• The Rams clinched a home playoff game for the first time since 2016 with last weekend's convincing win over the Dinos. The Rams already know they'll host UBC in the Canada West semifinals, as the Thunderbirds locked up third place with last Saturday's win over Saskatchewan.

• Anthony Bennett became the U of R's single-season sack king after sharing a sack with Garth Knittig in the Dinos win. Bennett now has seven sacks this year, breaking the old school mark of 6.5.

• Manitoba needs a win to clinch the fourth and final playoff Canada West playoff berth. If the Rams win, Manitoba will need an Alberta loss to UBC to get into the postseason.

SENIOR DAY: The Rams will honour a large senior class prior to Saturday's game. That group includes DL Anthony Bennett, WR Riley Boersma, RB Kyle Borsa, OL Joel Braden, OL Zach Eltom, SB Jay Jay Jackson, DL Garth Knittig, DB Zach Moore, LB Tanner Smith, LB Ryder Varga, and LB Brayden Wagg.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR BENNETT? DL Anthony Bennett set the school single-season sack record after registering his seventh of the season in last Saturday's win over Calgary. He's also zeroing in on the U of R's single-season tackles for loss record, as he's just one shy of the current record of 10.5 shared by Logan Brooks and Stefan Charles.

STEADY RETURN GAME: SB Emmett Steadman has had 50 of the U of R's 51 punt returns this year, averaging 6.7 yards per return and putting up a total of 334 punt return yards through the first seven games of the season. Steadman needs just 36 more punt return yards to break the school single-season record of 369 set by Tevaughn Campbell back in 2013. And his 50 punt returns this year are already a school record, topping the old mark of 48 set by Ryan Anderson in 2004.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Rams will host a Canada West postseason game for the first time since 2016 next Saturday, Nov. 5 with a 4:00 PM kickoff at Mosaic. And it'll be a familiar opponent, as it was UBC the Rams hosted in that 2016 conference semifinal. The Thunderbirds won that game 40-34.

VARGA LEADING THE WAY: LB Ryder Varga is making a strong bid for All-Canadian honours in his fourth season with the Rams. He leads the team with a total of 36 tackles (28 solo, 16 assisted) and has a team-leading three forced fumbles. Varga also has a sack, an interception, a pass breakup, a fumble recovery, and a blocked kick this season.

ROOKIE REDEMPTION: All three of the Rams' touchdowns in last week's win were scored by players notching their first career majors. SB Ethan Marshall, SB Emmett Steadman, and RB Marshall Erichsen all hit paydirt for the first time in the Calgary game.

FINE START: Playing in his first Canada West game, RB Marshall Erichsen was brilliant in last week's win over Calgary. He not only scored his first touchdown with the Rams (see above) but also finished as the team's leader with 109 all-purpose yards. Erichsen rushed 14 times for 74 yards including that touchdown and also caught two passes for 35 yards in what will be his lone game of 2022, as he'll take a redshirt season to preserve his year of eligibility.

REDSHIRT GAMES: Still on the Marshall Erichsen topic, how does his game rank among other redshirt performances by the Rams in recent years? We found two other good ones in the last decade, including QB Josh Donnelly going 20-for-33 for 243 yards during his one game played in 2018. The other was current head coach Mark McConkey himself, who caught 12 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first week of 2012 before being injured in practice the following week and missing the rest of the year. Oddly enough, all three of these redshirt performances were on the road at Calgary.

ALL ABOUT ALDO: K Aldo Galvan is having one of the greatest seasons by a punter in school history. He enters the final game of the regular season averaging 46.1 yards per punt, which currently leads all of U SPORTS and also leads Jon Ryan's school record of 45.9 yards per punt that he set back in 2003. Galvan has a season-long punt of 77 yards, has bombed 20 punts of 50 yards or more, and has pinned the opposition inside its 20-yard line on 14 separate occasions this year. The product of Ciudad de México is making a strong bid to become the U of R's first All-Canadian punter since Chris Bodnar in 2012.

DEBUTS: Four Rams are expected to dress for their first career games on Saturday. SB Michael Eagle Bear, OL Pierce Murphy, DL Mark Pierlot, and DB Connor Sombach will all draw into the lineup for the first time.