The Saskatchewan Roughriders win over Calgary in Week 16 has made their trip to the playoffs all but certain, according to CFL prognosticator Keith Willoughby.
The wildly popular Riders prognostications come from Willoughby, who is the dean for the Edwards school of business at the University of Saskatchewan. He rolled out a series of computer-modelled simulations in his appearance on the 620 CKRM Sportscage. Recent events around the league have had a dramatic impact on the outlook for Riderville.
“The first win by the Riders in 63 days combined with Edmonton losing to Winnipeg, that pushed Edmonton down and elevated the Riders,” Willoughby said.
“It’s the Riders and B.C. neck-and-neck as we see who’s going to finish second in the West and right now the computer has a slight edge to the Lions.”
The projection has the Green and White finishing 8-9-1 with a third-place finish and trip to B.C. for the West Semi-Final, however the Riders do have a 50 percent shot at flipping that script and hosting a playoff game at Mosaic Stadium.
The most important projection of all is for the Roughriders to win the 2024 Grey Cup, which Willoughby said currently sits at 10 percent. The dean credits the unprecedented tightness in the West Division standings for heightened volatility in the projections that could still fluctuate from week-to-week over the last five of the CFL season.
The Riders host the Redblacks on Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium. Countdown to Kick-off begins with a chance to watch Justin Dunk and Wes Cates at 10 a.m. on YouTube. Luc Mullinder and I will join at 12 p.m. with the kick-off to follow at 1 p.m. on the Co-operators Roughrider Radio Network.
