The Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers under the lights of Mosaic Stadium on Friday night as part of a double-header to kick-off week 7 in the Canadian Football League.
When considering the night game, under the lights, with the team debuting their new Rider Nation obsidian green jerseys, against the rival Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Head Coach admitted that he got, “chill bumps,” thinking about the atmosphere.
The 4-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the 2-4 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in an all-west division showdown. The Roughriders will look to defend their house and bounce-back from a 15-point loss in B.C. on Saturday night.
The Bombers are on a two-game winning streak, after starting the season with four straight losses and are starting to look like the team that has appeared in the last four Grey Cup games.
The key matchups:
Brady Oliveira vs. Rider Run Defence – After being nicked up to start the season Oliveira has his, “body right,” and seems to be rounding into form with back-to-back 100+ yard rushing performances. He will look to find success against the Riders top run defence in the league (allowing only 70 yards rushing against per game)
Willie vs. the tackles – Jacob Brammer will get his first start in place of the injured Jermarcus Hardrick in this one and he, along with rookie Left Tackle Trevor Reid, will line-up across from dominant Willie Jefferson. An injured Hardrick told Brammer to watch for (Jefferson) “the Transformer,” as he can change right before your eyes.
Zach and the passing attack – After not throwing a touchdown pass in his first four starts Zach Collaros threw a pair last week in the Bombers win over Calgary. He is facing a Rider defence that conceded 457 yards through the air to B.C. last week.
Kick-off Friday night is at 7:30pm at Mosaic Stadium. Coverage begins with the Countdown to Kick-off on CKRM at 4:30pm and streamed on YouTube, followed by the Rider Nation Pre-Game Show at 6:30pm on YouTube and across the Cooperators Roughrider Radio Network.
