Roughriders seek strong response on visit to winless Redblacks

The defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders look to bounce back from their first setback of the season when they visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night.

The Roughriders (2-1) fell 40-34 to the visiting Toronto Argonauts despite quarterback Trevor Harris passing for 409 yards. He also threw two touchdown passes and one interception.

“We’ll see how we respond,” Harris told reporters. “It’s easy to respond and come back and work hard when you overcome the mistakes and you end up winning the game.

“I know the makeup of this team. We’ll respond with tremendous focus and tremendous work ethic and come back and get better next week. I know the DNA of this locker room and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Harris is tied for second in the CFL with eight touchdown passes. He has completed 75.7% of his passes for 1,175 yards and been intercepted once.

Saskatchewan coach Corey Mace is aware an uptick in play is necessary.

“This week, we’re looking to play complementary football and to get back to being the identity of who we want to be,” Mace said.

Ottawa (0-3) has yet to win under new coach Ryan Dinwiddie, who won two Grey Cup crowns as coach in Toronto.

The Redblacks rank last in total offense (317.7 yards per game) and last in total defense (441.3).

Quarterback Jake Maier has passed for 820 yards and five touchdowns against three interceptions.

“You could definitely find some silver lining, but the fact of the matter is that we’re 0-3, and we had a chance to win a football game, and we just fell short,” Maier said, referring to last week’s 37-35 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. “But it’s a long season, and yeah, if we’re getting better, then that’s something that we can feel decent about, but until we win a football game, I think it’s gonna be the same feeling after this.”

Dinwiddie liked the way the offense looked when it hurried the pace.

“When we’ve gone fast football, run our no-huddle, that’s when we’ve had success,” Dinwiddie said. “So that’s kind of who we’re going to have to be. You don’t want to do it too often, because a quick two-and-outs and the defense is right back on the field, but that’s just who we are right now. We’re gonna have to do that, and the defense is gonna have to rise to the occasion as well.”

One player excelling for the Redblacks is returner Kalil Pimpleton. He leads the CFL with a 33.3 average on kickoff returns and has taken one for a score. He’s fifth in punt return yardage at 177 total yards.

–Field Level Media