeg led 13-3 in the second quarter before Saskatchewan scored the final 15 points of a grind-it-out game.
“My jaw hurts. My fingers are sore,” offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick said after his 150th CFL regular-season game. “It’s rough during that game. The last three minutes sometimes feel like 18.
“We just stayed together. The biggest thing I kept saying on the sidelines was, ‘Keep loving on each other.’ I’m just glad we came out on top.”
The Roughriders continue to sit atop the CFL’s overall standings two-thirds of the way into their regular-season schedule.
The Calgary Stampeders, who are second in the West Division, fell to 8-4 by losing 31-19 to the host Edmonton Elks on Saturday night. Winnipeg (6-6) is third in the West, two points ahead of B.C. (5-7) and Edmonton (5-7).
Saskatchewan guaranteed itself a winning record in 2025 by prevailing in Winnipeg for the first time since 2018.
“This is a very hard place to win football games in recent history — the last five years, for sure,” said Head Coach Corey Mace, referencing a Blue Bombers team that has represented the West Division in five consecutive Grey Cup Games.
“We knew what kind of task it was, but we talked about it all week. You just like to see things come to fruition when you put all the work in and you have the belief.”
It also helps to have four interceptions, the first of which took place late in the first half.
“It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows — five touchdowns, four touchdowns,” quarterback Trevor Harris said. “Obviously, there’s going to be games where we lean into (the defence) and they lean into us. It’s complementary football.
“As usual, our defence was awesome today.”
Tevaughn Campbell paced the pick parade with two late-fourth-quarter thefts.
Campbell also sparkled in the Labour Day Classic, returning an interception 102 yards on a two-point convert attempt with 30 seconds remaining in a game he essentially decided with a long-distance sprint.
“We knew exactly what we were going to get into when we came here,” Campbell said. “We knew what we were getting into in Sask.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight and that’s exactly what it was.”
A clutch performance from Brett Lauther ultimately tipped the balance in Saskatchewan’s favour. He scored 15 of his team’s points, going 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts and more than atoning for a missed convert attempt.
“It’s a great team, great organization over here (in Winnipeg),” Lauther said. “I have full respect for these guys. It’s loud in here.
“Just to go out and do my job for the most part, it felt good for the guys, because they are working so hard each and every day.
“This is a tough test, but another one we can cross off the list.”
The next objective is to go 11-2 for only the second time in team history — and for the first time since 1970 — by defeating the Montreal Alouettes next Saturday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium). The 1967 Roughriders won 10 of their first 12 games before suffering a loss and ultimately finishing 13-3.
Saskatchewan, which defeated Winnipeg 34-30 on Aug. 31 at Mosaic Stadium, swept the Labour Day Classic/Labour Day Rematch for the eighth time since the back-to-back set was formalized as an annual event in 2005. The previous sweeps took place in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018.
The defence was also a key contributor to the win in 2018, scoring on two long interception returns — including one by current Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson — to emerge with a 32-27 win.
“I know a lot of people are going to talk about the Banjo Bowl, the Labour Day Classic, the sweep,” Harris said. “I think it’s big for the season series.
“We’ve now won the season series against Winnipeg, so if it comes down to the end of the season where they get hot and if we stumble at all and you’ve got similar records, that tie-breaker is a big deal, because then we get to play (the playoff) game at Mosaic instead of here. That’s kind of a big deal in and of itself.
“That (Winnipeg) team has been so good for so long. For us to be able to kind of (clear) that mental hurdle of ‘we can win … we can beat this team.’ I think a lot of teams across the league still probably feel Winnipeg is that (formidable) — and they have been, because they’ve made it to five straight Grey Cups.
“So it’s good for us to get that win and to be able to know that we belong up here with the big dogs like Winnipeg and Calgary.”
The first-quarter scoring consisted of a 39-yard field goal by Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo.
Lauther answered with a 20-yarder early in the second quarter.
Winnipeg responded with a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a 24-yard pass from Zach Collaros to Ontaria Wilson. Castillo’s convert made it 10-3, Winnipeg.
Castillo’s 34-yard field goal expanded the Blue Bombers’ lead to 13-3.
Marcus Sayles’ interception late in the first half, followed by a 34-yard pass from Harris to Tommy Nield, set up Lauther’s 35-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
DaMarcus Fields returned his first interception of the season 33 yards to position Saskatchewan on the Blue Bombers’ 33.
Five plays later, the Roughriders were in the end zone, courtesy of a five-yard run by A.J. Ouellette. Lauther’s convert attempt was wide, leaving Winnipeg with a 13-12 advantage.
Ouellette scored on first-and-goal after Harris scrambled for gains of three and seven. Those were his first back-to-back runs since joining the Roughriders in 2023.
After a third quarter in which the Roughriders had a decided advantage in time of possession (10:17-4:43), the Roughriders went ahead to stay when Lauther made it 15-13 with a 41-yard field goal 1:35 into the final frame.
Lauther’s 33-yarder at 8:41 of the fourth quarter increased the Roughriders’ lead to 18-13 and ultimately concluded the scoring.
Saskatchewan began that possession on its one-yard line after a missed field-goal attempt by Castillo. On the first play, Harris hit Robustelli for a 48-yard bomb, a career long for the Roughriders’ No. 82. A 29-yard pass-interference penalty against Winnipeg put the Roughriders in field-goal range.
With 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Bombers scrimmaging the ball from Saskatchewan’s 43-yard line, Campbell intercepted Chris Streveler to halt a Winnipeg surge. Streveler took over in the third quarter after Collaros was injured.
“I think Collaros going out changed the game plan for them a little bit,” Campbell said. “We kind of expected more run after that — more play-action, more quick game — so I think that definitely played a part.
“But after halftime, we came in and we were like, ‘We’ve really got to lock in. This is where we knew we were going to be and we’ve got to execute to get out of the rut.”
Efficient execution on offence helped Saskatchewan move 56 yards in the seven plays that followed Campbell’s first pick. Lauther then made a 35-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
Campbell provided a perfect punctuation mark by registering his second interception of the game on the final play.
EXTRA POINTS
• Harris passed Doug Flutie to move into 10th All-Time in completions. Flutie, a six-time recipient of the Most Outstanding Player Award, had 2,975 completions over eight CFL seasons (1990 to 1997). Harris finished Saturday’s game with 2,981 career completions. Matt Dunigan (3,057) is ninth on the list.
• Harris has exceeded 3,000 passing yards for the second year in row. He registered 3,264 yards in 11 starts last season. In 11 starts this year, he is at 3,153. His next TD pass will be No. 20 this season and the 200th of his career.
• Campbell leads the league in interceptions (six) and interception-return yards (205). The latter total is second-best in team history, 21 behind Dale West’s distance from 1963.
• Campbell aside, the Roughriders’ defensive leaders were Fields (six tackles, one interception), Malik Carney (six tackles, one sack), Jameer Thurman (five tackles, one forced fumble). Kerfalla Exume led the Roughriders in special teams tackles, with two.
• With seven sacks, Carney is one shy of the league lead. Montreal’s Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund has eight sacks.
• Four interceptions represented the Roughriders’ highest single-game total since July 4, 2024, when the visiting Toronto Argonauts were picked off four times. Sayles had an interception in both games.
• Campbell had the Roughriders’ first two-interception game since Rolan Milligan Jr. registered a deuce in the aforementioned 2024 matchup with Toronto.
• KeeSean Johnson had a team-high six receptions for 69 yards. Robustelli, who had three catches, paced the Roughriders in receiving yards (72). Johnson and B.C.’s Keon Hatcher are tied for the league lead in receptions (66).
• Ouellette rushed 11 times for 50 yards to increase his season yardage total to 50. Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens added 31 yards on seven carries while helping the Roughriders chew up valuable time and yardage in the final minutes.
• Lauther was 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts for the second time this season. He also went 5-for-5 in a 37-18 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions on June 28. On Saturday, he registered his 11th game of five or more field goals since becoming the Roughriders’ full-time placekicker in 2018.
67 YEARS BETWEEN 21-13 WINS
The Roughriders have three 21-13 victories in their history. The past two have been against Winnipeg (Aug. 21, 1958 at Taylor Field; Saturday at Princess Auto Stadium).
The first two 21-13 wins were both on Aug. 21 — in 1954 (against Edmonton) and 1958.
All three 21-13 games in Roughriders history have been victories.
