The 1997 Saskatchewan Roughriders finished in third place in the West Division with an 8–10 record and lost in the 85th Grey Cup game to the Doug Flutie-led Toronto Argonauts. Despite finishing the season tied with the BC Lions, the Roughriders were placed above the Lions after winning the season series three games to one. The 'Riders proceeded to upset the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 33–30 in the West-Semi Final and then defeated the favoured Edmonton Eskimos 31–30 to proceed to the Grey Cup game.

Offseason

CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School/Club team 1 2 Ben Fairbrother Offensive lineman Calgary 2 13 Chris Szarka Fullback Eastern Illinois 4 26 Mark Raphael Cornerback Ottawa 5 34 Andre Batson Wide receiver York 6 42 Dan Comiskey Offensive Lineman Windsor

Ottawa Rough Riders Dispersal Draft RoundPickPlayerPos01David ArcherQB12Lamar McGriggsLB210Shawn DanielsFB318Dave DinnallRB426Profall GrierRB

Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record B Fri, June 13 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 39–21 1–0 Taylor Field 19,681 C Thurs, June 19 at Edmonton Eskimos L 18–24 1–1 Commonwealth Stadium 32,291

Regular season

Season standings

Saskatchewan finished ahead of BC in the standings because they defeated BC in 3 of their 4 regular season meetings.

Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 Thur, June 26 at BC Lions W 24–23 1–0 BC Place 18,881 2 2 Fri, July 4 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 18–24 1–1 Taylor Field 25,751 3 3 Sat, July 12 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 27–23 2–1 Taylor Field 22,956 4 4 Fri, July 18 at Calgary Stampeders L 13–22 2–2 McMahon Stadium 30,366 5 5 Sat, July 26 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 21–19 3–2 Taylor Field 26,483 6 6 Thur, July 31 at Edmonton Eskimos L 34–37 3–3 Commonwealth Stadium 30,917 7 7 Fri, Aug 8 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 30–20 4–3 Ivor Wynne Stadium 12,582 8 8 Fri, Aug 15 vs. BC Lions L 26–39 4–4 Taylor Field 28,556 9 9 Thur, Aug 21 at Toronto Argonauts L 1–27 4–5 SkyDome 17,330 10 10 Sun, Aug 31 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 12–43 4–6 Taylor Field 29,788 11 11 Sun, Sept 7 vs. BC Lions W 46–12 5–6 Taylor Field 22,966 12 12 Sun, Sept 14 at Calgary Stampeders L 24–28 5–7 McMahon Stadium 28,414 13 13 Sun, Sept 21 vs. Montreal Alouettes L 22–24 5–8 Taylor Field 25,570 14 14 Sun, Sept 28 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 29–5 6–8 Taylor Field 29,361 15 15 Fri, Oct 3 at Montreal Alouettes L 29–30 6–9 Olympic Stadium 12,322 16 16 Fri, Oct 10 at BC Lions W 26–19 7–9 BC Place 22,399 17 17 Sun, Oct 19 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 22–19 8–9 Taylor Field 31,909 18 18 Fri, Oct 24 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 9–55 8–10 Winnipeg Stadium 30,222

Roster 1997 Saskatchewan Roughriders final roster Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen G C G G/T T T

Defensive linemen DE DE DT DT

Special teams K/P Linebackers

LS

Defensive backs

Injured list DB LB RB SB G DB DE QB DT LB

Suspended C

Italics indicate American player

Awards and records

CFL All-Star Selections Bobby Jurasin, Defensive End John Terry, Offensive Tackle

Western All-Star Selections Bobby Jurasin, Defensive End John Terry, Offensive Tackle

References