Riders beat Lions to punch ticket to CFL West final
Nov 03, 2024
The Riders are back in the West final for the first time since 2021.
While the Saskatchewan Roughriders will open the 2023 CFL regular season in Edmonton against the Elks, a heated rival will see Rider Nation first.
The CFL schedule was released Tuesday.
After the Riders visit the Elks on June 11, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be at Mosaic Stadium on June 16 for Saskatchewan’s first home regular-season game of the year.
Saskatchewan will host the B.C. Lions in a pre-season contest on May 27 and then visit Winnipeg for a pre-season bout on June 2.
The Riders once again won’t play in Toronto in 2023 — those teams met in Touchdown Atlantic in Wolfville, N.S. — as their July 29 game against the Argos is set to take place at a neutral site.
Saskatchewan will host Toronto in the final week of the regular season on Oct. 21.
Saskatchewan also will not play a game in Hamilton, only facing the Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium on Oct. 7.
The Montreal Alouettes won’t visit Mosaic Stadium next season, with the only meeting between the two taking place at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Aug. 11.
Saskatchewan will visit the nation’s capital for the first time since 2019 this upcoming season. The Roughriders will take on the Redblacks in Ottawa on Sept. 22.
The Riders’ schedule in 2023 will see them face off against each of their West Division opponents — the Elks, Bombers, Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions — three times.
Saskatchewan will also have three Sunday home games next season — Aug. 6 against Ottawa, Aug. 20 versus the Lions, and the Labour Day Classic on Sept. 3 against Winnipeg.
The Roughriders’ bye weeks are in Week 4, Week 12, and Week 21, the final week of the regular season.
The season will culminate with the 110th Grey Cup on Nov. 19. All playoff games except for the Grey Cup will be played on Saturdays in the coming season.