1-3 Argonauts take on 1-2 Roughriders Saturday in a battle of unexpectedly-struggling teams

The CFL can be a topsy-turvy place at times, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts have found out this season. Both teams went 11-7 last season, with the Argonauts placing first in the East Division and falling in the East Final and the Roughriders winding up second in the West Divsion but winning the Grey Cup. This season has been nightmarish for both teams to date, though, with Toronto putting up just a 1-3 record while being outscored 112-101 and Saskatchewan starting 1-2 while being outscored 59-84. Saturday night's clash between the sides in Regina (10 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN2) could provide an excellent chance for at least one of these squads to start turning things around.

The Argonauts' biggest issue so far has been their inability to defend the pass. Through four weeks of play, they were giving up a league-high 9.8 yards per pass. That's bad enough in and of itself, but it's also notable that there's a big gap between them and everyone else; the CFL's next-worst mark comes from Montreal at 8.6 yards per pass. Teams are also completing 63.8 per cent of passes against Toronto's defence so far, the third-worst mark in the league. Part of that may be the substantial attrition the Argos' defence saw this offseason, part of it may be an adjustment period to new defensive coordinator Tim Burke (previous DC Chris Jones left in November to take over as the Edmonton Eskimos' head coach), but whatever the cause, Toronto will need to get better against aerial attacks if they want to do anything this year. Fortunately for the Argos, the Riders' passing game is also in need of a tune-up; their 56.2 per cent completion rate, 219.3 passing yards per game and 7.4 yard gain per pass are all quite mediocre (third, fourth and fifth-worst in the league respectively). Which struggling unit will take things to a new level Saturday?

What's interesting so far is that both of these sides have been doing some things very well despite their poor records. Toronto led the league in yards of offence per game (411.8), passing yards per game (337.8), first downs (88) and completion percentage (71.6 per cent) heading into Week Five, while Saskatchewan was first in rushing yards per game (129.7) and yards per rush (6.3). Those units won't have easy times this week either, though, as the Argos are decently stout against the run (their 5.4 yards allowed per rush was tied for fourth-best in the league) and the Riders are okay against the pass (7.5 yards allowed per pass, fifth best). Thus, if either Toronto's passing offence or Saskatchewan's rushing offence can maintain their solid performances despite facing tougher defences, that may go a long way to deciding this one.

There will be some interesting personnel battles to watch in this one, too. Will Toronto DB Dwight Anderson (who the Riders traded to the Argonauts following their 48-15 road thumping in Toronto July 5) play a big role against his former teammates? He's certainly talking a big game. Will Saskatchewan RB Will Ford, who the Riders picked up after he was released by Winnipeg, get a lot of touches? Indications point to yes, but will he be able to deliver? Will Toronto's offensive line be able to protect Ricky Ray against a ferocious Rider front four, and will Saskatchewan be able to get receivers open for Darian Durant? All these questions and more should be answered Saturday, in a game that could well prove a potential turning point for at least one of these teams.