• It's Week 8 of the regular season, but it's playoff time for both Regina and Alberta on Friday at Leibel Field. The Rams will head to the postseason as the No. 4 seed with a win, while Alberta needs a win combined with a Saskatchewan win over Calgary to advance to the playoffs.

• Last Saturday was an absolute roller coaster in Canada West football. The Rams dropped a tight 22-20 decision on the road to Saskatchewan, a loss which appeared to have all but eliminated Regina from postseason contention until an improbable comeback by Manitoba to defeat Alberta in overtime re-opened a clear path to the postseason for the Rams.

THE COMEBACK: At one point on Saturday in the immediate aftermath of the setback to Saskatchewan, the Rams looked like they were finished. Alberta had opened up a 30-4 lead late in the third quarter over Manitoba which was devastating to the U of R's playoff hopes, but some Manitoba magic breathed new life into the Rams' chances of advancing to the postseason. The Bisons scored 26 unanswered points to push the game into overtime, then won it after Jackson Tachinski found AK Gassama for a two-point conversion in the extra session. Instead of needing to beat Alberta by 24 on Friday combined with some help on the out-of-town scoreboard to make the playoffs, Manitoba's win means that any win by the Rams over the Golden Bears puts them into the postseason. 

WILD, WILD WEST: All six Canada West teams go into Week 8 either with a playoff spot clinched or with a chance at making the playoffs. Manitoba and UBC will be the top two seeds and play each other on Saturday with first place on the line, though UBC needs to win by at least 23 to jump past the Bisons. Saskatchewan is locked into third place regardless of how they do at Calgary on Saturday. As for the other three teams, the path to the playoffs is simplest for the Rams. They're in as the No. 4 seed with a win. A win by Alberta on Friday means that the No. 4 seed will be decided on Saturday, with a Calgary win over Saskatchewan giving the final playoff berth to the Dinos and a Huskies win sending the Golden Bears to the postseason.

TOUGH D: The Rams enter the final week of the Canada West schedule with the fewest points conceded of any team in the conference, averaging just 22.1 points against per game. Defensive coordinator Sheldon Gray's squad has also allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (135.4) in Canada West and the second fewest passing yards per game (230.7).

PICK REPORT: DB Jackson Sombach and LB Cameron Mah both had interceptions last week at Saskatchewan, the Rams' 9th and 10th picks of the season which ties them with Calgary for the Canada West lead heading into the final week of the season. Mah and DB Max Polischuk both have two interceptions while LB Garret Hatchard, DB Michael Jourdan, DB Carson Sombach, DB Jackson Sombach, DB Jacob Tkachuk, and DB Brandon Wong all have one apiece.

SACK LEADERS FACE OFF: Regina DL Tarick Polius and Alberta LB Chase Tataryn come into Week 8 tied for the Canada West lead with 3½ sacks each. Polius has been brilliant in his first season for the Rams, as he also has a team-leading 4.5 tackles for loss and has piled up 14 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles, and a pair of pass knockdowns this year.

ON THE GROUND: RB Marshall Erichsen is averaging over 100 rushing yards per game since taking over as the team's feature back starting in Week 5 at Manitoba. He has 375 rushing yards this season, 313 of which have come in the last three games alone as the Rams have given him nearly all of the carries in the second half of the season.

BIG LEG: K Isaac Wegner punted six times for an average of 43 yards per boot last week against Saskatchewan. He is averaging 42.9 yards per punt this season, which ranks sixth in U of R single-season history (Aldo Galvan holds the record at 46.0 yards per punt during the 2022 season).

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: QB Noah Pelletier has thrown a touchdown pass or two in his time, but last week at Saskatchewan caught one himself on a trick play which started with a direct snap to RB Olivier Savard. Savard pitched to WR Emmett Steadman, who threw a strike to Pelletier in the end zone for the touchdown. Pelletier's major goes down as the first time a U of R quarterback has ever caught a touchdown pass.

RETURN GAME: RB Jevon Garwood has been the team's primary kickoff returner and has an average of 21.1 yards per return this season, which ranks seventh in school history. Chris King holds the U of R record with his average of 25.5 yards per return back during the 2008 campaign, and Garwood's average is the highest since Mitch Thompson averaged 23.3 in 2014.

TRUE FROSH: Two players have jumped right out of high school into the lineup for the Rams this year. LB Liam LaBelle (Dr. Martin LeBoldus HS) and LB Owen Zimmer (Luther College HS) are both expected to dress in their fifth game of the season on Friday for the Rams.

TEAM CAPTAINS: The Rams have seven captains this season including LB Cameron Mah, LB Chopper Hippe, QB Noah Pelletier, DB Jackson Sombach, RB Christian Katende, OL Connor Klassen, OL Parker Hodel, and SB Rylan Sokul.

DRAFT REPORT: The Rams had two players selected in the 2024 CFL Draft. SB D'Sean Mimbs went in the sixth round to the Saskatchewan Roughriders with the 50th overall selection, while DB Jackson Sombach was taken in the seventh round (60th overall) by the Calgary Stampeders. Both players are back with the Rams this season. LB Chopper Hippe, OL Connor Klassen, and DB Dolani Robinson all participated in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl earlier this year. This year's East-West Bowl was a showcase which featured (for the most part) players available for selection in the 2025 CFL Draft.

RAMS TERRITORY: This year's roster features a total of 98 players, 66 of whom call Saskatchewan home. The Rams also have 15 Albertans, 9 from British Columbia, 4 from Ontario, 1 from Manitoba (DL Praise Odogun), 1 from Quebec (RB Olivier Savard), 1 from Arizona (DB Cedric McCallum), and 1 from Washington (DL Maliq Washington).