The over-under for Roughriders wins in 2012 is 8.5
Sometimes having too much time on your hands can be a bad thing, like when it leads you to start a petition requesting Betty White on the cover of the next Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. And sometimes it leads to interesting discoveries, like the amount of whisky necessary to impair a ferrett’s ability to drive. This post presumably falls somewhere in between.
You see, we’ve got some good news and some bad news for the often-cheeky-and-fun-but-occasionally-cruel-and-tragic denizens of Rider Nation. Since the advent of the CFL’s 18-game schedule in 1986, 10 teams have finished with five wins and returned the next season. On one hand, most (seven) showed improvement the next year. On the other, those 10 teams only combined for 70 wins, meaning the average record the following season is a sub-par 7-11 while the median number of wins is 7.5. Combined with a seemingly-strong offseason so far for GM Brendan Taman and new head coach Corey Chamblin, and it seems fair to expect an eight or nine-win season next year in Riderville but not much more.
Then of course there is the really bad news: Two more teams (the 1994 Las Vegas Posse and the 1995 Shreveport Pirates) have finished with five wins since 1986 and did not live to redeem themselves, thus scientifically proving there is a 16.67 per cent chance the Riders will fold before the 2012 season begins.
For your viewing pleasure, here is the complete list of all five-win teams in the CFL since 1986. Of note, four spots on the list are held by the Saskatchewan Roughriders – one of which (1987-88) represents the single biggest year-over-year improvement by regular season record, and one of which (1996-97) included a trip to the Grey Cup, the only team on this list to do so.
1987 Saskatchewan Roughriders
1988: 11-7
1994 Las Vegas Posse
1995: Folded
1995 Shreveport Pirates
1996: Folded
1996 Saskatchewan Roughriders
1997: 8-10 (lost Grey Cup)
1996 B.C. Lions
1997: 8-10
1998 Saskatchewan Roughriders
1999: 3-15
2000 Saskatchewan Roughriders
2001: 6-12
2003 Calgary Stampeders
2004: 4-14
2004 Ottawa Renegades
2005: 7-11
2005 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2006: 9-9
2005 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2006: 4-14
2007 Edmonton Eskimos
2008: 10-8
