QUICK HITS

• The Rams have a top-two finish locked up, and with that the right to host one of Canada West's two semifinals next Saturday, Nov. 1 against one of Manitoba, Alberta, or Calgary.

• Regina and Saskatchewan enter Week 8 with identical 6-1 records. A win for the Rams would give them their first seven-win season since joining Canada West prior to the 1999 campaign, but Regina also needs a win by Manitoba over the Huskies in Saskatoon to jump into first place.

• UBC holds the season tiebreaker over Calgary, so the Thunderbirds will advance to the postseason with a win on Friday. A UBC loss means that the final Canada West playoff berth will go to the winner of Saturday's Alberta/Calgary matchup in Calgary.

POSTSEASON LOOK: The Rams need a win over UBC combined with a Manitoba win over Saskatchewan on Saturday to jump into first place in the Canada West standings. They'd host the winner of Saturday's Alberta/Calgary game if they finish first, but all other scenarios will see the Rams finish second and host third-place Manitoba.

ERICHSEN SETS SCHOOL TD MARK: RB Marshall Erichsen had 2 more rushing touchdowns in Saturday's win, giving him 11 for the year and sole possession of the school single-season record. Another rushing TD on Friday would move him into a five-way tie for eighth in Canada West history, while four other players are currently tied for fourth with 13.

RARE AIR: Last Saturday's win over Alberta gave the Rams a 6-1 record for the first time in their 26-year history at the U SPORTS level. The Rams have already guaranteed that they'll finish with at least a tie for their best Canada West record in program history. They finished 6-2 in 2007, 2012, and 2016, but a win on Friday would make them the first 7-1 team in school history.

MORE ON MARSHALL: Erichsen now has 938 rushing yards on the season, tying him with Atlee Simon (2015) for third in school history. The only Rams with more rushing yards in a single Canada West season are Adrian Charles (972 in 2010) and Neal Hughes (953 in 2003). Erichsen also has a touchdown catch, giving him a total of 12 touchdowns scored on the season. He stands alone in second place in U of R history in that category, 2 behind Jason Clermont's record of 14 set back during the 2001 season.

TWO AT 7-1? Wins by the Rams and by Saskatchewan this weekend would result in Canada West producing two 7-1 teams, something that's only happened two other times in the modern history of the conference. The last time it happened was in 2009, when Saskatchewan and Calgary both finished at 7-1. The only other time was when Alberta and Calgary were both 7-1 way back in 1984.

HISTORICAL BOOT: K Ty Gorniak's 44-yard field goal with 25 seconds to go was the difference in Saturday's win over Alberta, and also the U of R's first go-ahead field goal in the final minute of regulation in 16 years. The last time it happened was in 2009, when Perri Scarcelli hammered a 36-yard field goal into the teeth of a northwest wind on a frigid, snowy October night at the old Mosaic Stadium. Scarcelli's boot, which came with 44 seconds left on the clock, secured a 26-24 win for the Rams over Simon Fraser.

SIRLEAF HITS TRIPLE DIGITS AGAIN: For the fourth time this season, WR Nicholas Sirleaf broke triple digits in receiving yards after collecting 6 catches for a total of 103 yards at Alberta. He leads the Rams in all three major receiving categories with 47 catches for 655 yards and 3 touchdowns, is second in Canada West in both receptions and receiving yards, and is sixth in the nation with an average of 93.6 receiving yards per game. Sirleaf's total of 655 receiving yards already ranks 13th in U of R single-season history with a game still remaining, and it's the most by a Rams receiver since Ryan Schienbein had 712 back during the 2018 season.

ONE-TWO PUNCH: SB Renzel Arinaza is also putting together a solid season for the Rams. He's second on the team in the three major receiving categories, having registered totals of 39 catches for 465 yards and 2 touchdowns through the team's first seven games of the season. With Sirleaf already at 655 yards, Arinaza collecting 35 more receiving yards would give the Rams multiple receivers with at least 500 yards for the first time since Mitchell Picton, Ryan Schienbein, and Riley Wilson were all beneficiaries of Noah Picton's Hec Crighton Trophy-winning season back in 2016.

NOTES CURSE STRIKES AGAIN: The offensive line primarily consisting of OL Nate Boyd, OL Ethan Graham, OL Nick Makowsky, OL Nnadozie Marendiukobianwa, OL Riley Schick, and OL Will Templeton had yet to surrender a sack entering last week's game at Alberta. Against our better judgement, we finally mentioned in last week's preview that the Rams were the only U SPORTS team that hadn't allowed a quarterback sack. Of course, that angered the football gods and Alberta's Emerson Joy ruined the streak after getting to QB Owen Sieben for a 12-yard sack late in the third quarter.

GORNIAK HAVING A YEAR: Rookie K Ty Gorniak has had a fine debut season for the Rams. Out of Balgonie's Greenall High School, Gorniak is 16-for-19 on field goals this season with his 84.2% success rate ranking second in U of R single-season history (behind only Perri Scarcelli, who hit 87% in 2009). Gorniak will need to go 4-for-4 on field goals against UBC to tie Scarcelli's school record, or 5-for-5 to surpass Scarcelli's mark. Gorniak also has a great chance to catch Scarcelli's record for most points in a season by a kicker. The rookie has 70 points this season, just 4 short of the 74 scored by Scarcelli in that 2009 campaign.

SACK REPORT: Though the Rams have allowed only the lone sack on the year, it's been a different story for the defence. Sheldon Gray's defensive unit has piled up 12 sacks this season, led by 3.5 by second-year LB Liam LaBelle. LB Kaeden Brennan, DL Anthony Montas Leipert, and LB Owen Zimmer both have two sacks while LB Colin McKellar and LB Brandon Wong both have one. DL Jacob Dakiniewich also has credit for a half sack after teaming up with LaBelle on one earlier this season.

SIEBEN STARTS: After consecutive solid relief performances in which he completed 75% of his pass attempts, QB Owen Sieben got his first start of the year last week at Alberta. Sieben finished with solid numbers, completing 20 of his 30 passes and racking up 246 yards in the victory. Sieben is expected to start again on Friday against UBC.

PICK LEADERS: The Rams rank third in Canada West with five interceptions this season, but are just two behind Saskatchewan's conference-leading total of seven. DB Liam Platt (more on him below) and DB Carson Sombach both have a pair of picks, while LB Liam LaBelle has the other.

ROOKIE IMPACT: DB Liam Platt's two interceptions this season make him the first U of R rookie to have multiple interceptions in a season since current Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Jaxon Ford had two for the Rams back in 2018. Platt, who took over as one of the team's starting halfbacks in Week 3, needs one more interception to tie Aadon Fieger's record for most picks by a U of R first-year player. Fieger had three interceptions back in 2004 in his first season out of LeBoldus.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Rams have had six Canada West BioSteel Player of the Week nods this year. after K RB Marshall Erichsen won Canada West Offensive Player of the Week honours following both Week 1 and Week 3, while DB Carson Sombach (Week 2), LB Liam LaBelle (Week 3), and LB Brandon Wong (Week 5) have all earned Canada West Defensive Player of the Week recognition. K Ty Gorniak was the Canada West Special Teams Player of the Week following the Week 6 win.

KERR TO DEBUT: The Rams expect QB Conner Kerr to dress for his first Canada West game on Friday. Kerr, who was a two-time 5A provincial champion with the Weyburn Eagles with titles in 2021 and 2023, redshirted last season in his first year with the Rams. He's expected to be No. 3 on the depth chart behind Owen Sieben and Noah Pelletier.

DRAFT REPORT: OL Connor Klassen was a fourth-round selection by BC earlier this year but was injured at Lions training camp. He returned to the U of R for his fifth season of U SPORTS eligibility, but has yet to suit up for the Rams this season. Looking ahead, the Rams had four players — OL Ethan Graham, LB Colin McKellar, OL Riley Schick, and DB Carson Sombach — participate in the 2025 U SPORTS East-West Bowl, which showcased players eligible for the 2026 CFL Draft.

RAMS TERRITORY: This year's roster features 105 players, with 71 of those players hailing from Saskatchewan. The squad also has 17 players from Alberta, 12 from British Columbia, 2 from Manitoba, and 1 each from Ontario, Arizona, and Washington.