The 2008 Saskatchewan Roughriders season was their 99th season, and their 51st season in the Canadian Football League. The Roughriders attempted to repeat as Grey Cup champions, but lost to the BC Lions in the Western Semi-Final game.

Off-season

Several months after capturing the 2007 Grey Cup, 2007 CFL coach of the Year Kent Austin stepped down as head coach to become the offensive co-ordinator at Ole Miss. In accepting this position in the NCAA, Austin turned down a very lucrative contract that the Riders had offered. On February 6, 2008, Eric Tillman announced that the new head coach would be Ken Miller. Miller was formerly an offensive coordinator under Austin.

Last season's starting quarterback Kerry Joseph was traded to the Toronto Argonauts on March 5, 2008, along with a third round pick in the 2010 CFL Draft in exchange for offensive tackle Glenn January, defensive lineman Ronald Flemons, the Argos' first-round pick in the 2008 CFL Draft and a 2010 second-round selection.

On April 5, 2008 a report was released saying that the Roughriders set a new record for earnings in a single season. At the Roughriders' annual general meeting, Mike Back, the club's vice-president of finance and operations, reported the Roughriders registered a record profit of $1,737,377 in 2007.The Roughriders exceeded the $22-million plateau in total operating revenue and expenditures. This figure eclipsed the previous mark of $15 million. Total net assets increased by $1,998,857 to $5,096,393. These earnings were due in part to the championship season the Roughriders sported, which included 8 home game sellouts and their first home playoff game in 19 years.

CFL Draft

Round	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1 (via Toronto)	Keith Shologan	Defensive Lineman	Central Florida Knights
2 (via Edmonton, via Toronto, via Edmonton)	Jonathan St. Pierre	Offensive Lineman	Illinois State Redbirds
2 (via BC)	Michael Stadnyk	Defensive Lineman	Montana Grizzlies
4 (via BC)	Jean-François Morin-Roberge	Offensive Lineman	Montreal Carabins
5	Jeff Zelinski	Defensive Back	Saint Mary's Huskies
6 (via Hamilton)	Teale Orban	Quarterback	Regina Rams

Pre-season

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance
A	Fri, June 13	BC Lions	33-13	Win	28,800
B	Thurs, June 19	at Edmonton Eskimos	37-7	Lost	33,508

Regular Season

Crowd trouble

On September 20, an unsportsmanlike incident occurred during a game in Saskatchewan. It started in the fourth quarter when Saskatchewan fans became angry about a B.C. play they thought should have been a face mask penalty. Lions defensive back Dante Marsh fired the ball into the stands, and Saskatchewan fans responded by pelting the Lions with full cans of beer. The incident occurred on the night when the Roughriders were honouring past CFL legend Ron Lancaster, who recently died at the age of 69. The club subsequently announced that in order to reduce the probability of a similar incident beer in the east stands (where the visitors bench is) would be sold in plastic cups for at least the remainder of the season.

Ron Lancaster

On Thursday, September 18, Ron Lancaster, 69, died from an apparent heart attack, less than two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.The former Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback, also had a long career as a head coach, with the Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger Cats. He was diagnosed in late July and had been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. Lancaster played 16 seasons with Saskatchewan, and led the team to five Grey Cup appearances. He led the club to their first CFL championship in 1966 when Saskatchewan upset the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14.When he retired in 1978, at the age of 41, he was the league's all-time leader in passing yards (50,535), touchdown passes (333), pass attempts (6,223) and completions (3,384). He also suffered more interceptions than any other quarterback in CFL history. He had also passed for more yards than any passer in professional football history.

Season Standings

West

East

Season Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance	Record
1	Sat, June 28	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	34-14	Win	28,800	1-0
2	Fri, July 4	at BC Lions	26-16	Win	33,815	2-0
3	Sat, July 12	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	33-28	Win	20,874	3-0
4	Sat, July 19	vs. Montreal Alouettes	41-33	Win	28,800	4-0
5	Sun, July 27	vs. Toronto Argonauts	28-22	Win	28,800	5-0
6	Sat, Aug 2	at Calgary Stampeders	22-21	Win	35,650	6-0
7	Thurs, Aug 7	vs. Calgary Stampeders	30-25	Loss	28,800	6-1
8	Bye
9	Thurs, Aug 21	at Edmonton Eskimos	27-10	Loss	48,808	6-2
10	Sun, Aug 31	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	19-6	Win	30,985	7-2
11	Sun, Sept 7	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	34-31	Win	29,770	8-2
12	Sat, Sept 13	at BC Lions	28-23	Loss	38,608	8-3
13	Sat, Sept 20	vs. BC Lions	27-21	Loss	30,945	8-4
14	Sun, Sept 28	at Montreal Alouettes	37-12	Loss	20,202	8-5
15	Fri, Oct 3	vs. Calgary Stampeders	37-34	Win	30,945	9-5
16	Mon, Oct 13	at Calgary Stampeders	42-5	Loss	35,650	9-6
17	Sun, Oct 19	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	30-29	Win	30,945	10-6
18	Sat, Oct 25	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	55-9	Win	30,945	11-6
19	Thurs, Oct 30	at Toronto Argonauts	45-38	Win	28,654	12-6

Roster

Saskatchewan Roughriders roster
Quarterbacks Running Backs RB FB RB FB FB RB Wide Receivers WR SB WR Slotbacks SB SB SB SB		Offensive Linemen RT Centre LG LT C RG RT Defensive Linemen Rush End Off Tackle Quick End Quick End Nose Tackle Quick End DL DL		Linebackers Strong-Side LB Weak-Side LB Middle LB Middle LB Weak-Side LB Weak-Side LB LB Defensive Backs CB CB Halfback CB Halfback Free Safety Halfback Special Teams K P Long Snapper		Reserve List WR RB LT Off Tackle Developmental Squad Injured Lists SB QB SB CB CB (9 Game) Strong-Side LB (9 Game) Free Safety OL (9 Game) RG Long Snapper Nose Tackle WR SB (9 Game) SB (9 Game) WR DL Quick End (9 Game) Suspended List DB Free Safety Italics indicate Import player Roster updated 2008-10-30 Depth Chart • Transactions 46 Active, 11 Inactive, 7 PS → More rosters

Transactions

2008 Saskatchewan Roughriders' Transactions

Player stats

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	%	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Michael Bishop	274	160	58.4	2550	10	13	81.9
Darian Durant	129	77	59.7	1122	7	6	86.8
Marcus Crandell	128	67	52.3	924	7	3	84.3
Steven Jyles	61	42	68.9	533	4	6	76.7
Andy Fantuz	1	0	0.0	0	0	1	(-414.6)

Rushing

Player	No.	Yards	Average	TD	Fumbles
Wes Cates	216	1229	5.7	12	4
Michael Bishop	46	244	5.3	4	5
Darian Durant	27	204	7.6	1	1
Stuart Foord	27	162	7.0	2	0
Neal Hughes	35	130	3.7	4	1

Receiving

Player	No.	Yards	Avg.	Long	TD
Weston Dressler	56	1123	20.1	67	6
Andy Fantuz	36	488	13.6	31	3
Wes Cates	39	451	11.6	40	2
Rob Bagg	22	371	16.9	72	0
Adarius Bowman	23	358	15.6	73	3

Awards and Records

• The Roughriders started the season 6-0 for the first time since 1934.
• Wes Cates, Led CFL, Rushing Touchdowns (12)
• Weston Dressler (SB), Saskatchewan Roughriders – CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award
• Jeremy O'Day (C), Saskatchewan Roughriders – Tom Pate Memorial Award

CFL All-Star Selections

• Wes Cates, Running Back
• Gene Makowsky, Offensive Guard
• Anton McKenzie, Linebacker
• Maurice Lloyd, Linebacker

CFL West All-Star Selections

• Wes Cates, Running Back
• Gene Makowsky, Offensive Guard
• Anton McKenzie, Linebacker
• Maurice Lloyd, Linebacker

Playoffs

West Semi-Final

Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 3:30 PM Central Standard Time

Venue: Mosaic Stadium, Regina, Saskatchewan

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
BC Lions	7	9	10	7	33
Saskatchewan Roughriders	0	6	3	3	12

References

1. CANOE - SLAM! Sports - CFL - Saskatchewan: Riders hire Miller as coach