QUICKLY

• Regina enters Week 1 ranked No. 7 in the nation and second in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll, while Alberta was sixth in the conference poll.

• Both teams are coming off exhibition setbacks. The Rams lost 39-24 to Calgary in a Medicine Hat game on Aug. 23, while Alberta suffered a 35-1 road defeat to Saskatchewan last Thursday.

• The two teams open Canada West play against each other in Edmonton for the first time in history. The two teams met in Week 1 battles in both 2004 and 2015, with both of those contests played in Regina (and won by Alberta).
 

#7 Regina Rams (0-0) at Alberta Golden Bears (0-0)
Date	Friday, Sept. 4
Time	6:30 PM
Location	Foote Field (Edmonton, Alta.)
Television	SaskTel maxTV 48/348
Regina Radio	620 CKRM
Webcast	CanadaWest.tv ($)
Live Stats	cougarsandrams.com/fbstats
Full Game Notes	Rams
Rams on Social Media	Instagram | Facebook | X

BRING 'EM BACK: The Rams had six All-Canadians last year with all of them returning to the 2026 roster. RB Marshall Erichsen was a first-team All-Canadian while K Ty Gorniak, DB Max Polischuk, WR Nicholas Sirleaf, DB Carson Sombach, and LB Brandon Wong were all named second-team All-Canadians. The Rams earned 11 Canada West all-star selections last season, with OL Riley Schick the only one of that gang not back this season. The returning all-stars include the six All-Canadians along with DL Toryn Swystun-Bernes, OL Ethan Graham, OL Will Templeton, and DB Jacob Tkachuk.

DEBUTS: The Rams expect to have 12 players make their Canada West debuts on Friday as RB Carter Ashman, RB Kaiden Banfield, LB Kyler Banfield, LB Lachlan Bruce, LB Maddux Elson, DB Easton Fenske, DL Judah Plett, SB Adrian Reaume, OL Emmett Reinhardt, DL John Stevens, and DB Holden Strinja will all make the trip to Edmonton. SB Adley Mayala will also dress for the first time in a conference game, though the receiver made his Rams debut last year in the postseason.

AGAINST THE BEARS: Regina and the Golden Bears met twice last year, with the Rams taking a 47-23 win in Regina and a 22-20 win in Edmonton to run their winning streak over Alberta to three games. The two-point road victory over Alberta featured a 44-yard last-minute field goal by K Ty Gorniak which lifted them to the win. Overall, the Rams hold a 26-13 advantage over Alberta in the all-time series with the Golden Bears remaining the lone Canada West team that Regina has never played in the postseason.

ACCURATE PASSERS: Of the top five most accurate passers in school history, two are on this year's Rams roster. Noah Picton is the U of R's all-time leader at 67.6% with projected starting QB Owen Sieben just behind at 66.4%. Next up is current Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, who completed 62.1% of his pass attempts during his Rams career. QB Noah Pelletier is fourth on the list with a 58.7% career completion rate.

CLOSING IN ON 100: WR Nicholas Sirleaf is only entering his third U SPORTS season, but is already at 82 receptions for his career and needs just 18 more to become the 16th player in U of R history to hit the 100 mark. Sirleaf enters the season with 1081 career receiving yards, needing 154 more to surpass Neal Hughes to break into the school's all-time top 20 in that category.

STAFF: Entering his sixth season as head coach, Mark McConkey returns most of his staff from last season. new additions include three former players including Jens Johnson as tight ends coach, Jeff Zimmer as assistant defensive line coach, and Andrew Becker as a graduate assistant offensive line coach. Bruce Anderson takes over as special teams coordinator following Jeff Stusek's departure to take a position with the Roughriders, while Paul Harasen officially moves over from receivers coach to running backs coach.

IN THE FAMILY: The Rams have three sets of brothers on this year's roster including SB Renzel Arinaza and SB Russell Arinaza, RB Kaiden Banfield and LB Kyler Banfield, and the defensive backfield trio of Carson Sombach, Connor Sombach, and Rylar Sombach. The Banfields will both dress this weekend against Alberta, which will make them the first twin brothers ever to suit up for the Rams together in a Canada West game.

NOT IN THE FAMILY: Rams defensive coordinator Sheldon Gray and quarterbacks coach Frankie Gray aren't related.