A moment-by-moment look at the CFL game between the Edmonton Elks and Saskatchewan Roughriders from Mosaic Stadium on Thursday evening
7:03 p.m.
As expected, emotional moments at Mosaic right now as the team remembers linebacker Jayden Dalke and Bhishma Rajyaguru, who were killed in a motor vehicle accident this past weekend. The team plays special videos for both people and a moment of silence is held before the national anthem.
7:01 p.m.
Here are Luc’s Three Keys to the Game for the Roughriders:
1 – Gotta be able to tackle the checkdown – Force Cody to throw the ball deep, and the way you do that is by not letting Justin Rankin hurt the team on checkdown throws. Make sure making solid tackles on the checkdown, even if they’re one-on-one tackles
2 – Win the turnover battle – Plain and simple, keep the ball when you have it and take it away when its in the Elks hands. Riders have done a good job all season, and they have to do it again.
3- Test Edmonton’s defensive communication – Use different formations, use bunches, change the tempo as often as possible. The more they have to move around, the more the communication is forced, the better chance of mistakes.
4:02 p.m.
It’s going to be another very hot one out there at Mosaic Stadium, but hopefully not quite as bad as last game and the 50C field-level heat. Temperatures will be in the 28 C range under sunny skies at kickoff, with the humidex making it feel like 29 C. Winds won’t be too bad, coming out of the west at 20 km/h, and there’s no chance of rain.
So another decent night for football in Regina!
4:01 p.m.
The Rider Broadcast Network pregame show is currently on the air, with Teagan Witko, Wes Cates and a host of special guests bringing you all the news and views leading up to kick-off. The Voice of the Riders Dave Thomas and analyst Luc Mullinder will take over from there, with things getting underway at 7 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
The Canadian Football League showdown everyone has been waiting for is finally here, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Edmonton Elks in a battle for first place in the West Division!
It’s been a difficult week for the Riders, and they’ll play with heavy hearts after the accident last weekend that killed linebacker Jayden Dalke and also took the life of Bhishma Rajyaguru.
Saskatchewan comes into the game off their second bye week and with a 4-1 record, a single win back of first-place Edmonton, who have been this season’s early surprise and boast a 5-1 mark.
The Riders’ last outing came back on Sunday, July 12 and saw Saskatchewan turn in their best defensive performance of the season in a 38-7 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. They’ll see valuable pieces back in the line-up on both sides of the ball on Thursday, as Rolan Milligan Jr. returns at defensive back and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon will back up A.J. Ouellette at running back.
Edmonton will be led by former Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo, who has found himself with an embarrassment of riches on offence in the early going, including running back Justin Rankin. Rankin was on pace to set a handful of CFL records until last week’s game in B.C., so he’ll be a key factor for Saskatchewan to deal with.The Elks defence is led by defensive lineman and former Rider Malik Carney alongside Noah Taylor, with the duo having given Edmonton a lethal pass rush this season.
Saskatchewan’s depth chart:
Edmonton’s depth chart:
