• The Rams were picked to finish sixth in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll, which might actually be a good omen. In two of the last three years, the team chosen to finish last in the conference preseason poll either finished in first place in the standings (Rams in 2016) or won the Hardy Cup (Saskatchewan in 2018).
• With the exception of the defensive backfield and the receivers group, this year's version of the Rams will bear little resemblance to last year's squad.
• UBC was slotted No. 10 in the U SPORTS poll released earlier this week, which means that this will mark the third consecutive season that the Rams have opened up their schedule with a Week 1 game against a ranked opponent.
DONNELLY TO START
He's in his first season of U SPORTS eligibility, but
Josh Donnelly will make his second career start on Saturday. Donnelly redshirted last year, but was called upon to make his first career start in the team's Week 7 game at Calgary. He completed a 36-yard pass to
Ryan Schienbein on his first ever play of his career and finished that game 20-for-33 with 243 passing yards.
BY COMMITTEE
With
Atlee Simon and
Kyle Borsa not returning, the Rams could employ a "committee approach" and will bring four running backs on the trip.
Trey Campbell and
Semba Mbasela are expected to get the bulk of the carries early, though the staff also fully expects
Sam Varao and
Odun Ogidan to get into the game as well.
ON THE LINE
The right side of the line remains intact as stalwart guard
Andrew Becker and steady tackle
Theren Churchill both return.
Maguire Abell,
Jesse Ens, and
Liam Jensen have all served as quality depth players for the Rams but will now step up into starting roles with Abell at centre, Ens at left tackle, and Jensen at left guard.
RECEIVERS BACK
But while every other offensive position has significant turnover, four of last year's five starting receivers is back. That group includes
Ryan Schienbein, who's already sixth in school history in receiving yards (2016) and needs just 36 more to surpass Jordan Sisco and 154 more to overtake Jason Clermont on that list. Also returning this year are slotbacks
Kyle Moortgat and
Bennett Stusek and wide receiver
Daniel Scraper, with
Riley Boersma expected to step up at the other wideout position with
Kris Calcutt now gone.
THE BACKFIELD
All five starters from last year return to the Rams, including free safety
Cord Delinte and halfbacks
Zach Moore and
Jaxon Ford. Also back is cornerback
Brandon Brooks and both
Brandon Gandire and
Karl King, who shared playing time opposite Brooks at the other corner position last year. The Rams also expect both
Gowrishan Aravinthan and
Jackson Sombach to challenge for a spot on the travel roster after redshirting last season.
TURNOVER ON THE D-LINE
While the Rams have mostly looked to development from within the program to replace their graduated players, the defensive line is a notable exception. Four of the six linemen that are expected to dress for Saturday's game are new to the program, including
Cameron Cross (Langley Rams),
Garth Knittig (Saskatoon Hilltops),
Brandon McKimmon (University of Saskatchewan), and
Brayden Walz (Bishop O'Byrne HS). Veterans
Eric Wicijowski and
Matt Moore are the only two returning players that will suit up against UBC.
NEW LOOK LINEBACKERS
Sam linebacker
Robbie Lowes is the only returning starting linebacker as
Cole Benkic,
Layne Hull, and
Danny Nesbitt all graduated. The Rams will again rely heavily on internal development here with
Josh White set to start at will,
Ryder Varga at mac, and
Travis Semenok at zack.
O'FLAHERTY WINS BACKUP JOB
In his first year with the Rams out of the Bishop O'Byrne program in Calgary, rookie quarterback
Bryden O'Flaherty had a strong training camp and stepped up to take the backup role to starter
Josh Donnelly. Donnelly is also in his first season of U SPORTS eligibility after redshirting last year, giving the Rams two first-year quarterbacks on the depth chart. The last time that happened was in 2013, when an injury to Cayman Shutter forced John Kiesman to start with a relatively unknown
Noah Picton dressed as backup. The Rams won that Week 6 home game 25-20 over Alberta.
CANADA WEST DEBUTS
A total of 11 Rams are expected to dress for their first conference games on Saturday, and three of them are straight out of high school. Two of them are from the same Bishop O'Byrne program in Calgary (O'Flaherty and Walz) while linebacker
Cameron Mah (Notre Dame Regional Secondary) will make his Canada West debut in his hometown of Vancouver.
RARE ROAD OPENER
Despite being in their 21st season at the U SPORTS level, the Rams have only started the Canada West schedule away from home on six previous occasions, and never at UBC. A win this Saturday would be the first time the U of R has ever opened up the season with a road victory.
OPENERS AGAINST UBC
The Rams and UBC have opened the season against each other on four previous occasions, all of which were played in Regina and all of which resulted in Rams wins – though one of them requires an asterisk. The Rams defeated UBC in Week 1 games in 2002 (15-10), 2014 (33-23), and 2017 (36-20), and also have credit for a forfeit win in the 2011 opener where the original score – a 21-10 win for UBC – was overturned due to UBC's use of an ineligible player.
