Rare Video: The one team the Riders have never lost to in preseason

Preseason doesn’t count in the standings, but there is one team that has never beaten the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

That’s right. The Green and White are undefeated in preseason against (drum roll please)… the Sacramento Gold Miners.

June 29, 1994 is the only occasion when the riders faced an American team in the CFL preseason. It happened during a quirky time in the CFL when the league had expanded to several markets down south.

The preseason game was not televised, and back then, no one even knew what streaming was. Most didn’t have internet either.

But we found some rare footage of the game on a Beta tape (we’ll explain what those are some other time) in our CTV archives.

The CFL’s American team did not need to have any Canadian players.

But that didn’t stop former University of Saskatchewan Huskie Dan Farthing from finding space in the Sacramento secondary for a catch that put the riders on the one yard line.

And Mike Saunders, a shifty and agile running back, made the Goldminers defence miss several times.

Saskatchewan went on to win the game 19-4.

The Gold miners remain the only team the riders have never lost against in the preseason. And the only U.S team ever to face the Green and White in a preseason contest.