The University of Regina Rams are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The football team will host the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Mosaic Stadium in the first round of playoffs.
It has been six years since the Rams have hosted a postseason game.
“We’re very excited,” said head coach, Mark McConkey. “It’s been a long time, I think 2016 was the last time we hosted a playoff game so coaches, players, everyone on staff is excited —it’s going to be a good one on Saturday.”
McConkey stated that while UBC has an explosive offence, they have one of the best defences in Canada, which include defensive lineman, Anthony Bennett.
Bennett set the U of R single-season sacks record this year with eight, while also being named Canada West defensive player of the week three times this season.
“He’s a pretty special player and we’re just lucky to have him,” said McConkey. “Hopefully he can just continue to help us win some games in the month of November.”
They will need Bennett to be on his game if they want to continue to play into November.
This will be the Rams’ third consecutive postseason game against the Thunderbirds, having played them back in 2016 and 2017.
The Rams hold an 18-15 record against UBC in regular season games, but haven fallen 0-2 in playoffs.
However, luckily, history may be on Regina’s side.
The Rams are 3-1 in Canada West semi-final games hosted in the Queen City. That one loss was in 2016 to UBC, but it was the final game played at Taylor Field.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts sent to your device
While hosting the game may prove in their favour, McConkey said they are not focusing on history, but rather on the future.
“It’s exciting for sure but again we’ve got bigger goals in mind. We want to get to the Vanier Cup,” he said.
But the road to the Vanier Cup is not so easily paved.
The Rams finished ninth in the U Sport Standings, with a record of 5-3.
With a win on Saturday, they will advance to the 85th Hardy Cup, against either the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, or the University of Manitoba Bisons.
Should the Huskies win, the Rams would travel to Saskatoon, but if the underdog Bisons are the victor, the cup would be hosted in Regina.
First, McConkey said the Rams need that win on Saturday.
“This was always that first step to the Vanier Cup— you gotta make playoffs, then you gotta win the Hardy Cup, then you gotta win the Vanier Cup. So it’s step one complete. We’ve got our eyes on the next one already, but we’ve gotta take care of business on Saturday here.”
