Winless and searching for answers, the Ottawa Redblacks head into a building where they haven't won since 2018.
Game Details
- Matchup: Ottawa Redblacks at Saskatchewan Roughriders
- When: Friday, August 7 at 9:00 PM ET
- Where: Mosaic Stadium, Regina
- TV: TSN
- Stream: Watch live on CFL+
Odds
- Spread: Saskatchewan Roughriders -8
- Moneyline: Ottawa Redblacks +320, Saskatchewan Roughriders -410
- Over/Under: 61
Ottawa is 2-3-1 against the spread this season with three overs and four unders. Saskatchewan sits at 4-2-1 ATS with four overs and three unders, and Vegas clearly isn't buying a repeat of the last meeting's tight scoreline.
Overview
There's no dressing this up. The Redblacks are 0-7, they've lost five straight, and they're on the road against a Roughriders team that has scored at least 27 points in every single game this season. Ottawa's own coach put it bluntly last week — after a 34-13 loss to Montreal dropped them to 0-7, Ryan Dinwiddie called his team's red-zone execution "embarrassing," and the fallout was real: defensive coordinator Will Fields was fired, with Jeff Reinebold sliding over to take the reins and Nate Taylor promoted to run special teams. That's the backdrop for this trip to Mosaic Stadium, where Saskatchewan has now beaten Ottawa six straight times dating back to 2018 — the last season Trevor Harris quarterbacked the Redblacks instead of the Riders. Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is finding ways to win even when the offense isn't clicking on all cylinders. Their 28-26 escape at Edmonton last week wasn't pretty — a lightning delay, a physical grind, and three short-yardage touchdowns from Tommy Stevens that pushed his career rushing TD total to 38, moving him into the all-time Top 50 ahead of Ricky Ray. Harris did what Harris does, closing it out late, and he's now 49 passing yards from becoming just the 12th player in league history to hit 40,000 for a career. Against Ottawa specifically, Harris is 11-4 all-time and has thrown for 137 yards on nine catches to KeeSean Johnson in the first meeting between these two this year, a 27-22 Riders win back in Week 5. The numbers paint a stark picture: Saskatchewan has allowed the fewest points in the league (195), while Ottawa has allowed the most (247) and scored the fewest (166). Add in a banged-up Ottawa secondary and a Riders defense that's forced two-and-outs at a season-high rate around the league last week, and it's hard to find where Ottawa's edge lives. This one has blowout written all over it unless Ottawa can finally solve its red-zone issues — the same issue that's sunk them all year.
Key Players
- Jake Maier (Ottawa Redblacks, QB) — He's thrown for 948 yards over his last three games and carries a career 5-3 mark against Saskatchewan, so the talent and history are there even if the record isn't.
- Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan Roughriders, QB) — Sitting at 2,254 passing yards with 17 touchdowns to just six picks, and he's 11-4 lifetime against his former team.
- Ayden Eberhardt (Ottawa Redblacks, WR) — On pace for a career-high 1,383 receiving yards, he's the one bright spot in an offense that's struggled to finish drives.
- Tommy Stevens (Saskatchewan Roughriders, QB/RB) — Fresh off a three-touchdown rushing night against Edmonton, he's become Saskatchewan's short-yardage hammer near the goal line — exactly where Ottawa has been unable to stop anybody.
- Kalil Pimpleton (Ottawa Redblacks, WR/RET) — Leads the entire league at 194.1 combined yards per game, giving Ottawa a genuine home-run threat even on a night the offense may struggle to sustain drives.
Keys to the Game
- Ottawa has to finish drives with touchdowns instead of settling for field goals — they're 22-for-22 on kicks this year, which says everything about how often they've stalled short of the end zone.
- The defense, now under Jeff Reinebold, needs an immediate answer for Tommy Stevens and the Riders' short-yardage package that's been near automatic.
- Special teams could be the equalizer — if Pimpleton can spring one on returns, Ottawa needs every cheap yard it can find against a Saskatchewan defense allowing the fewest points in the CFL.
Injury Report
| Player | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Emeric Boutin (FB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Lucas Cormier (LB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Drew Desjarlais (OL) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
| Justin Hardy (WR) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Amari Henderson (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Available |
| Scott Hutter (DB) | Ottawa Redblacks | Out |
Depth Chart
Ottawa Redblacks projected starters by position, built from the official Week 10 depth chart. Note this may not fully reflect mid-week changes.
| Position | Ottawa Redblacks |
|---|---|
| QB | Jake Maier (1) / McLeod Bethel-Thompson (2) / Bryson Barnes (3) |
| RB | Greg Bell (1) / Daniel Adeboboye (2) |
| FB | Anthony Gosselin (1) / Jevoni Robinson (2) / Emeric Boutin (3) |
| SB | Justin Hardy / Keelan White / Ayden Eberhardt |
| WR | Cade McDonald (1) / Kalil Pimpleton, Nick Mardner (2) |
| LT | Dino Boyd |
| LG | Samuel Carson |
| C | Sean McEwen |
| RG | Giordano Vaccaro |
| RT | Julian Pearl (1) / Zachary Barlev (2) |
| DE | Luiji Vilain / Aidan John, Charlie Parks / Bryce Carter |
| DT | Jelani Stafford, Muftah Ageli / Michael Wakefield |
| WLB | Brian Cole II (1) / AJ Allen (2) / Lucas Cormier (3) |
| MLB | Josh Connors (1) / Aaron Casey (2) |
| SLB | Marcus Barnes (1) / CJ Reavis (2) |
| CB | Demerio Houston / Eric Cumberbatch, Shadwel Nkuba II |
| HB | Dionte Ruffin / Amari Henderson |
| S | King Ambers / Alonzo Addae |
| K-P | Lewis Ward (1) / Noah Gettman (2) |
| LS | Peter Adjey |
| RET | Kalil Pimpleton / Cade McDonald |
Score Prediction
Ottawa Redblacks 27 - Saskatchewan Roughriders 35. Ottawa's offense, led by Maier and Eberhardt, should move the ball enough to keep this from getting embarrassing, but the same red-zone breakdowns that have plagued them all year — plus a Riders defense that leads the league in points allowed — make an eighth straight loss the safe bet.
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