Bombers face revamped Riders team

REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have won seven of their past eight meetings with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

But if early signs suggest anything, this rivalry might not be so one-sided moving forward.

After back-to-back 6-12 seasons under Craig Dickenson, the Riders brought in Corey Mace to turn the program around and the first-year head coach has done just that thus far. They opened the season with four straight victories before last Saturday’s trip to Vancouver where the B.C. Lions knocked them down a peg or two by defeating them 35-20.

Despite the setback, Riderville is feeling encouraged, but if Mace really wants to win over the melonheads, he needs to beat the Bombers Friday night (8:30 p.m. CT) at Mosaic Stadium.

The Bombers also felt encouraged on their short flight to Regina as they’re coming off back-to-back wins to improve to 2-4 after a dreadful start to the campaign. The offence is showing signs of life again with running back Brady Oliveira rushing for over 100 yards in two straight games, and more importantly, quarterback Zach Collaros looking a lot more like himself in last week’s 41-37 win at home over the Calgary Stampeders by putting two interceptions behind him to rally for 344 yards passing, two touchdown passes, and a game-winning drive.

No, this isn’t the Labour Day Classic or the Banjo Bowl, but this is still a big game for blue and green. Whoever loses Friday will have to win both meetings in the first week of September – which is never an easy feat no matter what the records are — to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“The electricity and energy is so high (when we play Saskatchewan),” said Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill.

“The fans do a great job of making it feel that big and that important. For that reason, the speed and physicality always ramps up a bit and the on-field product is pretty much a result of that, too.”

Before we focus on their annual home-and-home series, let’s dive into this tilt with another edition of 5 Storylines.

HARDRICK CAN’T HOP

The Riders made Jermarcus Hardrick their prized off-season signing by making him the highest-paid American offensive lineman in the CFL.

Unfortunately, their $230,000-plus investment was carted off the field last weekend with a serious quad injury that will require surgery. During Hardrick’s seven seasons with the Bombers, the right tackle only missed more than one game once and that was back in 2018.

Saskatchewan’s o-line was already shaky — they’ve allowed a league-high 13 sacks, rank last in yards per carry average (3.7), and lost starting left guard Philip Blake in Week 2 to a long-term injury — and they now must roll with rookie Jacob Brammer at Hardrick’s spot moving forward. Brammer, 25, allowed three sacks in 11 starts for a 5-7 Vanderbilt team in his senior year in 2022. There’s no time for him to ease into things as he gets to go up against one of the most dominant defensive ends in the three-down game: Willie Jefferson.

The 33-year-old defender has been held to two sacks this year, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his season total double against an inexperienced replacement like Brammer.

The Riders haven’t lost Hardrick’s energy and leadership, though, as he’s staying with the team during his rehab and broke down their huddle after Wednesday’s practice.

ON THE CASE

The latest contestant being called down to return kicks for the Bombers is Kody Case.

They started the year with Myron Mitchell and all it took was two games to realize he wasn’t the answer. Then Chris Smith was subbed in for four games and he was a bit better, but far from spectactular as the Bombers currently rank dead last in punt return average (8.4) and eighth on kickoff returns (19.1).

The Bombers hope the third time’s the charm at the position with Case, yet another American rookie, now getting a look. For what it’s worth, he was a strong contender to win the job in training camp before an injury led to his release. He was added back to the practice squad June 30 and has been biding his time ever since.

Case, who played a few preseason snaps with the Indianapolis Colts last fall, can’t be much worse than what we’ve already seen, but his background doesn’t suggest that he’s the solution, either. He hasn’t been a return specialist since he was a freshman at the University of South Dakota in 2017 when he took 13 kickoffs for 230 yards (17.7 average) and 15 punts for 136 yards (9.1 yards). He transferred to Illinois for his final year in 2022 and saw action in four games where he had two punt returns for 16 yards.

If the Bombers aren’t kicking themselves yet for not bringing back Janarion Grant — who’s currently lighting it up for the Toronto Argonauts and already has two return touchdowns — they should be.

WILSON WATCH

Is Ontaria Wilson a one-hit wonder or was last week a sign of things to come?

After five forgettable weeks, the rookie out of Florida State exploded for 13 catches on 16 targets for 201 yards and a touchdown against the Stampeders.

To make life easier for veterans Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky, the Bombers desperately need Wilson to keep producing. He’ll have a good chance to do just that Friday as the Riders secondary hasn’t been great. They’re allowing opposing offences to torch them for 340.6 yards per game — the highest number in the CFL.

Wilson has certainly won over his quarterback as Collaros hasn’t been shy to praise the rookie since his big performace.

“He’s a heck of a talent. I haven’t been around a ton of guys like him,” Collaros said Thursday.

GAME NO. 3 FOR PATTERSON

The Bombers defence is matching up with an unfamiliar face this week with Riders quarterback Shea Patterson making just the third start of his CFL career. He started with a 30-23 win against Toronto where he completed 15-of-23 passes for 192 yards and touchdown before taking a step back last week against the Lions by going 17 for 25 with 278 yards and a pick.

No. 1 pivot Trevor Harris is out with a MCL sprain he suffered in Week 3.

Patterson has a hell of a resume — was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the nation coming out of high school, passed for more yards at the University of Michigan than Tom Brady, and was picked first overall in the 2022 USFL Draft — but there’s a long line of passers with similar accolades who never amounted to anything in the Canadian game.

The jury’s still out on the 27-year-old Patterson — who dressed for five games with the Montreal Alouettes in 2021 before returning to the CFL in 2023 and signing with Saskatchewan — but he can win over quite a few members if he can find a way to take down Winnipeg.

HELP HAS ARRIVED

It’s rather impressive that the Bombers have the No. 3-ranked defence in the CFL considering their defensive line has been decimated by injuries.

Starting defensive end Celestin Haba and two DTs expected to take on bigger roles this year, Miles Fox and Canadian Cameron Lawson, are all sidelined.

With that, and some inconsistent play by others, the Bombers have been forced to juggle their line-up week after week and this week is no different with TyJuan Garbutt becoming the fifth pass rusher to start opposite of Jefferson this season.

Garbutt, a second-year pro out of Virginia Tech, started last year’s regular season finale against Calgary and was poised to be an imporant part of the rotation this year. He started the season on the six-game injured list but is finally ready to make his 2024 debut.

The Bombers need Garbutt to provide a boost as they’re currently last against the run (117.7 yards per game) and have just seven total sacks. Through six games last year, the Bombers led the CFL with 22 quarterback takedowns.

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