The Saskatchewan Roughriders will wrap up a road trip to begin the 2024 campaign when they head to Steeltown to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday.
Both teams are coming off phenomenal fourth quarters in week one, when Hamilton put up 17 points in a 32-24 loss to Calgary and Saskatchewan outscored Edmonton 21-3 in the final frame to complete the comeback in a 29-21 win.
Who’s In and Who’s Out?
The biggest change comes in the secondary for the Green and White where former CFL All-Star Marcus Sayles will make his Roughriders debut at corner. That will push former second-overall pick Nelson Lokombo who started at that position last week to safety, moving Jayden Dalke to the bench. To accommodate the ratio change, Mitch Picton gets the start at wideout while KeeSean Johnson draws out of the lineup. Rookie Ajou Ajou will also make his Riders debut after missing week one due to an injury.
What Can Be Improved on?
The running game for Saskatchewan is something to keep an eye on. After acquiring A.J. Ouellette in the offseason, it was not a good debut for him running the ball. Following week one, the Riders were bottom three in rushing yards (40), rushing attempts (18) and were dead last in average gained per rush (2.2). That was partly on Ouellette not finding gaps, but the offensive line didn’t do him any favours. The big boys up front struggled to get any push and Saskatchewan abandoned the run game by the second half.
What’s up with Hamilton?
What’s up with Hamilton is their offence. Following week one, the Ti-Cats by far had the most net offence in the league with 459 yards. That was largely thanks to running back James Butler who rumbled for 119 yards on only 13 carries. He was a game-time decision coming into the game and should get more volume on Sunday. Another standout was rookie receiver Shemar Bridges. He was the most targeted pass catcher by Bo Levi Mitchell who caught seven balls for 85 yards. Led by Mitchell, Saskatchewan will have their hands full with this Hamilton offence.
