The Riders-Bombers rivalry starts early this year, and with a surprising team as the favourite

One of the most interesting elements of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers moving back to the West Division this year is how it affects the Saskatchewan-Winnipeg rivalry. The Riders and Bombers have traditionally had one of the CFL's best rivalries, as shown in everything from the Banjo Bowl to premiers' trash talk to dueling billboards. However, over the last decade-plus, that rivalry's been limited to two games a year; the Labour Day Classic on Labour Day Sunday in Regina, and the Banjo Bowl following a week later in Winnipeg. With the Bombers back in the West, the teams now play at least a third game against each other annually. This year, that extra game comes early. It takes place Thursday in Winnipeg (8:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3), and it should provide an excellent glimpse into where these rivals are at this time around.

There's an unexpected team favoured in this one, as the Bombers are 5-1 and atop of both the CFL standings and our power rankings. Meanwhile, the Riders are 3-2 and coming off back-to-back wins, but they're tied for last in the West and are fourth in our rankings. That's different from the usual fortunes of these teams: over the last five years, Winnipeg's 30-60 with one winning season and one Grey Cup appearance (2011), while Saskatchewan's 44-45-1 with three winning seasons, two Grey Cup appearances and one Grey Cup victory (2013). Will the Blue Bombers be able to maintain their advantage Thursday, or will this series take a more traditional swing?

The most critical player matchup in this may be one that both sides are quite familiar with, Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy. Willy has been great for the Bombers this year, throwing for 1,662 yards (second in the league) with a 65.5 per cent completion mark and seven touchdowns against four interceptions. However, the Roughriders know him very well; he served as a Saskatchewan backup from 2012 to 2013. It will be interesting to see what defensive coordinator Richie Hall and his guys do to contain Willy. Of course, there's a flip side there too; Willy knows what the Riders' defence likes to normally do and what its players' tendencies are, which may help him out. We'll see which side can put their knowledge of the other to good usage Thursday.

There's also going to be lots of familiarity when the Riders are on offence, particularly from Saskatchewan running back Will Ford, who was cut by Winnipeg earlier this year. We'll see how motivated he is to get revenge on his old team. Also, Winnipeg defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry held the same role with Saskatchewan from 2008-2010. While he was there before current Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin or current offensive coordinator George Cortez, his units regularly went against still-starting quarterback Darian Durant in practice, as well as some of the Riders' current receivers like Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg. Again, there's a flip side to that; while Etcheverry knows their tendencies, they also know his.

One element that suggests this might be closer than the standings suggest? The point differentials. Winnipeg's +28 on the year, but Saskatchewan's +27. Granted, a lot of those Saskatchewan points came in last week's 38-14 blowout road win over Ottawa, but the Bombers played the Redblacks too, and only managed to beat them by eight at home. Beyond that, Winnipeg has the league's best offence by points (28.0), but Saskatchewan is second (26.2), and the Bombers are fourth in yards per game (325.5), but the Riders are fifth (325.2). Saskatchewan leads the league in yards per rush (5.9), but Winnipeg's tops in yards per pass (8.6). Thus, this could easily turn into a high-scoring shootout. We'll see which team is able to use their familiarity with their opponent to their advantage. Regardless of what happens here, this should be a great rivalry game, and it should provide plenty of talking points heading into the Labour Day Classic and the Banjo Bowl. Having Bombers-Riders come early doesn't feel like a bad thing at all.