CFL Preview - Winnipeg (6-3) at Saskatchewan (6-2) (ET)

GAME NOTES: In the highly-competitive West Division of the CFL there is very little room for error, something both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders are keenly aware of as they do battle at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Both teams have amassed 12 points in the standings thanks to six wins, although the Blue Bombers have played one more game than Saskatchewan. Both squads are trailing Edmonton and Calgary which are tied for first in the division with records of 7-1, although they are set to face off against each other in Week 10 action as well.

Since falling to Toronto and British Columbia in the second and third games of the season, respectively, the Riders have rebounded and picked up some momentum, thanks in part to a 20-16 victory over the Lions last Sunday. Against a team whose president (Dennis Skulsky) guaranteed a win or would offer free tickets to a future game to all in attendance, it was offensive lineman Dan Clark who played the hero for the Riders as he caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Tino Sunseri for the game-winning score.

Sunseri, who finished the meeting 8-of-13 for 86 yards, came on in relief of starting quarterback Darian Durant after the later experienced an apparent injury to his throwing hand and took a seat on the bench. Durant was 9-of-15 for 104 yards through the air. On the ground, it was Will Ford who ran for a game-high 108 yards on 10 carries as the Riders put up 228 yards on 31 attempts, compared to just 56 yards for the Lions.

Defensively, Saskatchewan limited the hosts to a mere 229 yards of total offense and watched BC suffered 12 penalties for a loss of 104 yards. The Riders got the job done even while John Chick was being double-teamed most of the day. The league leader in sacks with 12, was limited to just a single tackle in the match.

It was slow going for the Blue Bombers in the first half against Montreal last Friday night, as the hosts scored just a single point on a 46-yard kick by Lirim Hajrullahu in the first quarter. The squad began to show signs of life in the third quarter thanks to a one-yard punt block return for a touchdown by Don Unamba, putting them on the road to a 24-16 victory at home.

Nic Grigsby added a 26-yard TD run in the fourth and Hajrullahu three successful field goals as Winnipeg secured the victory over a hapless Montreal squad.

Drew Willy converted a total of just 14 passes for 200 yards, was intercepted once and sacked three times.

The defense for the Bombers limited Alex Brink, the Montreal starting quarterback, to just 14 total yards on 5-of-7 passing. Because of that, the Als turned to Jonathan Crompton to finish out the meeting and Winnipeg ended up sacking him twice and picking off three of his pass attempts.

Willy didn't have his best game the last time out for the Bombers, but still he ranks second in the league in passing yards (2,358) and has an efficiency rating of 90.6, a mark that exceeds that of Durant (86.1) who has completed only 60.1 percent of his passes and has almost as many INTs (five) as TDs (seven).

Saskatchewan won the first meeting of the season earlier this month by a score of 23-17 on the road, which means the Riders have now taken six of the last seven matchups and 11 of 13 versus the Bombers overall.

In terms of a more detailed history between the clubs, Winnipeg is ahead by a count of 128-98-4 when tracing back regular-season matchups to 1936.

One of these teams will have a shot at revenge just seven days following this meeting as they get together in Winnipeg for the third and final regular- season clash.

This is a game that could easily hinge on the availability and level of play of Durant. Winnipeg's defense showed signs of life last week, but it should be noted that the strong play came against a woeful Montreal squad and not too much stock should be put into what the Bombers accomplished in that particular meeting. Still, at least Winnipeg didn't stumble against the Alouettes as it tries to keep pace in the division standings.