‘We sent the whole league a message’: Corey Mace’s defence trounces Scott Milanovich’s offence in Rider win

Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders

Hyped as a legitimate Grey Cup preview in Regina, Saturday’s Roughrider-Ticat matchup didn’t live up to its billing.

The Saskatchewan defence, run by head coach Corey Mace, humiliated the Hamilton offence, run by their head coach Scott Milanovich, in a 29-9 rout for the home side.

A sellout crowd rivalled the loudest games we’ve seen from the noise-box in Winnipeg and aided a Roughrider defence that racked up six sacks against Bo Levi Mitchell and intercepted him twice as part of a four-turnover day.

Mace’s men are on a roll, not surrendering a touchdown in 11 of their last 12 quarters of football. That includes back-to-back routs where they’ve held the other side to single digits, something unheard of in this Canadian Football League.

So, is this performance enough to declare the Rider defence the league’s best?

“They’re good,” Milanovich said after his squad was held to 14 fewer points than they have been in any other game this season. “I’m not going to anoint them that. There’s still other good teams that we still have to play.”

Classy in defeat, a battered and beaten Bo Levi Mitchell credited the Rider fans for making life absolutely miserable for him and his passing attack.

“That (crowd noise) definitely helps them,” Mitchell said. “The same way Winnipeg has won for a lot of years at home. They’re a great defence.”

Defensive lineman Mike Rose was in on the festivities with a sack and forced fumble. He says he and his teammates didn’t make much of the Grey Cup preview hype surrounding this game.

“Man, we ain’t worried about them. We’re worried about us. That’s what we’re worried about. We’ve got to play our game. When we play our game, nobody’s beating us,” Rose said.

The Milanovich-Mitchell duo very easily could’ve ended up in Saskatchewan, but didn’t due in part to the Stamps trading Bo’s rights out of the division and Milanovich preferring to spend his winters in Florida rather than Regina.

Corey Mace had no prior head coaching experience when general manager Jeremy O’Day chose him, and not the Grey Cup-winning head coach Milanovich, to lead the Riders before the 2024 season. It was a gutsy move that looks downright genius in light of the 4-0 record for Saskatchewan vs Hamilton since that fork in the road, and especially so after Saturday’s beatdown.

Milanovich and his team are looking better all the time, but it still feels like his and Mace’s coaching careers are intertwined over the Saskatchewan possibilities, despite never having never played or coached together. For now, it is clear that Mace is the one with the upper hand in this battle.

The Riders are all saying the right things and trying very hard not to sound too cocky about the big win, knowing full well they just might have to face these Tiger-Cats another time in the Grey Cup. But make no mistake about it, the Roughriders made a statement on  Saturday that extends far beyond their correct coaching choice.

“I think we sent the whole league a message,” said defensive back Tevaughn Campbell, whose early third-quarter interception zapped any momentum the Ticats might have felt coming out of halftime.

“Our goal is the Grey Cup. That’s everyone’s goal, and we know we’re a team that could get there. It’s just up to who we are going to see in the Grey Cup, and if it’s going to be Hamilton, it’s going to be Hamilton.”

But is anyone surprised it looked so easy for the Roughriders to whack another first-place team like this? Mike Rose says no: “If we don’t do this, I’m more shocked.”

It’s been said that offence is exciting, but defence wins championships. If this week in Riderville is any indication, the Roughriders’ dominant defence just might put that theory to the test this fall.