Riders to clash with winless Redblacks in Ottawa

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-1) will look to get back into the win column this week.

In order to do so, the team will look to avoid giving the Ottawa Redblacks (0-3) their first win of the 2026 campaign.

Read more:

• Riders special teams look to stop big returns, keep Ottawa’s Pimpleton in check
• Mathew Sexton to make CFL debut, Emilus and Schaffer-Baker to start for Riders on Friday
• Riders to face plenty of former teammates in clash with the Redblacks

“There are no bad football teams in the CFL. It’s all good football teams. If you don’t bring your A-game, it can come back and bite you,” said Riders quarterback, Trevor Harris. “This league has a ton of parity. You saw (on Sunday) that Ottawa pushed Montreal (Alouettes) to the limit … It will be a fun one to watch, as are all CFL games.”

The Riders’ offence has been rolling to start the 2026 season, averaging 472.7 yards per game to lead the CFL, with Harris being a big part of that.

Harris has had one of the best starts to a season in his career, having a QB rating of 127.3 (2nd among starters), 75.7% completion rate (2nd), and 10.2 yards per attempt (3rd). He has thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception.

What’s helped the 40-year-old quarterback to this start has been his receiver room that features Kian Schaffer-Baker, Sam Emilus and KeeSean Johnson. Schaffer-Baker (384), Johnson (301) and Emilus (246) are all in the top-10 in receiving yards this season.

That group looked like it might be missing some key pieces as to start the practice week, as Johnson was the only Week 1 starter on the field.

But as the week went on, not only were Emilus and Schaffer-Baker able to prove they would be good to go, but so is Dhel Duncan-Busby, who missed the loss to the Toronto Argonauts with a shoulder injury.

“I was like a little kid in the candy store when I found out I could be back out there. I’m just glad to have the opportunity again and just go have fun with it,” Duncan-Busby said.

Saskatchewan did add Jaylen Johnson to the one-game injured list. In his place, Johnny Johnson III will make his first CFL start.

Wide receiver Mathew Sexton will also make his CFL debut as he can provide some kick return capabilities. Returner James Letcher Jr. was added to the six-game injured list.

The 28-year-old Sexton has bounced around quite a bit in his football career. He’s spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins in the NFL, as well as the XFL’s Vegas Vipers and UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas.

“It’s show up every day and do your job,” Sexton said. “Nothing has really changed – just come out here and do what I do,” Sexton said. “I love the game. I love playing this game – it has blessed me and my family with a lot of opportunities with travelling and stuff like that.

“I just refuse to quit. I have something to prove still – I have a lot more to prove. That’s my biggest factor, for sure.”

The Redblacks defence has a lot of familiar faces on it as they signed a number of former Riders, including linebackers A.J. Allen and C.J. Reavis, as well as defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado. Ottawa also signed quarterback Jake Maier and kicker Brett Lauther.

Head coach Corey Mace said you don’t change your approach just because the opposing team features a lot of their former players.

Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace will look to see his team improve to 3-1 to begin the 2026 CFL campaign. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

“It’s just having an understanding of the players, as far as a plan of attack,” Mace said. “You kind of know and have seen them – some strengths and weaknesses, potentially.”

The offence with Mair under centre hasn’t been strong to start the season, but it did find a rhythm against the Montreal Alouettes, losing just 37-35 last week.

“They have a lot of dynamic players and receivers. An offence kind of similar to the one we faced last week,” Riders linebacker Josh Woods said. “Jake’s definitely trying to get more comfortable. I think you’ve seen it in the second half of the game last week … They have dynamic receivers and a dynamic offence, so we will see how it goes.”

The Riders’ defence is also hoping to start seeing turnovers come their way. The team has only forced one so far – an interception by Woods.

“That needs to be our identity. We need to (get turnovers) to win games, so we need to get it going,” Woods said.

The Redblacks’ offence features a multitude of weapons, including perennial all-star wide receiver Eugene Lewis, who is back after missing last week’s game. They also have veteran Justin Hardy as well as second-year pro Keelan White, who is listed as a game-time decision.

Special teams could play a factor in this one, as Ottawa features one of the game’s top returners in Kalil Pimpleton. He leads the CFL in kickoff return yards (466) and is averaging 33.3 yards per return after scoring a 94-yard kickoff return touchdown last week.

Saskatchewan has given up return touchdowns in back-to-back games this season.

Lauther has also been solid for the Redblacks so far, hitting on all 10 of his field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Riders kicker Alex Hale has made seven of nine field goal attempts with no makes over 40 yards.

Mace said as his team takes to the field this week, he wants to see more enthusiasm from his team.

“Celebrating each other’s success and just some more juice. I felt like we were lacking that last week,” Mace said.

“We know we have great players; we know we can be a great team. Just enjoy and have some fun out there. I thought we were reeling on that last week. The intangibles of complementary football and all that stuff. We are still looking for our best performance. We have not put it out there, which is good. Those are all things we strive for in our process.”