GAME NOTES: It was quite a coming out party for Marcus Crandell. Crandell spent most of last year from the sidelines watching Kerry Joseph capture the CFL's outstanding player award and lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to just their third Grey Cup title in franchise history. But Crandell found himself elevated to the No. 1 job in the offseason when the Riders traded Joseph to Toronto. And rookie coach Ken Miller's confidence in the former backup, who threw for two touchdowns in leading the Riders to a 34-13 season-opening win over Edmonton, made Miller's CFL head coaching debut a successful one. Crandell was 19-of-29 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Riders. His biggest play was a 73-yard TD toss to Adrius Bowman in the fourth quarter that gave Saskatchewan a 27-13 lead and effectively cemented the victory. Crandell and the Riders broke open a close game by scoring 18 points in the final quarter before a Mosaic Stadium sellout. But Crandell did have some help as Wes Cates rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns, including one on a 12-yard run with less than three minutes to play. Bowman had six catches for 112 yards and the touchdown. It's not as if Crandell doesn't know what to do under center. In 2001, he led the Calgary Stampeders to a Grey Cup victory, capping his season by being named the game MVP. His coach that season was none other than Wally Buono, the B.C. Lions head coach and general manager. The Lions opened their season with a disappointing 28-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. They will be looking to avoid their second straight defeat. Last year, B.C. posted the CFL's best record at 14-3-1. Both starter Buck Pierce and backup Jarious Jackson played against Calgary. Pierce was 9-of-14 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown while Jackson finished 8-of-18 passing for 85 yards with a touchdown and interception. Calgary was able to sack B.C. quarterbacks four times and force three turnovers. Joe Smith, who led the CFL in rushing last year with over 1,500 yards, ran for 54 yards on 11 carries for the Lions. But a major surprise was the Stampeders being able to roll up 457 total yards against the Lions defense. Included in that total was 197 yards rushing, with running back Joffrey Reynolds accounting for 125 yards rushing while receiver Ken-Yon Rambo had eight catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. The numbers: B.C. was a league-best 7-2 at home last year and 8-1-1 against division rivals. Saskatchewan was 6-3 on the road in '07 and 6-4 within its division. Keys to the game: Last year, Smith was a big, big part of the success of the Lions offense. His ability to chew up huge chunks of yards on the ground not only gave rival defenses fits, but also made B.C. a pretty potent team because opponents had to respect the unit's ability to run the football. He wasn't much of a factor against Calgary, which allowed the revamped Stampeders defense to go after the Lions' quarterbacks and wreak havoc. But given B.C.'s inability to stop the run against Calgary, the expectation is the Riders will give Cates the ball to see if he can establish the ground game and keep the Lions' defenders off Crandell's back. The truth of the matter is B.C. remains a very talented team and a clear favorite to not only win the West but also contend for the Grey Cup. The Lions should play much better at home and give the defending Grey Cup champions all they can handle. The Lions are simply too good to fall to 0-2.