VANCOUVER - Maybe it’s too early to call it a must win for the B.C. Lions.

But for their own good the Lions better win their CFL game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday night (10 p.m. ET).

The Lions looked out of sync and unsure of themselves in last week’s 28-18 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. Another stinker against the defending Grey Cup champions could force Wally Buono, the Lions head coach and general manager, to retool his roster.

“This is not going to fester,” centre Angus Reid said Thursday after the Lions practised at B.C. Place Stadium. “Wally told us this week that we don’t want to force him to have to do something he doesn’t want to do. And he will.

“He thinks right now he has the guys he can win with. If we prove him wrong, he’s going to be forced to do his job and get rid of people. Things will change wildly.”

If the Lions need any more incentive than job security, they are also playing their home-opener against the same Rider team that came into Vancouver last November and upset them in the West Final.

“That can sort of knock two birds with one stone,” said Reid. “We can show that last week is not what you are going to see and prove we can beat this Rider team, at home in front of our fans, and show they can’t come into our stadium this year and do what they did to us last year.”

It’s also a big game for Saskatchewan. Beating the Lions in their own den will show the Riders remain a contender in the West, despite losing head coach Kent Austin and starting quarterback Kerry Joseph, among others, in the off-season.

“It’s a huge litmus test for us,” agreed defensive tackle Scott Schultz. “They are the perennial darlings. They’ve worked hard to get that.

“If you can compete with the B.C. Lions it’s going to be a pretty good yardstick of where our team is going to be headed.”

Buono said when the entire 2008 season is digested the second game will probably be remembered as an appetizer. Still, he’d like to get last week’s bad taste out of his mouth.

“In the long run, when you look at 18 games, I don’t know if (Friday’s game) is going to be significant because there’s a lot of football to be played,” said Buono. “But when you underachieve or embarrass yourself, it is always critical that the next opportunity you rid that picture. Not only in your own mind but in the mind of other people.”

The Lions will start Jarious Jackson at quarterback. Jackson competed just eight of 18 passes for 95 yards, a touchdown and an interception against Calgary when starter Buck Pierce was hurt.

He knows he must be better this week.

“The mindset is totally different,” said Jackson. “I know I’m going to be in the game from start to finish. You know you get to go out there and even if you make a mistake, you get the opportunity to come back and make up for it.”

Buono said Pierce is healthy enough to play if needed, but stressed Jackson has taken over as the Lions starter.

“The order we have today will be best for the club and for the quarterbacks,” said Buono. “Jarious is our starter. He’s got to play well game in and game out and we expect him to do it. You have to have that consistency in quarterback.”

Saskatchewan quarterback Marcus Crandell expects the Lions will show their fangs early.

“We know totally they are going to come out with a different attitude than they did last week,” said Crandell, who threw for 278 yards and a pair of touchdown in a 34-13 win over Edmonton last week.

“Coach Buono is notorious for getting his troops ready after a loss. We expect them at their best. We just have to come out and do what we do, execute on offence, play tough defence and be sound on special teams.”

They may be the defending champions but the Riders are struggling for respect. Some pre-season predictions doubted if Saskatchewan would even make the playoffs.

“Big deal,” snorted Schultz. “There’s a lot of outsiders that are saying these things. The insiders know just how talented a team we have.

“For us, it’s the same old thing. If you exist west of the Ontario boarder there is nothing going on in Canada anyway. We relish the fact that we can come out every year, get in the mix, start cussing and snorting out there, and we’ll be there when the dust settles at the end.”

The loss in Calgary resulted in some hand-wringing among B.C. fans.

Slotback Geroy Simon said it’s time to get over it.

“I think a lot of people are panicking but I don’t think there is a need for everyone to panic,” said Simon. “We played one game and we didn’t play well. It’s time to move on.

“We are going to play a game and we are going to play well and we will be fine.”