After allowing 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in a loss to Hamilton, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defence is hoping to bounce back against Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions. Roughriders head coach Corey Mace believes a combination of miscues led to the upset loss this past Saturday. “We didn’t play complimentary [football], we lost the turnover battle and lost the penalty battle versus a team who — I think — doesn’t get enough credit,” he said Wednesday. “I think they’re a good football team and they’ve found something when Trey [Ford] is on it.” Ford entered Saturday’s game in the late stages of the third quarter with Saskatchewan leading by nine. The Ti-Cats’ pivot led a late Hamilton comeback win going 13/17 on 151 passing yards and one touchdown. An elusive quarterback in the pocket, Ford added 38 yards on the ground with his legs. Saskatchewan’s defence admitted they did not make the necessary adjustments with the change in quarterback. “It was just a different dynamic,” said linebacker Josh Woods. “We didn’t adjust as much through our play calling — not as far as the calls, but as in us communicating. [Ford] isn’t the same quarterback; we need to alter our thought process a little bit.” “There’s certain things you’ve got to be mindful of: Tre Ford likes to use his legs more. If his reads aren’t there, he’s going to try to run around and make something happen … I hope we learned from that film,” he added. Now the defence is hoping to avert a repeat performance this weekend against the Lions. Rourke, the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player, also brings a dual threat attack to the B.C. backfield. “It goes from the defensive line to the linebackers and then to us,” defensive back DeMarcus Fields said Thursday. “We’ve all got eyes on Rourke and we need to be making sure we just contain him. Really, that’s what we need to do.” So far in 2026, Rourke’s output has been impacted by injury. He’s played in just seven games, going 144/211 for 2,074 yards, nine touchdowns and has thrown six interceptions. He also has 110 yards rushing — averaging 11 yards per carry. Saskatchewan’s defence has already seen success against Rourke this season. In its opening game of the year in Week 2 – the defence held the B.C. quarterback to 330 passing yards and 59 rushing yards in a 31-27 Riders’ victory. “A mobile quarterback is a mobile quarterback,” defensive lineman James Vaughters explained. “You’ve got to keep him in the pocket best you can. If you can’t, he gets out; it’s not really that complicated.” Mace hoped the adjustments his team needs to make will work Sunday. “I’m eager to fix the things we need to fix,” he said. “And that’s all over, in all phases of the team we’ve got to fix. These guys know that, and they’re eager to get the fix in as well.”
