Roughriders won't underestimate winless Elks as Tre Ford starts for Edmonton

The Edmonton Elks have yet to win a game this season but the Saskatchewan Roughriders aren't about to underestimate their opponent heading into Saturday’s CFL clash at Mosaic Stadium.

The Riders (5-2) enter the game tied for first place in the West Division with the B.C. Lions, while the Elks (0-7) are looking to get into the win column for the first time since Sept. 15, 2023, when they beat Saskatchewan 36-27.

Rider Nation believes it should be an easy victory for Saskatchewan, but head coach Corey Mace said his charges are prepared for a tough game.

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“Say what you want, it's hard to win in this league," Mace said. "They've been in a lot of close games. They've got a really talented roster with great athletes so we’re not talking about a cakewalk. There's no such thing in professional sports.

"We’ve got to be dialed in or we're going to find ourselves in a situation, so we’ve got to prep like we do every week."

Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Riders will be the Elks' quarterback switch.

Elks interim head coach Jarious Jackson announced Tre Ford will get the nod after free-agent signing McLeod Bethel-Thompson started all seven games this season.

Ford made a bold statement about his spot in Edmonton's lineup with a dynamic performance in the fourth quarter of a 44-28 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week.

Ford took over from Bethel-Thompson with the Elks trailing 34-6. In one quarter of work, he completed 10 of 15 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns.

The 26-year-old started 10 games last season, posting a 4-6 record. He remained grounded after the Hamilton game and understands what he needs to do to be successful against the Riders.

“There’s always little things you can critique but when you play football, nothing's going to be perfect," Ford said. "There's always going to be things that don't go your way. There's things that will go your way. You just have to be able to adapt and go on the fly.

“I just expect to go in and do my job. I'm not going to go in and try to be a superhero and change what we've been doing. I'm just going to try to do what I can do, execute at a high level and get my receivers and running backs the ball and let them be the heroes and be the superstars.”

Ford was impressive in last season’s victory over the Riders, completing 13 of 20 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran eight times for 70 yards and one touchdown.

Given the amount he played last season, Jackson said the Canadian quarterback won’t be taking teams by surprise this season.

Mace had mixed feelings when asked if it’s easier to prepare for Ford this season given the amount of game footage that’s available of him from 2023.

“Maybe. You know Tre is going to run around and we know that he's a tremendous athlete," he said. "But what I will mention is his progression of what he's become as a pocket passer compared to last year and the things he probably worked on in the off-season, in training camp and in the season at this point.

“We know he can make plays with his legs, but he wants to be taken seriously as a quarterback as well. We’ve got to respect that because he does have a tremendous arm."

Saturday’s game is the second of three regular-season meetings between the two teams. The Riders outscored the Elks 21-3 in the fourth quarter to record a 29-21 victory in Edmonton on June 8. The third meeting is set for Oct. 5 in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.