• The Rams come into Week 2 following a tough 21-17 road loss at Manitoba, a game which they led 16-0 at one point late in the first half.

• Calgary, playing in its first game since winning the Vanier Cup over Montreal in 2019, took care of Saskatchewan by a 34-20 count at home last Saturday.

• Regina's standouts last week were SB D'Sean Mimbs and LB Josh White. Mimbs had 96 receiving yards while White had a pair of sacks to lead a U of R defence that got through for a total of six against the Bisons.

• Saturday's game will mark the first time in 708 days that the Rams have played a home game. Their last game in Regina was at Leibel Field, so it will have been 729 days since the team last suited up at their usual Mosaic Stadium home.

D'SEAN'S DEBUT
SB D'Sean Mimbs had one of the finest debuts in University of Regina history last Saturday. His total of 96 receiving yards was the third highest in history by a Rams player in his first career Canada West game, trailing only Jason Clermont (147 in 1999) and Khalid Kornegay (132 in 2016).

GETTING THROUGH
The Rams defence registered a total of six sacks on Manitoba QB Des Catellier on Saturday, marking the first time in nearly a decade they had that many in one game (Stefan Charles and Akiem Hicks had two sacks apiece to help the Rams get six sacks back on Oct. 29, 2011 at Manitoba). LB Josh White led the way with a pair of sacks for the Rams, while DL Garth Knittig, LB Cody Peters, and DB Jackson Sombach each had one. DB Jaxon Ford and DL Michael Clow combined for the other one.

YOUTH ON THE LINE
OL Austin Van De Sype made history last week as the graduate of Miller Comprehensive HS in Regina started at left guard against the Bisons. Van De Sype is thought to be the first U of R player ever to come to the Rams directly from high school and start on the offensive line in the team's Canada West opener.

YOUNG OFFENCE
Seven of the team's 12 offensive starters last week were in their first or second years of U SPORTS eligibility. Mimbs, WR Emmett Steadman, OL Apete Tuiloma, and Van De Sype are all first-year players while QB Josh Donnelly, OL Parker Hodel, and SB Dallen Keen are in their second year.

ALDO-MATIC
He's only a game into his third season with the Rams, but K Aldo Galvan is already high up the school's all-time record book in several categories. He ranks second in U of R history with 29 made field goals, but Perri Scarcelli's record of 56 is safe (for now). Galvan is also a perfect 34-for-34 on PATs, and last week overtook Andrew Fabian's University of Regina record for most career PATs made without a miss. Galvan also ranks third in field goal percentage (65.9%) and fifth in average yards per punt (36.5).

STUSEK CHASES 1000
Now the Rams' most experienced offensive player in terms of games started, third-year slotback Bennett Stusek sits just 72 yards short of 1000 for his career. He looks to become the 20th player in school history to hit that mark, but only three of those players (Jason Clermont, Chris Getzlaf, and Jordan Sisco) had more receiving yards through their first two seasons than the 918 that Stusek came into 2021 with.

AGAINST THE BEST
A win for the Rams on Saturday would give the program its first-ever victory over a team ranked No. 1 in U SPORTS. The Rams have matched up against the top team in the country on five previous occasions, most recently in 2015 when they twice faced a No. 1-ranked Calgary squad.

THE VET
LB Jacob Laboccetta is the team's primary long snapper, but he's also the answer to an obscure trivia question (and you know we love obscure trivia questions in Game Notes). He'll go down as the only player in Rams history to play for all four head coaches during the team's Canada West era - Frank McCrystal, Mike Gibson, Steve Bryce, and now Mark McConkey.

DEBUTS
With the Rams able to dress 50 players at home on Saturday - up from the 45 they took on the road to Manitoba - look for a few players to dress for their first career Canada West game. DL Anthony Bennett, DB Hunter Eagles, SB Jay Jay Jackson, LB Jaxon Runge, and OL Sean Usselman are among the candidates to suit up for the first time.

OH, BROTHER
The Rams have five sets of siblings on the 2021 roster, including Matt Moore and Zach Moore who will both be among the U of R's defensive starters on Saturday. Jackson Sombach will start at halfback with his brother Carson Sombach backing up at the other halfback position, and their younger twin brothers Connor Sombach and Rylar Sombach are expected to redshirt this season. The other three sets of siblings are Chopper Hippe and Colton Hippe, Chase Ellingson and Cody Ellingson, and Jacob Dakiniewich and Lucas Dakiniewich.