It’s a battle of two teams that are 5-1 in the CFL standings on Thursday night
The Alouettes are coming off their first bye week of the season after losing to the Toronto Argonauts the week prior, while the Riders had just two days of practice before departing to Montreal for the matchup.
“It is what it is,” Roughriders’ head coach Corey Mace said of the short week. “You have to be prepared because the game is going to happen and sometimes it’s just being the healthier team or whoever preps through the week to understanding a condensed amount of time to prepare for your opponent.
“Everybody’s got to deal with them so kind of adapt and conquer.”
Injury update
Saskatchewan will also be without Deontai Williams (one-game injured list) as Amari Henderson draws the start at cornerback.
Frankie Hickson will start at running back while American KeeSean Johnson will draw in for Schaffer-Baker, while rookie Ajou Ajou remains in a backup role.
To deal with the ratio changes, Canadians Adam Auclair and Justin Herdman-Reed are listed as starting linebackers.
Fajardo out
While Shea Patterson will get his fourth start this week for the Riders, the Alouettes will be without veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo as he has been placed on the six-game injured list with a hamstring injury.
Caleb Evans will make his first start of the season. Last year, the 26-year-old was 2-0, which included a win over Saskatchewan on Aug. 11.
“He’s a quarterback that can run,” said Auclair, who was a teammate of Evans in 2021 with the Ottawa Redblacks. “So, if ever his (passing) option is not there, I know he’s going to take off.
“He’s got some great skills but whoever is in front of us, we’ll be ready for it.”
Auclair’s homecoming
Thursday’s game will also be a homecoming of sorts for Auclair, who grew up three hours outside of Montreal and lives in Quebec City during the off-season.
“It’s going to be special to be back in Quebec,” said Auclair. “My family is going to be there; probably 25 to 30 people are going to be there for me so it’s going to be a nice one for sure.
“But we’re there for business and we want to win this one for sure.”
Brammer’s encore
Filling in for the injured Jermarcus Hardrick at right tackle, Roughriders’ offensive lineman Jacob Brammer performed well in his first CFL start.
In fact, the 25-year-old was the top graded offensive lineman across the entire league in Week 7, according to the Pro Football Focus rankings.
“I feel pretty good about it,” Brammer said of his debut. “There’s always room for corrections so little things here and there but overall, I feel like I played well and I feel like we played good as a group.
“It was a lot of fun for sure.”
Dominant defence
Both Saskatchewan and Montreal sit atop many statistical categories in the CFL when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, most notably in points against as the Alouettes have given up the fewest points this season (136), while the Riders are right behind them (138).
“They’ve got a lot of good athletes on that side of the ball, some really good players on offence as well, so it’s going to be a battle.”
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