Regina Rams-UBC Preview

Photo: Courtesy Dheillyfire Photography

Rams, UBC to clash Saturday in Hardy Cup semifinal at Mosaic

KICKOFF: Saturday, Nov. 5 (3:30 PM)
SITE: Mosaic Stadium (Regina, Sask.)
CAPACITY: 33,427
RANKINGS: UBC NR, Regina #4
TELEVISION: Canada West Football on Shaw - Access7 in Regina (Warren Woods/PxP, Darren Dupont/CC)
REGINA RADIO: RM2 - 620ckrm.com (Mitchell Blair/PxP, Gary Bresch/CC, Marco Ricci/CC)
LIVE VIDEO: www.canadawest.tv ($)

• Saturday’s game will be the third time the Rams and UBC have played this season, but the first postseason meeting ever between the two teams.

• The Rams could host up to three postseason games thanks to their first-place finish, the first time in program history they’ve finished atop the Canada West standings. With a win over UBC, they’d also host the Hardy Cup next Saturday, Nov. 12 against the winner of the Calgary/Saskatchewan semifinal. And a win in the Hardy Cup would mean they’d host the Mitchell Bowl the following weekend against the Atlantic University Sport champion.

• After a 20-10 road win over UBC in Week 2 and a 35-33 home win over the Thunderbirds in Week 7, the Rams will be looking for another program first on Saturday – they’ve never defeated the same team three times in one U Sports season.

PICTON SETS NATIONAL PASSING YARDS RECORD: Rams QB Noah Picton finished his sensational season with 459 passing yards last week at Manitoba, giving him 3186 for the year. That breaks the national single-season record of 3162, set just last year by Calgary’s Andrew Buckley. Picton also finished the year as the U Sports leader in completion rate (69.3%) and touchdown passes (25) and was second in the nation with 224 completions.

RAMS PUT SEVEN ON ALL-STAR TEAM: Canada West announced its football all-stars this week, and seven Rams earned recognition from the conference for their strong play this season. DB Kahlen Branning, LB Danny Nesbitt, SB Mitchell Picton, QB Noah Picton, DB Jeff Propp, and OL Jeremy Zver were all named Canada West all-stars.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Rams/UBC semifinal immediately follows the Calgary/Saskatchewan semifinal, which kicks off at noon Saturday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The two semifinal winners will meet in the Hardy Cup next weekend, and the winner of that Canada West championship game will then host the Atlantic University Sport champion in the Mitchell Bowl for the right to advance to the Vanier Cup.

FINISHING FIRST: It’s been an incredible turnaround for the Rams this season under the guidance of first-year head coach Steve Bryce. The team’s win locked up first place in the Canada West standings for the first time in program history, as the Rams have finished second on three occasions – 2001, 2007, and 2012 – but never first.

RECEIVER U: Three of the top four receivers in Canada West were Rams slotbacks, including Mitchell Picton with 834 yards, Ryan Schienbein with 790, and Riley Wilson with 627. Picton also led Canada West with 58 receptions and was tops in the nation with 11 touchdown catches, a total which tied Jason Clermont’s school record set back in 2001. Schienbein was second in Canada West behind Picton in all three major receiving categories, including yards, receptions (54), and touchdown catches (7). Wilson finished with 37 catches for 627 yards and one touchdown on an 81-yard catch-and-run from Tyler Vieira last week.

DEFENSIVE NUMBERS: Rookie DL Nicholas Dheilly exploded onto the scene as a starter beginning in Week 4 and finished the season tied for second in Canada West in both sacks (4) and tackles for loss (7.5). LB Danny Nesbitt was fourth in the conference in tackles (34 solo, 36 assisted) and was among a group of players including teammate Joey Dwyer tied for third in Canada West with two forced fumbles.