Being No. 1 in the West Division presents the Saskatchewan Roughriders with an opportunity to rest their No. 1 quarterback.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Jake Maier will start behind centre in place of Trevor Harris when the Roughriders \u2014 who have sewed up first place overall in the CFL \u2014\u00a0visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday (6 p.m., CKRM, TSN).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a great year for us, obviously,\u201d Maier said after Monday\u2019s practice at Mosaic Stadium<\/a>. \u201cTo be in a position where we are now to grant some opportunities for guys on our team to show who they are and to continue to build momentum going into this playoff run is something that you don\u2019t get every year in the CFL.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a guy who has been on playoff teams and teams that haven\u2019t made the playoffs, anytime you get a chance to play, you\u2019ve got to take advantage of those opportunities and you\u2019ve got to embrace them.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris and Maier have combined to help the Roughriders post a 12-4 record and earn hosting privileges for the Western Final (Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).<\/p>\n The Roughriders would still be aiming to clinch first place if Maier hadn\u2019t done his part by quarterbacking the Roughriders to a 37-18 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions on June 28. Harris missed that game due to injury.<\/p>\n Saskatchewan secured top spot on Friday by posting a 27-19 victory over the visiting Toronto Argonauts. Harris went 23-for-29 for 340 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n Afterwards, the Roughriders\u2019 No. 7 was asked about the prospect of being rested for all or part of the final two regular-season games \u2014\u00a0a decision that is ultimately the responsibility of Head Coach Corey Mace<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll fight him,\u201d Harris said, jokingly referencing his desire to play.<\/p>\n Well \u2026 how did that conversation turn out?<\/p>\n \u201cLike we had planned, we squared up,\u201d Mace said with a laugh, \u201cand, as you can figure, I\u2019m coming out clean.\u201d<\/p>\n But seriously \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good conversation,\u201d Mace said. \u201cWe all know 7, man. He doesn\u2019t ever want to take time away. I just kind of gave him the plan of what we\u2019re looking like here and he understands.\u201d<\/p>\n Also understood, across the board, is that the standards and expectations do not change, regardless of the roster composition.<\/p>\n