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THE GAME
A home playoff game is on the line as the No. 6-ranked Regina Rams take on the No. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night in Saskatoon. A win for Regina guarantees a home date against either Saskatchewan or Alberta in the Canada West semifinals next weekend, while a loss to the Huskies would send the Rams to Calgary for the first round of the playoffs.

THE HEADLINES
• The Rams can finish in first (with a win over the Huskies and a Calgary loss to Alberta on Saturday), second (with a win over the Huskies and a Calgary win over Alberta), or third place (with a loss to Saskatchewan) in the Canada West standings
• Saskatchewan can also finish in first (with a win over the Rams), second (with a loss to the Rams and a Calgary loss to Alberta), or third place (with a loss to Regina and a Calgary win over Alberta) in the conference standings
• The Rams dropped three spots in this week's FRC-CIS Top Ten after the home loss to Calgary, while Saskatchewan is up to No. 3 in this week's poll after a 30-9 road win over UBC
• The two teams will be meeting for the second time this season, as the Rams scored a 37-26 victory over Saskatchewan back on Sept. 18 in Regina
• Regina running back Adrian Charles needs 19 rushing yards to surpass Neal Hughes as the U of R's single-season leader, 65 yards to become the school's first 1000-yard rusher, and one more rushing touchdown to become the first Rams player to hit double digits in a season
• Rams quarterback Marc Mueller and Saskatchewan quarterback Laurence Nixon are tied for the Canada West lead with exactly 2000 passing yards on the season

UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS (5-2)
The U of R lost to Calgary last Friday for the second time this season, as the Dinos opened up an 18-point lead at halftime and withstood a late charge by the Rams to claim a 35-27 road victory.

A win over Calgary would have guaranteed the Rams a home playoff date for the first time since the 2007 season. Fortunately for the Rams, they'll still secure a conference semifinal game at Mosaic with a win over Saskatchewan on Friday night.

Quarterback Marc Mueller had one of his best games in a Rams uniform in the loss to Calgary. He was 32-for-49 for 413 yards and tossed a career-high three touchdown passes, all of which came in the second half.

Making his first start for the Rams after redshirting last season and missing the first six games due to an injury suffered in training camp, rookie slotback Jared Janotta caught nine passes for a game-high 129 yards and hauled in two touchdown passes. Brenden Owens and Mark McConkey also had nine catches each and both recorded over 100 receiving yards.

Running back Adrian Charles registered a season-low 46 rushing yards against the Dinos, but still leads Canada West with 935 rushing yards and nine touchdown runs. Charles needs just 19 rushing yards to surpass Neal Hughes as the U of R's single-season leader and 65 yards to become the school's first 1000-yard rusher.

Third-year cornerback Jamir Walker has been outstanding for the Rams again this season, as he leads Canada West with four interceptions and 10 passes defended. As a team, the Rams rank second in the conference with 10 picks.

Should the Rams win on Friday night and earn the right host a Canada West semifinal game, it will be on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium. The opponent would be either Saskatchewan or Alberta.

UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES (5-2)
Saskatchewan enters Friday's game holding a 5-2 record and riding a four-game winning streak. The Huskies have had a bit of a roller-coaster season, starting the year off with a road win over then-No. 1 Calgary but losing to UBC and Regina in their next two games to fall out of the FRC-CIS Top Ten.

They've been impressive since the loss to the Rams, scoring a road win at Alberta, back-to-back home wins over Manitoba and Calgary, and a road win at UBC. Saskatchewan has scored at least 30 points in each of their victories, including a 64-3 win over Manitoba.

Quarterback Laurence Nixon is tied with Mueller in passing yards (2000) and touchdown passes (12) and ranks second in the conference in completions (144) and completion rate (64.3%). Rory Kohlert has a team-high 31 receptions, but Jade Etienne leads Canada West with 517 receiving yards and averages a ridiculous 25.9 yards per catch.

Running back Ben Coakwell has had a fine season for the Huskies, rushing for 660 yards and six touchdowns and running for at least 80 yards in every game this season.

Defensively, Tony Michalchuk leads the Huskies with 37 total tackles while Nico Higgs ranks second with 32 and has a team-high four interceptions. Bryce McCall has three picks for Saskatchewan, while Keenan MacDougall and Luke Thiel both have two. Joel Seutter leads the Huskies with 3½ sacks and two forced fumbles.

RECORD WATCH
• Charles needs 19 rushing yards to surpass Neal Hughes as the U of R's single-season leader, 65 yards to become the school's first 1000-yard rusher, and one more rushing touchdown to become the U of R's single-season leader in that category as well
• Mueller's 65.4% completion rate this year is the highest in University of Regina history
• Jamir Walker's next interception will give him the U of R's single-season record (5) and will tie him with Steve Ryan for the most career interceptions in school history (9)
• With 4½ sacks, Steve Famulak is two short of setting the school's single-season record

FORMER RAMS IN THE PROS
The list of former University of Regina players now toiling in the professional ranks is led by the Seattle Seahawks' Jon Ryan, who ranked No. 8 in the NFL last season with an average of 46.2 yards per punt.

Seven former University of Regina Rams are now in the CFL, including Chris Bauman (Hamilton), Jason Clermont (Saskatchewan), Chris Getzlaf (Saskatchewan), Neal Hughes (Saskatchewan), Nick Hutchins (Saskatchewan), Brendon LaBatte (Winnipeg), and Jordan Sisco (Saskatchewan).

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