• The Rams enter Friday's home opener with a 1-0 record after last week's 33-23 road win over the No. 6-ranked Manitoba Bisons.

• Anthony Bennett and Ryder Varga were both selected as Canada West Players of the Week for their efforts in the Manitoba win. Bennett had three sacks, while Varga had a key punt block in the second half.

• The turning point of the Week 1 win came when the Rams scored twice in a span of 1:43 in the third quarter. Noah Pelletier found Bennett Stusek for a 68-yard touchdown, then Jaxon Ford scored off Varga's blocked punt to give the Rams a two-score lead that they held on to for the remainder of the game.

• The Dinos come into Friday at 0-1 after suffering a 44-5 home loss to Saskatchewan in their home opener.

BENNETT BREAKTHROUGH: DL Anthony Bennett had a monster game in the win over Manitoba, becoming just the fourth U of R player (and the first since 2016) to collect three sacks in a single contest and earning Canada West Defensive Player of the Week honours. One game into the season, he's nearly halfway to the school single-season sacks record, which stands at 6.5 and is shared by Akiem Hicks (2011) and Nicholas Dheilly (2017).

VARGA RECOGNIZED: Normally a force for the Rams at the mac linebacker position, LB Ryder Varga made his biggest impact in the third quarter after blocking a Manitoba punt. The ball was scooped up by Jaxon Ford, who took it 22 yards to the house to give the Rams a two-possession lead they held on to for the remainder of the game. Varga, who also had an interception with a minute remaining which ended any hope of a Manitoba comeback, was named the Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week.

PELLETIER SHINES: Making his first career start, QB Noah Pelletier was brilliant in Friday's win. He completed 18 of his 30 pass attempts for 271 yards, including a 68-yard bomb to SB Bennett Stusek for a third-quarter touchdown. Pelletier spread the ball around nicely, completing five passes apiece to Stusek, RB Kyle Borsa, and WR Riley Boersma.

ON THE GROUND: The Rams rushed 25 times for a total of 143 yards in the Manitoba win for an average 5.72 yards per carry. RB Christian Katende took over in the backfield after RB Kyle Borsa was shaken up early in the second half and finished with 11 rushes for a career-high 58 yards, while Borsa ended up with 10 carries for 33 yards. QB Noah Pelletier scrambled three times for 32 yards, while the coaching staff shook things up late in the second half and brought WR Riley Boersma into the box from an empty formation. Boersma promptly reeled off a 20-yard rush on that play.

PICK PARADE: The Rams were the only Canada West team in Week 1 with multiple interceptions as both Donovin Small and Ryder Varga picked off Manitoba QB Des Catellier for their first career Canada West picks. Small's interception came late in the third quarter, while Varga's interception with a minute to go in the game ended any hope of a comeback for the Bisons.

CHART CLIMBING: SB Bennett Stusek finished with 131 receiving yards in the Manitoba game, just off his career high of 133. The fourth-year receiver moved past Neal Hughes into 18th place in U of R history in career receiving yards (1239) and overtook Chris Getzlaf for 20th place in career receptions (75). Next up for Stusek to chase on the receiving yards list is Getzlaf (1286) and Kolten Solomon (1352). Within striking distance on the receptions list is Chris Bauman (81), Michael Thomas (84), and Mitch Thompson (85).

DEBUTS: The Rams expect to have four players make their Canada West debuts on Friday, including DB Cole Breitkreuz, OL Ethan Graham, DB Ethan Kurtz, and LB Joe Vogelsang. From Moose Jaw's Central Collegiate, Breitkreuz will be one of two Rams fresh out of high school on Friday's game-day roster (OL William Templeton is the other) while the other three all redshirted with the Rams last season. Kurtz, a Swift Current product, was also with the Rams for the COVID year in 2020.

IRON MAN: The most experienced player on the Rams roster is DB Zach Moore, who (including the postseason) has played in 31 career games and has started 30 consecutive games at halfback. Moore finished second in tackles for the Rams last week, collecting four solo and one assisted.

ALDO UPDATE: Veteran K Aldo Galvan's punting was rock solid in Week 1. He's tied for third in the nation with an average of 44.4 yards per punt and pinned Manitoba inside its own 20-yard line three separate times in the win. Galvan, who also hit two short field goals, three PATs, and added a quartet of rouges to score 13 of Regina's 33 points, has now scored 180 career points and needs just 7 more to surpass Atlee Simon for third place on the U of R's all-time list.