• The Rams moved to 2-0 for the second time in the four-year Mark McConkey era after defeating Saskatchewan 33-28 last Friday in a U-Prairie Challenge thriller at Mosaic.

• Noah Pelletier and Tarick Polius were the standouts for the Rams in last week's win. Pelletier was named the Canada West Offensive Player of the Week after breaking the U of R's single-game completion percentage record, while Polius tied for the team lead in tackles and was in on two critical late-game sacks which helped seal the win.

• UBC is coming off a pair of home losses in their first two Canada West games, dropping a 42-28 decision to Alberta in Week 1 and falling 33-10 to Manitoba last Friday.

PELLETIER LEADS THE WAY: QB Noah Pelletier was sensational in Friday's U-Prairie Challenge win over Saskatchewan. He connected on 26 of his 31 pass attempts, setting a University of Regina single-game record with an 83.9% completion percentage. The old mark had stood since 2015, when Noah Picton was 26-for-33 (78.8%) in a Week 8 home game against Saskatchewan at the old Mosaic Stadium. Pelletier finished with a total of 359 passing yards, becoming the first Rams quarterback to throw for over 300 in a game since the 2021 season. He finished with touchdown passes to D'Sean Mimbs, Nicholas Sirleaf, and Renzel Arinaza while also running in a touchdown himself on a one-yard sneak. Not surprisingly, Pelletier - the nation's outright leader with an 80% completion percentage this season - was rewarded with Canada West Offensive Player of the Week honours in the aftermath of Friday's win.

COOKIE BREAKS OUT: DL Tarick "Cookie" Polius enjoyed a breakout game in last Friday's win. Polius tied for the team high with 5½ tackles, including 2½ tackles for loss and 1½ sacks. Both of his sacks came in the critical final two minutes of the contest, the first on a 10-yard sack as he combined with Chopper Hippe to bring down Saskatchewan quarterback Anton Amundrud. The Huskies took a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Polius following the sack, leading to a 3rd-and-42 situation which forced Saskatchewan to concede a late safety and turn a three-point Rams lead into a five-point advantage. Polius brought down Amundrud again just two defensive plays later, and two plays after that the Huskies threw an incomplete pass on third down and the Rams took a knee for the victory.

MAH, POLIUS AMONG DEFENSIVE LEADERS: LB Cameron Mah and DL Tarick Polius are both among the early Canada West leaders in tackles for loss. Both players have 2½ TFLs through the firs two games, putting them into a tie for third in the conference behind Alberta's Chase Tataryn (4½) and Manitoba's Collin Kornelson (3). Polius is second in the conference with 1½ sacks, behind only Tataryn (3).

DEFENCE ROLLING: Defensive coordinator Sheldon Gray has the Rams' defence off to a great start as Regina heads into Week 3 allowing the fewest yards per game (305) and the fewest rushing yards per game (59.5) among the six Canada West teams. The Rams are also second in the conference with four sacks and tied for second with four interceptions. Nationally, the Rams rank fifth among the 27 U SPORTS teams in total yards allowed per game and second (behind only Bishop's) in rushing yards allowed per game.

GARWOOD HITS THE 50 MARK AGAIN: RB Jevon Garwood got the start at running back for the first time in a Canada West game last week and, for the second time in two weeks, finished with exactly 50 rushing yards. Garwood not only boasts a fine average of 7.1 yards per carry as he has 14 rushes for a team-leading 100 yards this year, but is also the team's leader with 186 all-purpose yards.

BIG DEBUT FOR ARINAZA: SB Renzel Arinaza got the start last Friday in his first ever Canada West game and had a huge impact right from the beginning, with the Rams going to Arinaza on a crossing pattern for a 16-yard gain on their first offensive play of the contest. Pelletier found Arinaza for a 39-yard gain on a deep ball up the middle early in the fourth quarter, and two plays later Arinaza took a shovel pass from Pelletier and found the end zone for his first career touchdown on a score which put the Rams into the lead for good.

MIMBS SETS CAREER HIGH: SB D'Sean Mimbs had 9 catches for a career-high 135 yards in last week's win. Pelletier and Mimbs connected on the team's first offensive possession on a deep ball up the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown. 

MJ GETS PICK IN DEBUT: Playing in his first Canada West game with the Rams last week, DB Michael Jourdan had a huge interception early in the second quarter. Jourdan picked off a pass deep in Saskatchewan territory and ran it back 19 yards, setting the Rams' offence up for a short 13-yard touchdown drive. Jourdan, LB Garret Hatchard, LB Cameron Mah, and DB Max Polischuk have the Rams' four picks this season.

FIRST CAREER STARTS: Besides Garwood, the offence also saw OL Nick Makowsky at left guard for his first Canada West start with OL Cullen Wagner unavailable. LB Garret Hatchard started at will linebacker with LB Ryan Mills out, while DB Ethan Jaster started at cornerback in place of DB Dolani Robinson.

NEW LOOK RAMS: The Rams unveiled their new Under Armour uniforms last week on social media and debuted the new look last Friday with their green jerseys and green pants. With new green and white UA jerseys and green and white UA pants available, the Rams will wear some combination of those in Week 3 against UBC.

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).