• Both teams are coming off a season-opening loss. The Rams fell to No. 5 Calgary at home by a 49-35 score, while Alberta lost 42-0 at Saskatchewan.

• The Rams are looking for their third straight win over the Golden Bears after winning both games over Alberta last year. The U of R won 28-18 in Regina in Week 3, then outlasted Alberta for a 58-55 double-overtime win in Edmonton a month later.

• Noah Picton became the first player in Canada West history to hit 10,000 career passing yards on Friday. He's now ranked fifth in U SPORTS history (more below).

PICTON HITS 10,000: Noah Picton became the first player in Canada West history to hit 10,000 career passing yards in Friday's season opener. He now ranks fifth on the U SPORTS all-time list with 10,169 yards and is just 287 yards from surpassing former McGill quarterback Matt Connell for fourth. Sherbrooke's Jérémi Roch is the all-time leader with 11,477 yards.

MORE NOAH NOTES: Picton is also nearing the top of the leaderboard in career completions. He's currently ranked fourth all-time in that category with 741 and is now just 21 short of overtaking former Western pivot Michael Faulds for third. Roch is also the all-time leader in completions, collecting 866 in his career. Picton is also tied for ninth in U SPORTS history with 66 career touchdown passes and is still chasing former Rams standout Teale Orban's career total of 76 which stands as the Canada West and U of R all-time high.

SIMON HITS 3000: Atlee Simon hit the 3000-yard mark in career rushing in style on Friday, hitting the milestone when he busted out a career-long 75-yard rush for the Rams' first score of the game. Simon, who ended up with 146 rushing yards to take the early Canada West lead in that category, now has 3089 rushing yards in his career and needs just 107 more yards to break into the conference's all-time top ten.

ON THE GROUND: In addition to Simon's 146 rushing yards, the Rams also got a career-high 76 yards from second-year RB Kyle Borsa and finished with 234 rushing yards as a team on Friday. That's the most by the Rams in a regular season contest since collecting 255 in a Canada West game at Alberta back during the 2016 season.

WARNER COLLECTS FIRST SACK: DL Ryan Warner not only got his first career sack on Friday, but also stripped the ball from Calgary QB Adam Sinagra on the play and recovered the fumble to set up the Rams with a field goal to finish off the first half. Other defensive highlights for the Rams included a sack by DL Eric Wicijowski, a pair of pass breakups by DB Cord Delinte, and DB Zach Moore's first career interception.

STARTING STUSEK: SB Bennett Stusek became the first receiver ever to come right out of high school and start in Week 1 for the Rams. And he made his presence felt in the fourth quarter, catching a 65-yard pass up the middle for his first career reception. Stusek's catch was the second longest in history by a Rams player in his first U SPORTS game, trailing only Khalid Kornegay's 85-yard touchdown reception at Saskatchewan in the 2016 season opener.

ACCURATE ALDO: Playing in his first Canada West game, K Aldo Galvan was as advertised for the Rams. He was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, hitting from 26, 26, 37, and 36 yards to tie the school record for most in a single game. He also averaged 38.7 yards per punt to match Calgary veteran Niko DiFonte in that category, and averaged 62.5 yards on his four kickoffs.

ALSO STARTING: Besides Stusek, eight other Rams also made their first starts in Canada West games. They included WR Kris Calcutt, DL Tanner Schmekel, DL Ryan Warner, LB Cole Benkic, DB Brandon Brooks, DB Jaxon Ford, DB Brandon Gandire, and DB Robbie Lowes.

RAMS SIGN FOUR TO LOI: We're only one game into the 2018 season, but the Rams have also added four new recruits for the 2019 campaign. Three of them signed their U SPORTS Letter of Intent on Saturday, the first day Grade 12 student-athletes could officially commit. The Rams welcomed DB Jaxon Fuchs (Michael A. Riffel HS), OL Colby Joyes (Clavet School), and DL Payton O'Connor (Riffel) on Saturday, then got a commitment from LB Hunter Morgan (Central Collegiate) on Sunday.

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). Mitchell Picton is on Saskatchewan's practice roster.