OTTAWA - This was hardly the start Ryan Dinwiddie envisioned when he took over as head coach and general manager of the Ottawa Redblacks.
The two-time Grey Cup champion coach is facing an 0-4 record after a tough 27-22 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.
鈥淣o doubt we鈥檙e in quicksand,鈥 admitted Dinwiddie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a long race, but we鈥檙e far behind 鈥 We鈥檙e in a tough spot right now but you know we gotta get a win, find a way to win, do the little things it takes to win and get some momentum going.鈥
Dinwiddie liked his team鈥檚 start after it jumped out to a 10-0 first quarter lead, but a few penalties and missed opportunities proved to be the difference.
鈥淚 mean, you can鈥檛 practice not taking penalties right?鈥 said Dinwiddie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just beyond me some of the stuff we've done.鈥
Ottawa took six penalties for 37 yards, but it was the type and the time of the penalties that were frustrating to Dinwiddie. There was one taken on an offensive punt return, and a time-count violation on third and two while trying to draw the defence offside that forced them to settle for a field goal.
鈥淚 told those guys they鈥檝e got to look in the mirror a little bit,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 go out there and play for you and not take penalties. We preach it all the time.鈥
Ottawa managed to contain Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris to just 243 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Redblacks' QB Jake Maier finished 23-for-30 for 259 yards and one touchdown.
Despite being held to his lowest passing-yardage total of the season, Harris moved past Tom Clements into 12th on the CFL's all-time passing list with 39,115 yards.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have my best game,鈥 admitted Harris. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 on my 鈥楢鈥 game in terms of how I鈥檝e been playing this year, but you know when your team needs you to step up and make a play we鈥檙e able to kind of come up with a touchdown drive.鈥
Harris showed why he鈥檚 considered one of the league鈥檚 best early in the second quarter when he put together a 10-play drive that resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dhel Duncan-Busby to leave the Roughriders trailing 10-7.
The teams went on to exchange field goals and headed into the half tied 13-13.
A turning point in the game was a 101-yard Mathew Sexton punt return early in the third quarter that gave Saskatchewan its first lead of the game.
Ottawa started the half well but saw a drive halted when rookie receiver Cade McDonald was grounded on his way to a first down. Ottawa was forced to punt and Sexton capitalized.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what it is about this place, it鈥檚 hard to play, weird stuff happens,鈥 said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. 鈥淲e responded when we needed to. As always tons to look at to get better, but we needed to get back to 1-0 this week and we did that.鈥
Things don鈥檛 get any easier for the Redblacks with a short turnaround before they face the Elks on Thursday in Edmonton.
There鈥檚 no denying players are starting to feel frustration with how the season has unfolded. For veterans like fullback Anthony Gosselin this is all too familiar, but he believes the Redblacks are better than their record indicates.
He believes Dinwiddie has assembled a solid roster and players needed time to learn a new system and to jell as a group and went as far as calling a Redblacks win in Edmonton.
鈥淚 call a win every week,鈥 said Gosselin. 鈥淏ut this week we have to believe it. We鈥檝e already played Edmonton, we know them a little better so I think we鈥檙e going there on a business trip, we鈥檙e going to win.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published July 3, 2026.
UP NEXT
Roughriders: Host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday, July 12.
Redblacks: Visit the Edmonton Elks on Thursday.
This report by 好色tvwas first published July 3, 2026.
