Week 3 Preview: No. 6 Rams at UBC

• The Rams are one of two remaining undefeated Canada West teams after a 47-23 win over Alberta on Friday at Leibel Field.

• DB Carson Sombach became the second Rams player in as many games to earn a weekly award after claiming Canada West Defensive Player of the Week honours thanks in large part to a 109-yard pick six in the fourth quarter.

• UBC comes into the game with a 1-1 conference record. The Thunderbirds opened up Canada West play with a home win over Manitoba, but suffered a loss on Friday to Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
 

SOMBACH HONOURED: DB Carson Sombach was named Canada West Defensive Player of the Week after his record-breaking pick six sealed Friday's win over Alberta. With the Golden Bears in the red zone and threatening to make it a 10-point game in the fourth quarter, Sombach jumped in front of an Eli Hetlinger pass on the one-yard line and ran it all the way back for a touchdown. His 109-yard pick-six goes down as the longest interception return in University of Regina history and is also tied for the second longest in Canada West history.

TWO-HEADED MONSTER: Last week's win over Alberta saw RB Marshall Erichsen and RB Christian Katende became the first U of R Rams teammates to rush for at least 100 yards in the same game. Erichsen rushed for a career-high 171 rushing yards and Katende finished with 112, with both players scoring a touchdown in the victory. As a team, the Rams finished with 298 rushing yards — their most since running for 327 yards over Manitoba in a win over the Bisons during the 2010 season.

UP THE RANKINGS: The Rams moved up three spots to No. 6 in this week's U SPORTS Top Ten, jumping over Queen's, Bishop's, and UBC after each of those teams suffered losses over the weekend. The Rams were also ranked No. 6 for a three-weeks stretch during the 2022 campaign, and the last time they ranked higher was back in 2017 when they were No. 5 for the first two polls of the season. 

BIG START FOR ERICHSEN: Through just two games, Erichsen ranks second in the nation to Western's Ethan Dolby in both rushing yards (286) and rushing touchdowns (5). Though we're only a quarter through the Canada West schedule, Erichsen's is on pace to threaten the school single-season records for rushing yards (972 by Adrian Charles in 2010), rushing touchdowns (9 by Neal Hughes in 2003 and by Charles in 2010), and touchdowns scored (14 by Jason Clermont in 2001).

ON TARGET: With Erichsen and Katende causing all sorts of problems for Alberta at Leibel on Friday, QB Noah Pelletier was only called upon to attempt 18 passes. He completed 14 of them, with his 77.8% completion rate tying a pair of Noah Picton performances for fourth in school single-game history. Pelletier ranks second in Canada West and fifth in U SPORTS in completion percentage (72.2%) for the season.

LOOKING FOR 3-0: The Rams are 2-0 for the third time in the last four seasons, having also won their first two Canada West games during the 2022 and 2024 campaigns. A win would give the Rams their third 3-0 start in school history, with the others coming in 2001 and 2002. Both of those squads won each of their first four conference games.

ONE-TWO PUNCH: WR Nicholas Sirleaf and SB Renzel Arinaza have combined for over three-quarters of the team's receiving yards this season. Sirleaf has 14 catches for a team-high 209 yards, while Arinaza has a team-leading 15 catches for 190 yards. Both of the second-year receivers have one touchdown catch on the season.

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. The Rams rank ninth in the nation in yards per game (469.5) through the first two weeks of the season.

STINGY RUN D: After limiting Alberta to just 67 yards on the ground, the Rams now rank second in Canada West and sixth in U SPORTS with an average of 182 rushing yards allowed per game.

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 now in sole possession of fifth place after collecting his 10th career touchdown run in the win over Alberta.

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

DEBUT: Expected to make the trip to UBC for his first Canada West game is WR Ambrose Abiara, who redshirted with the Rams last season. Abiara, the first Rams player to call Tisdale, Sask. home since Keenan Carrier played in 2014 and 2015, is also a sprinter with the U of R Cougars track & field team.

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.