• The Rams need a win to keep their Canada West playoff hopes alive. Their road to the postseason involves winning a tiebreaker over Saskatchewan for the fourth and final playoff berth.

• DB Cord Delinte was named the U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Week after recording two interceptions and a key pass breakup for the Rams last week in the win over Alberta.

• While QB Noah Picton is still expected to return on Friday, backup QB Seb Britton was injured last game and won't be available this week. QB Colton Hippe will dress for the second consecutive game.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING: What needs to happen for the Rams to qualify for the playoffs is now clear. They not only need to win their final two games, but they'll also need to beat Saskatchewan by at least 14 points next week. They also need a Manitoba win over Saskatchewan on Saturday, coupled with two Alberta losses - to UBC on Saturday, and to Calgary in Week 8. All that would add up to the Rams finishing in fourth place at 3-5, Saskatchewan losing the tiebreaker and finishing fifth at 3-5, and Alberta finishing in sixth place at 2-6.

UNDER CENTRE: Last game, the Rams started a quarterback not named Noah Picton for the first time since Oct. 25, 2014 (Cayman Shutter against Manitoba). QB Seb Britton got the call in place of Picton on Friday, who was inactive due to a lower-body injury. Britton got the win in his first career start - completing 18 of his 32 passes for 273 yards and a pair of touchdowns - but was injured and will miss the Calgary game. Picton is expected to return, with Colton Hippe dressing as the backup for the second consecutive week.

PICTON BECOMES ALL-TIME PASSING YARDS KING: Picton surpassed Jérémi Roch as the all-time U SPORTS passing yards leader during the Manitoba game. Now with 11,494 career passing yards and counting, Picton could also become the national all-time leader in completions. Roch holds the record with 866, while Picton currently sits with 835 with two games to go in the regular season.

CONFERENCE LEADERBOARD: The Rams have several players at or near the top of the Canada West leaderboard in several statistics, led by Kyle Borsa who's leading the conference in both rushing touchdowns (5) and all-purpose yards (1075) while also ranking second in rushing yards (506). Picton is first in completion rate (68.9%), while SB Ryan Schienbein is tied for first in receptions (44), third in receiving yards (565), and tied for third with five touchdown catches. K Aldo Galvan is first in field goals made (15) and second in points scored (65). On the defensive side of the ball, DB Cord Delinte and DB Zach Moore are tied for third in interceptions (2) while LB Cole Benkic, DL Grey McKen, and DL Blake Turner are all tied for the league lead with two forced fumbles. McKen is also tied for second in the conference with a pair of fumble recoveries.

SCHIENBEIN UPDATE: In his fourth year with the Rams and his third as a starter, Schienbein is making his move up the University of Regina record book in all three major receiving categories. He enters Friday's game tied with Jordan Sisco for fifth with 141 career receptions, and is tied with Chris Bauman and Brenden Owens for sixth with 16 career touchdown catches. Schienbein's next touchdown reception will be his 17th, which will move him into a tie with Michael Thomas for fourth in school history. He's also eighth in receiving yards (1869) and needs just 35 to pass Brenden Owens for seventh, 123 to overtake current offensive coordinator Mark McConkey for sixth, and 131 to become just the sixth player in school history to hit the 2000 mark.

DEFENSIVE NOTES: As a team, the Rams are tied for the Canada West lead with 11 sacks and rank second in the conference in fewest rushing yards allowed per game (126.8) and fewest total yards allowed per game (440).

RAMS IN THE PROS: The Rams currently have six players on active professional rosters, including two in the NFL – Akiem Hicks (Chicago) and Brett Jones (Minnesota). Four U of R alumni are in the CFL, including Tevaughn Campbell (Montreal), Jorgen Hus (Saskatchewan), Brendon LaBatte (Saskatchewan), and Richard Sindani (Calgary). Andrew Bennett (Montreal) and Mitchell Picton (Saskatchewan) are both currently on CFL practice rosters.