Cody Fajardo, upstart Elks eye back-to-back wins over Riders

Nov 1, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; View of a CFL ball with a league french logo on the field during warmups before the CFL Eastern Conference Semi Final at Percival-Molson stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Edmonton Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo delivered the most prolific performance of his 11-year CFL career when he engineered a wild takedown of the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 23. Now he has been asked to do it again. Fajardo and the Western Conference-leading Elks (6-1) look to make it back-to-back wins over the Roughriders (4-2) during Saturday night's rematch in Edmonton. Fajardo passed for a career-best 510 yards to go with four touchdown passes. He also engineered the drive that led to Vincent Blanchard's walk-off, 57-yard field goal for an electric 36-34 road victory. "That guy just lays it out there, leaves his heart on the field every time he plays," Elks coach Mark Kilam said of Fajardo. "That's why I'll ride with that guy forever." Fajardo, 34, was MVP of the 2023 Grey Cup when the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the title game. He was with Montreal again the following season before joining Edmonton for the 2025 campaign. He tossed 14 scoring passes for the Elks last season; he already has 13 in seven games this season. "Nobody expects anything from the underdog," Fajardo said. "It's a good role to be in. More people have jumped on board here or there. But at the end of the day, it's too late. The ship's already left the station. I'm going to do what I'm going to do, no matter what." Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris also performed well in last week's dramatic affair. He passed for 386 yards and a season-best four touchdowns. Harris said his club made fewer plays than the Elks, and that prevented the Roughriders from leaving the field with a victory. "(The Elks) just won because they made one extra play than we did," Harris said. "Ultimately, you could pick a bunch of plays, and if they went in a different direction, we would have won, but they didn't. (The Elks) did. They made the plays and you tip your hat to them. "I can promise you one thing: We will get better from this and we'll reload." Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette (288 yards in four games) will sit out after sustaining a knee injury in the third quarter of last week's contest. Quali Conley will be Saskatchewan's main back. He has rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in two appearances this season. --Field Level Media