# 1997 Saskatchewan Roughriders season

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

| Round | Pick | Player | Pos |
| 0 | 1 | David Archer | QB |
| 1 | 2 | Lamar McGriggs | LB |
| 2 | 10 | Shawn Daniels | FB |
| 3 | 18 | Dave Dinnall | RB |
| 4 | 26 | Profall Grier | RB |

### Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 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

West Division :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 479 | 400 | 24 | Details |
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 522 | 442 | 20 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 413 | 479 | 16 | Details |
| BC Lions | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 429 | 536 | 16 | Details |
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 | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 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
## 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