No. 6 Rams back at home; host Manitoba on Saturday

• The Rams (3-1) look to get back to their winning ways after last week's 22-20 setback to Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. The team had won its previous three Canada West games heading into last Friday's matchup.

• After an 0-2 start, Manitoba (2-2) is now sitting at .500 for the season after back-to-back home victories over Saskatchewan and Alberta.

• The two teams are meeting on Saturday for the only time in conference play this season. Regina visited Manitoba for an exhibition game back on Aug. 21, with the Rams taking a narrow 31-28 win over the Bisons.
 

ERICHSEN SECOND IN NATION: RB Marshall Erichsen added 18 rushes for 78 yards last week at Saskatchewan. He's second in the nation with an average of 140 yards per game and is also tied for second in all of U SPORTS with 6 touchdown rushes. With 560 rushing yards at the halfway point of the season, Erichsen remains on pace to become the first player in school history to run for at least 1000 in a single season.

SIRLEAF, ARINAZA LEAD RECEIVERS: WR Nicholas Sirleaf continues to pace Regina's group of receivers. The second-year player now has a Canada West-leading 32 catches for a total of 425 yards and 3 touchdowns. He's second in Canada West and eighth in U SPORTS with an average of 106.3 receiving yards per game, while SB Renzel Arinaza is second on the Rams in all major receiving categories with 23 receptions for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Rams dropped one spot to No. 6 in this week's U SPORTS Top 10 after last Friday's loss to Saskatchewan. The Huskies slid into that No. 5 spot thanks to that result, while Manitoba is the only other Canada West team to receive attention in this week's poll with a total of three votes.

AGAINST THE BISONS: Though the Rams and Bisons played an exhibition back in August in Winnipeg, the two teams are meeting for the first time in an official game since the Rams defeated Manitoba 28-25 in last year's Canada West semifinal matchup in Winnipeg. Manitoba holds a 26-15 edge in the 41 Canada West games played between the two teams and the Bisons also had a slim 3-2 advantage in 5 postseason affairs.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Rams have had four Canada West BioSteel Player of the Week awards so far this season. RB Marshall Erichsen won Canada West Offensive Player of the Week honours following both Week 1 and Week 3, while both DB Carson Sombach (Week 2) and LB Liam LaBelle (Week 3) have earned Canada West Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

SACK ATTACK: The Rams now have a total of seven sacks on the season with seven different players getting in on the party. LB Liam LaBelle has a team-leading 1.5 sacks on the year while LB Kaeden Brennan, LB Colin McKellar, DL Anthony Montas Leipert, LB Brandon Wong, and LB Owen Zimmer each have a single sack. DL Jacob Dakiniewich also has credit for one shared sack.

PICK PARTY: The Rams have a total of three interceptions this season with LB Liam LaBelle, DB Liam Platt, and DB Carson Sombach all registering a pick. Two of those went for significant returns the other way, including Sombach setting a school record for the longest interception return in school history after taking it 109 yards for a touchdown in the Alberta win. LaBelle had a 40-yard return on his pick in Week 3 at UBC.

GORNIAK ENJOYING FINE ROOKIE SEASON: One of just three players to break into the Rams' gameday lineup this season directly out of high school, K Ty Gorniak has done a fine job of handling the team's placekicking duties. Gorniak has hit eight of his nine field goal attempts this season, with his 89% success rate ranking third in all of U SPORTS. He's also a perfect 17-for-17 on point-after attempts.

TACKLE LEADERS: LB Owen Zimmer has a team-leading 18.0 tackles (14/8) while DB Jacob Tkachuk leads the team's defensive backs with 16.5 tackles (9/15). Despite missing the UBC game, DL Anthony Montas Leipert leads the Rams' defensive linemen with 12.5 tackles (9/7).

NEW OC: New to the staff this year is offensive coordinator Jaeden Marwick, who joins the squad after a three-year stint at Miller Comprehensive HS in Regina. Marwick, who earned All-Canadian honours as a quarterback with the Regina Thunder in 2015, played one season of U SPORTS football with Bishop's in 2016. He replaces Josh Donnelly, who left in the offseason to become an offensive assistant with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

ALL-TIME RUSHING TDs: Both Pelletier and Erichsen are now in the top five all-time in U of R history in rushing touchdowns. Atlee Simon is first with 22 and Neal Hughes is second with 17. Pelletier and Adrian Charles are tied for third with 13, while Erichsen is in sole possession of fifth place with 11 career touchdown runs.

DEBUT: The Rams expect to dress SB Kaleb Senz on Saturday as a depth receiver. In his first season with the Rams, Senz was the CJFL Special Teams Player of the Year and a BC Football Conference all-star last season with the Kamloops Broncos.

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.