Defending Grey Cup champion Riders host Rourke, Lions, in opener for both teams

B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke (12) looks up at the scoreboard against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during first half CFL pre-season football action in Winnipeg on Friday, May 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

REGINA — The B.C. Lions are going from a bye week to a big test early in the CFL season, and that is fine with star quarterback Nathan Rourke.

The Lions will visit the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders after both teams had the opening week off. After going through the grind of training camp and the unusual quirk of sitting idle for the opening week, both teams are locked and loaded for Saturday’s game.

Rourke, the CFL’s most outstanding player and outstanding Canadian in 2025, sees an opportunity in opening the campaign against the defending Grey Cup champions.

“It’s a great measure to see where this team is at. To get them early is great,” said Rourke, who completed 352 of 500 passes last season for 5,290 yards with 31 touchdowns and 16 interceptions last season.

“You’re playing against the best; you get to see where you’re at. It’s a tough environment as well, so we get to see just how dialled into our roles.”

Riders quarterback Trevor Harris is also looking forward, putting Saskatchewan’s 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes in the rearview mirror.

“We’re not chasing last year; we’re chasing a standard we set, and we’re trying to go higher,” Harris said. “What happened last year with the standard we’ve set? How are we going to respond to that? Are we going to say, ‘We’re cool’? Now the response is ‘Let’s higher the standard.”

The teams played each other four times in 2025. Saskatchewan won two of the three regular season games and advanced to the Grey Cup with a last-second victory in the Western final, when Tommy Nield snagged a short touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

Rourke missed the first contest between the teams last year, a 37-18 Saskatchewan victory that saw Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback for the Lions with Jake Maier starting in place of an injured Harris for the Riders.

In the ensuing three games, Rourke threw for 995 yards, completing 70 of 99 passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

When asked if the Riders need to stop or just control Rourke to win Saturday, head coach Corey Mace said that he believes any team can win on any given day in the CFL.

“The quarterback position is extremely important in this sport in general. I’m not sure how many games he may have missed last year, but I know they weren’t undefeated,” Mace said. “That would tell me that whether you slow him down or he has a good day or you stop him, every team is beatable in this league, so they’re not excluded from that.”

While Rourke is facing expectations of matching or improving on last year’s statistics, Harris is dealing with a different kind of number — his age.

Entering his 14th CFL season, Harris turned 40 on May 31. When it comes to professional football, most careers are over long before then, and Harris is aware of that. He’s also aware that there are expectations from some that his level of play will drop because of the ongoing battle with Father Time.

Harris, who led the CFL in completion percentage in 2025 at 73.6 per cent and was named MVP of the Grey Cup game, is confident he will prove the doubters wrong.

“I’ve been preparing for this stage of my career for the last 10-15 years, and so I’ve told people over the last three, four or five years that age will not be what makes me decline,” he said. “It won’t be a physical decline; it’ll be when I want to be done. That’s what I hope, but maybe someday they’ll believe me.”

Harris was second in the CFL in QB rating (110.7) after completing 348 of 473 passes for 4,549 yards with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He saved his best performance for last, setting a Grey Cup single-game record for completion percentage, connecting on 23 of 27 attempts for an 85.2 per cent complete rate.

B.C. LIONS (0-0) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (0-0)

Saturday at Mosaic Stadium

STORIED RIVALS: Saturday’s game marks the 210th all-time regular season game between the Lions and Riders since B.C. joined the Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1954. The Riders lead the series 108-97 with four ties. Saskatchewan has won three of the last four regular-season games, and since 2023, the teams have collected four victories each.

HIGH OCTANE OFFENCE: In 2025, the B.C. offence became the first team since 2010 to average over 430 yards per game (430.2). The Lions’ offence averaged 8.2 yards per play while leading the CFL in points per game (31.1), 30-plus yard completions (41), second down conversion efficiency (52.6 per cent) and touchdown drive percentage (25.2 per cent).

STARTING OFF WITH A BANG: The Riders have the CFL’s longest current streak of wins in season opening games with five straight victories beginning in 2021. Their combined record in the first two games of the season since 2021 is 9-1.

This report by Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press, was first published on June 12, 2026.