The Winnipeg Blue Bombers welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night as each team looks to punch their ticket to the 111th Gray Cup.

The West final features two squads with strong defenses, veteran quarterbacks, hard-hitting running backs and playmaking receivers. All of which will be on display at Princess Auto Stadium starting at 6:30 pm ET.

CFL 2024 PREMIGATIONS
» Costabile: 3 stories to follow in the western final
» Costabile: 3 reasons why Brady Oliveira will impact the Western final
» Costabile: 3 reasons why Samuel Emilus will impact the western final
» 3 statistics that can become important in the western final
» Head to head: Who has the advantage in the West final?

Winnipeg won the season series, 2-1, and will look to add another to that tally this weekend. It’s been a while since the Riders won in Winnipeg; Including the Western Final in 2021, the Bombers have won their last eight games against their prairie rivals on their home turf. Saskatchewan’s last win in Winnipeg was on September 8, 2018 with Zach Collaros as starting center for the Riders.

But as they say, history is meant to be broken and while Winnipeg hopes to keep the streak alive, the Roughriders are looking to break it and earn their own path to Vancouver.

Here are five things you should know about the Western Final.

THE DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

For anyone who’s a defense fan (hello, I am!), the Western Final features two of the CFL’s best.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defense was the best against the pass in the regular season, eliminating the passing option for offenses all year. The Bombers held their opponent to a league-low 234.8 yards per game through the air over 21 weeks. Quarterbacks were also limited to a league-low 60.9 percent completion rate and passer rating (86.9) against the Blue and Gold D. They were also difficult to score against in 2024, allowing just 20.3 points per game, the fewest of any defense in the CFL.

On the other side of the matchup, the Roughriders were the league’s best against the run and in turnover margin. Saskatchewan allowed just 80.3 yards per game on the ground, the fewest in the league. The unit also finished the regular season first in turnover rate at +26, with 24 interceptions, led by Rolan Milligan Jr.which obtained eight in the year. In last week’s West semifinal, the Riders improved that number to +28 with three more interceptions and just one committed turnover.

The two teams also ranked first and second in fewest first downs allowed; Winnipeg was first with an average of 17.3 first downs per game and Saskatchewan was right behind with 19.2.

Will the West final become a defensive battle?

THE GREAT ARTISTS OF THE SEASON SERIES

Speaking of defense, there were defensive players on both teams who had great performances during the three-game season series.

For the riders, Rolan Milligan Jr. and James Thurman They were key factors in the second and third level of the defense. Both recorded 15 total defensive tackles in the three matchups.

Evan Holm and Willie Jefferson They were the Bombers’ best players against their prairie rivals. Holm tallied a whopping 20 defensive tackles in the series, while Jefferson had nine defensive tackles and two sacks. Jefferson is preparing for his 12th playoff appearance and is known for making big plays in those big games. He has five sacks in the playoffs, four forced fumbles, five pass breakups and 13 tackles in those postseason games.

Oh, and don’t forget Tyrell Ford I had a pair of INTs in Trevor Harris in the Labor Day weekend rematch.

With two elite defenses going head-to-head on Saturday, it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see these five guys (or any of the other 11 in the field with them) stepping up to the plate with a trip to the 111th Gray Cup on the line. .

TREVOR HARRIS DOING TREVOR HARRIS THINGS

Trevor Harris He only played in two of the three meetings between these two clubs and although the team did not win, he did everything he could to give them a chance. Over the two games, Harris threw for 655 yards, five touchdowns, and the aforementioned two interceptions.

Heading into the West final, including last week’s semifinal, Harris has won his last five starts. His last defeat? Against Winnipeg in week 14.

In last week’s game against the Lions, Harris did exactly what Harris does well; He was efficient and accurate and moved down the field with just one completion for more than 30 yards. The 38-year-old completed 26 of 33 passes for 279 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and an efficiency rating of 113.1.

“He’s the key to that, to that offense, right?” Jefferson said after the team’s closed walkthrough on Friday. “If we can get to him, we will make it difficult for him to find his targets early. “We can knock down some balls, get it moving and not be able to just nickel and dime each other down the field and stuff like that, we can have a good game.”

With his dominance in the postseason (see my last week’s piece here for all the records that Harris maintained before that game), and their personal success against Winnipeg, can the Riders win and move on to the 111th Gray Cup?

WILL IT BE FIVE IN A ROW?

From Zach Collaros became a Winnipeg Blue Bomber, all they do is win, win, win no matter what.

Collaros transferred to Winnipeg in 2019 and led Winnipeg to wins in the Western Semifinal and Western Final, earning their way to the 107th Gray Cup, where they beat Hamilton for the coveted trophy.

Since then, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Collaros and the Bombers have hosted the Western Final and won, earning trips to the Gray Cup in four consecutive seasons. They will look to do it all again this year and make five appearances in a row on Saturday.

If they do so, they will join Edmonton (six: 1977-1982), Regina Roughriders (five: 1928-1932) and Hamilton (five: 1961-1965) as clubs with at least five consecutive appearances. If they make it to the Gray Cup, it will be the first time Winnipeg has made it to the big show five times in a row.

As everyone who watched the CFL this year has seen, Winnipeg has been one of the hottest teams down the stretch of the regular season. They have won nine of their last 10 games overall and have beaten their opponents in six of their last seven home games. Can they do one more on Saturday?

KICKERS ARE PEOPLE TOO

Sometimes forgotten but always important, the kickers, Brett Lauther and sergiocastillocould be an X factor in Saturday’s contest.

Lauther scored more than 200 points for the first time in his career and was the only kicker in the league who did not miss a single conversion in the season (39 of 39). The final stretch of Lauther’s season was perfect, with the Truro, Nova Scotia native going 22-for-22 in the final six games of the regular season. He was also good on both field goal attempts in last week’s West semifinal against BC. In his playoff career, Lauther has connected on 15 of 17 attempts.

In addition to kicking the 51-yard field goal that clinched the West Division in Week 21, Castillo has brought in money from a distance for the Bombers. He connected on 11 of his 16 attempts from beyond 50 yards, including two of 60.

If big yards and scores are hard to come by on Saturday, every point will matter and their teams can rely heavily on these two to add to the scoreboard.