2012 UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS FOOTBALL • CANADA WEST GAME #1 at CALGARY •RAMS GAMEDAY Date: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 Kickoff Time: 5:00 p.m. (MDT) Location: Calgary, Alta. Site: McMahon Stadium Capacity: 35,650 Surface: FieldTurf Rankings: Regina RV, Calgary #3 •RADIO BROADCAST INFO Radio: 620 CKRM (Regina) Broadcasters: Michael Ball, Marco Ricci Radio: QR77 (Calgary) Broadcasters: Dave Rowe, Tony Spoletini •TELEVISION BROADCAST INFO TV: Shaw Game of the Week (in Regina on Access7 with two-hour tape delay) Broadcasters: Jim Mullin, Laurence Nixon Online: Live at www.canadawest.tv Fifth-year centre Brenden Bennett will start his 30th career game on Saturday (photo by B2 Digital Imaging) •ONLINE INFORMATION Regina Rams: www.reginarams.com Canada West Game #1 Calgary Dinos: www.godinos.com Regina at Calgary •SERIES INFORMATION McMahon Stadium Conference games: Calgary leads 11-5 Postseason games: Calgary leads 3-2 Calgary, Alta. Streak: Calgary, 9 wins THE GAME Last Meeting: Calgary 16, Regina 4 on For the University of Regina Rams, the 2012 season begins on Saturday exactly where the Nov. 4, 2011 in Calgary 2011 campaign ended – at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. After being knocked out by the Dinos last year in a frigid Canada West semifinal game, the Rams will be looking for revenge •2011 CONFERENCE RECORDS against a Calgary team that is ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the season. Regina: 5-3 Kickoff is 5:00 p.m. on Saturday night. The game will be available live in Regina on radio Calgary: 8-0 at 620 CKRM and via webcast at www.canadawest.tv. It’ll also be broadcast with a two-hour tape delay on Access7. •HEAD COACHES Regina coach Frank McCrystal is in THE HEADLINES his 14th season with the Rams at the ► Saturday’s opener features the top two teams in the Canada West preseason coaches’ CIS level and holds a 49-54-1 record in poll, as Calgary was unanimously picked to finish first in the conference and the Rams were Canada West games and a 6-10 record in picked to finish second the postseason. ► Calgary (No. 3) is one of three Canada West teams to hold a spot in the first CIS Top Ten of the season, while the Rams received votes but finished just outside of the ranking ► The Rams will be looking to put the brakes to a nine-game slide against the Dinos, as Cal- Calgary coach Blake Nill is in his seventh gary has won six Canada West games and three postseason games over Regina in a streak season with the Dinos, holding a 32-16 that dates back to the 2008 season record in Canada West games and a 10-5 ► Saturday’s game marks the first of two conference meetings between the two teams this postseason record with Calgary. Including season, as they’ll also play on Friday, Oct. 19 in Regina his eight seasons at Saint Mary’s, Nill has ► This is only the second time that Calgary and Regina have opened the conference sched- an 81-31 conference record and is 22-10 ule against each other – the Rams took a 31-25 home win over the Dinos back in 2000, and in the postseason. would go on to a Canada West championship and a Vanier Cup appearance later that season 2012 UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS SCHEDULE & RESULTS DAY DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME NOTES Fri. Aug. 24 Manitoba (non-conference) Mosaic Stadium L, 29-13 Mueller returns; throws for 202 yards and three touchdowns in first half Sat. Sept. 1 at Calgary Calgary, Alta. 5:00 pm Fri. Sept. 7 UBC Mosaic Stadium 7:00 pm Fri. Sept. 14 at Alberta Edmonton, Alta. 7:00 pm Fri. Sept. 21 at Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Sask. 7:00 pm Fri. Sept. 28 Manitoba Mosaic Stadium 7:00 pm Sat. Oct. 13 at UBC Vancouver, B.C. 2:00 pm (PDT) Fri. Oct. 19 Calgary Mosaic Stadium 7:00 pm Fri. Oct. 26 Alberta Mosaic Stadium 7:00 pm 2012 UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS FOOTBALL • CANADA WEST GAME #1 at CALGARY UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS (0-0) •2011 CANADA WEST STANDINGS Coming off a 29-13 non-conference setback to Manitoba on Friday, the Rams received votes TEAM W L PF PA in the first CIS Top Ten of the season but finished just outside of the rankings. Two other Cana- Calgary 8 0 277 120 da West teams (UBC and Saskatchewan) were ranked in the national poll, but the Rams were Saskatchewan 5 3 238 152 selected to finish second in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll behind only Calgary. Regina 5 3 123 154 Regina’s offence is controlled by fifth-year quarterback Marc Mueller, who returns after suf- Manitoba 4 4 192 189 fering a shoulder injury last season on the team’s first offensive drive of the season. Muel- Alberta 2 6 73 274 ler’s receiving corps includes Canada West all-star Mark McConkey, while the line features *UBC 0 8 58 72 first-team All-Canadian guard Brett Jones. The Rams lose running back Adrian Charles and will likely use a combination of Mark Coons, Dillon Dawson, and Michael Kiapway to replace •THIS WEEK’S FRC-CIS TOP TEN Charles’ contributions by committee. No. Team Rec. Pts. Last On defence, the Rams return nine starters including defensive tackle Stefan Charles, who 1 McMaster (25) 0-0 294 - was a first-team All-Canadian in 2011 and will be relied upon to step up with Akiem Hicks now 2 Laval (4) 0-0 257 - sporting a New Orleans Saints jersey. Alex Meldrum, who returns to the fold after attending 3 Calgary (1) 0-0 246 - medical school at the University of Saskatchewan, steps right in at middle linebacker. 4 Montreal 0-0 180 - The Rams have the luxury of having arguably the top punter in the nation, as Chris Bodnar 5 Western 0-0 142 - was a first-team All-Canadian last year and is the school’s career leader in yards per punt. 6 Queen’s 0-0 121 - After this weekend, the Rams will prepare for their home opener on Friday, Sept. 7 against 7 UBC 0-0 100 - UBC. 8 Saskatchewan 0-0 81 - UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY DINOS (0-0) 9 Acadia 0-0 51 - Winners of four consecutive Canada West championships, Calgary enters the 2012 cam- 10 Windsor 0-0 50 - paign ranked No. 3 in the first CIS Top Ten and was unanimously selected to finish first in the Other teams receiving votes: Sherbrooke Canada West standings in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll. (45), Regina (35), Guelph (23), Manitoba Calgary’s offence loses just one starter from last season and has four returning All-Canadi- (6), Concordia (3), Wilfrid Laurier (2). ans, including running back Steven Lumbala and offensive linemen Kirby Fabien, Quinn Mc- •CANADA WEST PRESEASON POLL Caughan, and Reed Alexander. Quarterback Eric Dzwilewski enters his third year as the Dinos’ starter. No. Team Pts. Defensively, the Dinos need to compensate for the departure of two-time Canada West 1 Calgary (5) 50 defensive MVP Sam Hurl, who’s in his first CFL campaign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 2 Regina 33 Redshirt sophomore Cory Roboch takes over Hurl’s middle linebacker position, while All-Cana- 3 UBC 25 dians Linden Gaydosh and Jordan Verdone will both return. 4 Manitoba (1) 24 The Dinos remain at home next week to host the Alberta Golden Bears on Friday, Sept. 7. 5 Saskatchewan 19 6 Alberta 5 RAMS/DINOS SERIES Since the Rams ascended to the CIS prior to the 1999 season, Regina and Calgary have •CANADA WEST NON-CONFERENCE played a total of 21 games against each other – 16 in conference play and five more in the Aug. 24 Manitoba 29, Regina 13 postseason. Calgary, which has an 11-5 advantage in Canada West games and a 3-2 edge in Aug. 24 Guelph 26, Saskatchewan 21 playoff contests, is riding a nine-game winning streak over the Rams which dates back to the Aug. 25 Menlo College 28, UBC 13 2008 season and includes victories in three postseason contests. The Rams are searching for their first win over Calgary since Oct. 6, 2007 (42-17) and their first road win over the Dinos •CANADA WEST WEEK 1 (LOCAL TIME) since winning a 37-35 thriller back on Oct. 4, 2003. Aug. 31 Alberta at Saskatchewan (7:00) Sept. 1 Manitoba at UBC (2:00) RAMS RECORD WATCH Sept. 1 Regina at Calgary (5:00) • QB Marc Mueller has a good shot at a pair of milestones this week, as he needs 17 comple- tions to pass Mark Anderson for No. 2 on the U of R’s all-time list and 173 passing yards to •RAMS RESULTS vs. CALGARY become the third player in school history to hit 5000 for his career Oct. 9, 1999 H L, 24-44 • WR Mark McConkey needs 60 receiving yards to pass Chris Bauman for sixth on the U of Sept. 2, 2000 H W, 31-25 R’s all-time list and 114 to pass Michael Thomas for fifth Oct. 13, 2000 A L, 13-47 • McConkey also has a shot at former teammate Chad Goldie’s Canada West record of 173 ¹Nov. 3, 2000 A W, 33-32 career receptions this season, as he enters this week needing 29 to overtake Goldie Sept. 28, 2001 A L, 33-35 • DL Logan Brooks needs two sacks to overtake Sean Brimacombe for No. 2 on the U of R’s all-time list and four to pass Stan Van Sichem as the school’s career leader Sept.