“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” does not apply to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

They refuse to allow a CFL-best 6-1 record to cloud their mindset while evaluating a team that is to return to action on Saturday against the host Montreal Alouettes (5-2).

“You always try to fix things,” Head Coach Corey Mace said after Tuesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium. “There’s always things that are broken.

“You just look at ways to get better, no matter what the results are, and that keeps everybody focused on the process.

“We enjoy that. I think the team thrives off that. They want to get the rundown done the next morning (after a game). They want the answers and the corrections ASAP, so it’s excellent.”

Saskatchewan is 6-1 for only the fourth time in franchise history, following the hot starts of 1970, 2008 and 2013.

Mace is with a team that has at least six victories at the seven-game mark for the fourth time since entering CFL as a defensive tackle with the Calgary Stampeders in 2010.

He played on a 2014 Calgary powerhouse that stretched 6-1 into 10-0 en route to winning a Grey Cup.

When Calgary next won a championship, in 2018, the team enjoyed a 7-0 start with Mace serving as the defensive line coach.

He was the defensive co-ordinator in Toronto when the Argonauts started 6-1 in 2023. The Boatmen, who were 12-1 at one point, finished 16-2 and tied a CFL record for victories in a regular season.

So, yes, Mace is quite familiar with the 6-1 drill.

“Regardless of record, you shouldn’t be able to tell, coming into our locker room,” he said. “It should look the same every time, honestly, because we’re just trying to get better, period.”

A.J. Ouellette appreciates that culture. He helped Toronto win a Grey Cup in 2022 and go 16-2 the following year.

“We’ve still got a long season ahead of us,” the second-year Roughriders running back said, “so hopefully we can keep stacking wins.”

INJURY UPDATE

The Roughriders emerged from Friday’s 21-18 victory over the host Edmonton Elks with an assortment of injuries.

“There’s a lot going on,” Mace told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “I’m just going to blanket it today with ‘the injury report is coming out in a couple of hours.’ ”

The report, released on Tuesday at 3 p.m., included nine players with the DNP (Did Not Practise) designation: Receivers Samuel Emilus (knee) and Dhel Duncan-Busby (shoulder), linebackers C.J. Reavis (foot) and Aubrey Miller Jr. (knee), defensive linemen Malik Carney (ankle) and Lake Korte-Moore (knee), offensive linemen Daniel Johnson (shoulder) and Zack Fry (head), and returner Mario Alford (hip).

Emilus, Duncan-Busby, Reavis, Miller Jr., Carney and Korte-Moore all played in last week’s Edmonton game.

Receiver Shawn Bane Jr. and offensive lineman Payton Collins, both of whom have missed time with knee injuries, were full participants in Tuesday’s workout.

EXTRA POINTS

• Carney earned CFL top-defensive-player honours for Week 8, as determined by Pro Football Focus. Carney earned the league’s top defensive player grade (88.7) after registering two of the Roughriders’ eight sacks in Friday’s game. Carney’s Week 3 grade of 90.3 is ninth overall this season.

• Saskatchewan leads the CFL in sacks (20), big plays (25) and completions of 30-plus yards (17).

• Roughriders linebacker Jameer Thurman is 15 defensive tackles shy of 500 for his career.