The Huskies and Rams, shown playing last year's conference final, are preparing to meet in the postseason for a third straight year.
The Huskies and Rams, shown playing last year's conference final, are preparing to meet in the postseason for a third straight year.
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If good things come in threes, it should be an interesting afternoon at Griffiths Stadium on Saturday.
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and Regina Rams are getting ready for yet another playoff clash — their third in three seasons, with the first two an even split.
The provincial football rivals will meet in a semifinal contest Saturday, 2 p.m. at Saskatoon's Griffiths Stadium, and here's some things to know as game time moves closer.
The playoff rivalry
In 2024, the underdog Rams — who went 3-5 during the regular season — launched a playoff tear that saw them beat first-place Manitoba before upsetting the Huskies 19-14 in the conference final.
The same teams met in last season's title bout, and this time, Lukas Scott's 25-yard field goal with 25 seconds on the clock capped off a 25-24 Huskies win. Regina led 24-9 going into the fourth quarter, but two Saskatchewan touchdowns and the field goal cemented the victory.
The Huskies eventually advanced to the Vanier Cup, which they lost 30-16 to Montreal.
The season that was
The Huskies placed second in Canada West with a 6-2 record. The UBC Thunderbirds were also 6-2, but earned the first-place tiebreaker after thrashing Saskatchewan 59-24 in the regular-season finale this past weekend.
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That Huskies loss snapped a six-game win streak.
Regina placed third with a 4-4 mark, and a tiebreaker figured in there as well. They finished one spot ahead of the 4-4 Manitoba Bisons, who will meet UBC in the other conference semifinal.
The Rams booked tickets to the all-Saskatchewan matchup by beating Manitoba 26-15 this past weekend.
The Huskies and Rams met head-to-head just once in 2026, and that ended with a 38-31 Saskatchewan victory in Regina.
Stats Story
Saskatchewan quarterback Anton Amundrud — the team's all-time passing leader — topped the conference in completions (185), attempts (279), yards (2,686) and touchdown passes (15). His yardage total also leads the nation.
His biggest target was freshman Keaton Belsher, who was second in Canada West with 49 catches for 883 yards. Rhett Vavra (600 yards) and Dawson Lennea (492) also cracked the league's top five.
Regina's Chris Ashman was second in rushing yards with 776, first in attempts with 132, and second in rushing touchdowns with seven.
Defensively, Regina linebacker Owen Zimmer topped the conference with three sacks.
On the team front, the Huskies led the conference by scoring 35.9 points per game (Regina was third with 26.5), but the Rams' stingy defence gave up a league-low 18.3 points per game. The Huskies finished fourth with 28.6.
What comes next
The winner of Saturday's game advances to the conference final against either UBC or Manitoba. If the Thunderbirds win, the championship match will be played there. If the Bisons win, the game will be hosted in either Regina or Saskatoon.
The conference champion will play the following weekend in the Uteck Bowl, to be hosted by the Quebec winner, with the Vanier Cup slated for Nov. 28 in Laval.
kemitchell@postmedia.com
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