CALGARY - Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Ken Miller shuffled the underdog card back into the deck Saturday.

He and his team arrived in Calgary earlier this week agreeing with the prevailing wisdom that the Montreal Alouettes were favoured in Sunday's Grey Cup (TSN, 6:30 p.m.).

But Miller stated Saturday that his team has an equal chance of winning its second CFL championship in three years and hoisting Lord Grey's silver trophy over their heads at McMahon Stadium.

"Statistics, scores and everything would say we're underdogs," Miller said. "On the other hand, we're saying this is one game. History doesn't matter, stats don't matter.

"When we tee it up and kick it off tomorrow afternoon, it's a football game between two really good football teams and we're going to give them everything they want and more."

The Als may be favoured, but they aren't the sentimental favourite in Calgary. A sea of green topped with watermelon helmets is expected to turn McMahon into home field for Saskatchewan.

Receiver Andy Fantuz hopes the din produced by Rider Nation works in concert with the Rider defence to disrupt the CFL's best offence, directed by quarterback Anthony Calvillo who was named the league's most outstanding player this year.

"That 13th man … it's just going to be a fun time," Fantuz said. "There's going to be a lot of green here.

Montreal prevailed in both games between the two clubs this season with a 34-25 win Aug. 21 and a 43-10 thumping on July 18. Calvillo threw for a combined 451 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in the two contests

On the defensive side of the ball, the Riders have the onerous chore of containing Calvillo, receiver Avon Cobourne and running back Ben Cahoon.

But Saskatchewan has the personnel to do it. Defensive ends Stevie Baggs and John Chick combined for 33 sacks this season. Chick was named the CFL's top defensive lineman this week.  He, along with Baggs and linebacker Sean Lucas are among the best in the league at forcing fumbles.

"We've got to fly around and do the things we do," defensive back Lance Frazier said. "We have to be physical with these guys.

"They are the best receiving corps and the best offence in the league. You have to give them different looks, you can't be stagnant and create pressure and don't let the receivers run down the field freely."

When asked if nerves might prevent him from eating the night before - or day of - the Grey Cup, Baggs replied: "I'll be able to eat, not only food, but running backs and quarterbacks."

Although the Roughriders believe in quarterback Darian Durant, everyone else will be watching to see how the how the 27-year-old handles the pressure of his first Grey Cup game.

While Calvillo is making his seventh Grey Cup appearance, Durant's trial-by-fire is limited to his last two games against Calgary.

One was a season-ending win Nov. 7 to give the Roughriders the playoff bye and the next was the West Division final two weeks later. Durant threw for a combined 500 yards and five touchdowns in the two games against the Stampeders.

"We've had a couple of pressure-packed games the past couple weeks," Durant said. "I'll just look back on those experiences and try to take everything I can from that and put it into this game."

If Durant can get on track early, he has running back Wes Cates to throw to, plus Canadian receivers Andy Fantuz, Rob Bagg and Chris Getzlaf, who compensated for the absence of Weston Dressler who was lost to a broken leg.

Fantuz agrees the defence will be the key for Saskatchewan on Sunday, but points out the offence has to play its part.

"We've got to get in rhythm, keep the chains moving and stay on the field, give our defence a lot of rest so they can fire off the line on Calvillo and company," he said.

The Alouettes have appeared in six Grey Cup games since 2000, but cashed in just once in 2002. Montreal lost last year's final at home to Calgary and they bring with them a reputation of not being able to finish.

The Roughriders have 26 players returning from the club that won the Grey Cup two years ago in Toronto.

"I think it really helps because those players have been in a similar situation so they're able to reach out to the younger players and help keep them focused if they do become unfocused and calm them down if they need to be calmed down," Miller said.

Saskatchewan's second loss to Montreal this season was a pivotal game in the team's psyche and set the tone for the rest of the season, according to Frazier.

"We definitely learned our identity as a team," he explained. "We were a couple points away from winning that game we feel. It was probably one of the better games we played against the best team in the league this year.