Toronto @ Saskatchewan preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2017 ) Saskatchewan 21, Toronto 25

The Toronto Argonauts begin defence of the Grey Cup when they hit the road to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday. The Argonauts didn't clinch the East Division title until the last day of the season, but caught lightning in a bottle as they beat the Roughriders 25-21 in the final seconds of the East final and shocked the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders 27-24 in the championship game.

Toronto's hopes of winning back-to-back Grey Cups received a considerable boost as Ricky Ray, who threw for 5,546 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2017, decided to return for one more season after contemplating retirement. There is a growing sense of optimism in Regina that the Roughriders have the horses to compete for their first West Division title since 2009. Saskatchewan notched 10 victories in 2017 before knocking off the Ottawa Redblacks 31-20 in its first playoff game, but blew a late lead to the Argonauts in the East Division final and hope to avenge the heartbreaking defeat by winning its first season opener in four years. Saskatchewan is pinning its hopes on Zach Collaros, who was obtained in a trade with Hamilton, returning to his 2015 form when he was the front runner for the league's Most Outstanding Player award, as the Roughriders look to end Calgary and Edmonton's duopoly in the West Division.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN2

ABOUT THE ARGONAUTS (2017: 9-9): Toronto signed James Franklin to a two-year contract extension early in the calendar year and the former Missouri Tiger star was presumed to be the starter until Ray ultimately decided to return for one more year. James Wilder Jr. looks to build on a sensational rookie campaign after racking up 1,405 yards of total offence en route to the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie honours. DeVier Posey, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Grey Cup after hauling in seven passes for 175 yards and a touchdown against the Stampeders, left in the offseason to pursue a career in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (2017: 10-8): Saskatchewan released a trio of experienced wide receivers as Rob Bagg, who spent the last nine years with the Roughriders, Chad Owens and Bakari Grant failed to make the opening week roster. "It's a young man's game unfortunately and we had a couple of young guys perform really well over the course of camp," Saskatchewan coach Chris Jones admitted to reporters. "You have to be willing to make tough decisions." The Roughriders bolstered their pass rush with the acquisition of perennial all-star Charleston Hughes, who recorded 37 sacks in the previous three seasons with Calgary.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Saskatchewan has won the last three straight regular-season meetings with Toronto.

2. Hughes led the CFL with 11 sacks in 2017.

3. Ray leads all active quarterbacks with 60,429 passing yards.

PREDICTION: Roughriders 23, Argonauts 20