‘Their quarterback is pretty good’: Roughriders ready to face MOP candidate Rourke in West final

Saskatchewan takes on the B.C. Lions this week, aiming to slow CFL’s top QB Nathan Rourke. Donovan Maess has more.

Despite feeling having home field is an advantage come Saturday’s West Division final, the road to the Grey Cup for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is no easy trip.

“I can list all the obstacles,” head coach Corey Mace said Tuesday. “Their defense is playing really well. Their special teams, I thought, was the start of the game last week.”

“And the quarterback’s pretty good at football,” he added.

That quarterback, Nathan Rourke, is nominated for the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian awards this season.

He was second in the league in both passing yards (5,290) and touchdowns (31).

However, Rourke’s legs may be as big a threat as his arm, as he led CFL quarterbacks in rushing – eighth in the entire league – with 564 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

“When a guy like that gets outside of the pocket, you know he can run,” Roughriders’ safety Rolan Milligan Jr. told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “He broke off for 70 yards and scored a touchdown.”

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“He has that and he can still make plays down the field if he gets us out of the pocket,” he added.

Despite his great play, Rourke also threw the most interceptions of any quarterback in the CFL.

“You have to keep them uncomfortable,” Milligan said. “He’s a person. He’ll make mistakes if you keep him uncomfortable. Nobody’s perfect, so you throw different things at him to keep him off his game as best we can.”

Cold weather Nathan

Rourke has played in one previous West Final, in 2022 against the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg.

He threw for 300 yards and a touchdown in the game, but the Winnipeg defence forced an 0-5 start from him and held Rourke to a 54 per cent completion rate, while forcing two interceptions.

“You take those types of things as good learning opportunities,” Rourke told TSN Tuesday. “I think the environments are very similar. It was cold, probably was colder a couple years ago. And it might also have been louder.”

“You look at those situations and you try to learn from them best you can, try to figure out where you went wrong and how you can be better,” the Lions’ QB added.

Rourke was complimentary of the Riders’ defense, which he faced three times this season – losing twice.

“They always have a good plan,” he said. “Corey Mace is a very good defensive coordinator, good defensive mind. He’s going to have a plan for us and he’s going to have a really good scheme and strategy.”

“We’re going to have to figure it out,” Rourke added.

In the two teams last meeting in Week 21, Rourke finished 23/28, 368 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception, the majority of which came against Saskatchewan’s defensive back-ups.

The Riders did defeat the Lions in the 2024 West Semi-Final, however Rourke was on the bench behind Vernon Adams Jr. for the game.

Kickoff Saturday for the 2025 West Division Final is 5:30 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.