Two very familiar foes are going head-to-head this weekend to determine who will advance to Calgary for the next round of the Canadian Football League playoffs.
For two decades, the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders were almost perfect strangers when it comes to playoff football.
Despite playing in the same division, the Leos and Riders met just once in the post-season from 1974 and 2003. The teams have been making up for it ever since.
This Sunday’s Western Semi-Final clash at Regina’s Mosaic Stadium marks the fourth time in five years (and the fifth in seven seasons) the CFL playoffs has featured a BC-Saskatchewan contest.
The winner earns a date with the first-place Stamps in the Western Final on Sunday, Nov. 21 in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at McMahon Stadium.
The recent Lions-Riders playoff history favours BC, winner of three of the four previous post-season meetings this decade. Conversely, the Riders won the season series against the Lions 2-1 including a 37-13 victory on Aug. 12 in Regina.
One of the more intriguing aspects about the Western Semi-Final is that Saskatchewan tied Calgary and Montreal as the CFL’s best home team in 2010 with a 7-2 record. Meanwhile, the Lions were 5-4 on the road, a mark surpassed only by the Stamps.
Here is the matchup’s tale of the tape:
| Matchup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Ssk | BC |
| Record | 10-8 | 8-10 |
| 1st half record | 6-3 | 2-7 |
| 2nd half record | 4-5 | 6-3 |
| Home record | 7-2 | 3-6 |
| Away record | 3-6 | 5-4 |
| Head to head (2010) | 2-1 | 1-2 |
| Head to head (playoffs) | 4-6 | 6-4 |
| Points for (2010) | 497 | 466 |
| Points against | 488 | 466 |
| Pass offence rank | 2 | 5 |
| Run offence rank | 5 | 7 |
| Pass defence rank | 3 | 4 |
| Run defence rank | 8 | 7 |