SASKATOON, Sask. — For the third consecutive season, Griffiths Stadium is set to host a provincial rivalry in the Canada West playoffs. This Saturday (Nov. 7) the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of Regina Rams clash yet again in an elimination game, this time with an 89th Hardy Cup berth on the line.
After each program defeated the other for a conference title in the past two season, the Huskies and Rams meet in the semi-finals for the first time since 2012. It will mark the fourth semi-final tilt between the two programs and the eighth all-time postseason meeting. Saskatchewan came out of the most recent standoff, winning their 22nd conference title in 2025 and avenging a loss in the 2024 Hardy Cup which saw Regina reign supreme in Canada West.
Kickoff in the semi-final bout is scheduled for 2:00 PM CST at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park. Tickets are available at HuskieTIckets.com. Fans unable to attend can tune in live on SaskTel Max TV and CanadaWest.tv, or listen live at HuskieFAN.ca or the HuskieFAN app.
Recent history would tell us to expect the unexpected when the Huskies and Rams share the field. In each of the past five meetings, the rivalry has featured an average of three turnovers per game, seen two second-half shutouts, two fourth-quarter comebacks, and countless momentum swings as the two programs have continuously exchanged haymaker after haymaker.
Earlier this season was no different. When Saskatchewan and Regina met at Mosaic Stadium in Week 4, the game saw two fumbles returned for touchdowns, a dominant third quarter momentum swing in the Huskies favour and a fourth quarter comeback attempt from the Rams that fell short on the Saskatchewan 29-yard line with 51 seconds remaining. The Huskies escaped with a 38-31 victory, one of six wins for the Dogs and four losses for Regina.
Also drawing similarities to prior matchups is the offensive approaches from the two squads. Saskatchewan has relied heavily on the nation's most productive passing attack which has averaged over 370 yards through the air per game, while Regina has leaned on a conference-leading run game totaling nearly 200 yards per outing.
The Huskies potent air raid offence is led by fifth-year field general
Anton Amundrud, who finished the regular season with 2,686 yards—the of any quarterback in U SPORTS. In his final season in green & white, Amundrud has enjoyed the luxury of one of the country's deepest receiving room. Rookie sensation
Keaton Belsher has led the group all season, recording 883 yards and five majors in his debut campaign, and is followed by veteran pass catchers
Rhett Vavra and
Dawson Lennea. The pair of slot backs also finished top-5 in the conference for receiving yards, totaling 600 and 492 respectively while finding the endzone four times each.
Despite the losses of running back Christian Katende and Marshall Erichsen, who returned briefly mid-season after a season-ending injury a year ago, Regina has maintained the conference top ruching attack. Freshman back Carter Ashman has stepped up to fill the void, closing out the regular season campaign with the most attempts (132) and second-most yards (776) in Canada West.
While Saskatchewan's passing attack and Regina's ground game have been among the nation's best, their offensive counterparts have left something to be desired. The Huskies rushing attack ranks fifth in Canada West, despite producing 13 majors, while the Regina passing game has averaged just 182.5 yards per game and resulted in more turnovers (9) than touchdowns (7).
With the defensive game plans seemingly clear on paper, the key matchup will be which defensive unit steps up. Both units have been stout in limiting opponent yardage, ranking first and second in the conference, while Regina holds the advantage in points allowed, giving up just over 18 a game to Saskatchewan's 28.6.
Penalities, or the lack there of, also have the potential to play a critical role in the outcome of Saturday's semi-final. Saskatchewan ranks as the most penalized team in Canada West, averaging 9.9 a game for 92.8 yards. Regina meanwhile has been the best in the conference at limiting penalty yardage, seeing just 6.5 calls and 52.3 yards go against them per game.
For whoever comes out on top, the win will set up an 89th Hardy Cup berth and matchup against the winner of the conference's other semi-final between the No. 4-seed Manitoba Bisons and No. 1-seed UBC Thunderbirds. The Bisons and T-Birds will take the field at Thunderbird stadium concurrently with the Huskies and Rams tilt at Griffiths.
GAME NOTES
A TRILOGY COMPLETED: This week will mark the third consecutive playoff meeting between the Huskies and Rams at Griffiths in the Canada West postseason. In the first edition of the elimination rivalry game, Regina beat the Dogs on their home turf 19-14 to win the 2024 Hardy Cup. Saskatchewan then responded with a conference title of their own, defeating the Rams 25-24 in comeback fashion last season. The teams will now meet for the eighth time in the playoffs and the fifth time in the conference semi-finals.
BATTERED IN BC: Last week Saskatchewan suffered their worst loss since 2015 in the form of a 59-24 beatdown at the hands of the UBC Thunderbirds. It marked the most points allowed for the Dogs since a 2015 loss to Calgary and the first time since 1987 the Huskies had given up 50+ points to the T-Birds. After falling behind by just a single point at halftime, Saskatchewan was outscored 42-1 in the second half with the exception of a late Rhett Vavra touchdown with the game well out of hand. To make matters worse, the result saw the Huskies surrender home field advantage in the playoffs, dropping to the No. 2 seed in the conference.
BESTED THE BISONS: Regina enters the playoff contest coming off of a well-earned victory in Winnipeg over the Manitoba Bisons to clinch the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The Rams took an early lead with a Nathan Udoh touchdown and never looked back, controlling the contest on their way to a 26-15 victory.
LAST TIME ON BATTLE OF THE PRAIRIES: Saturday's semi-final contest will mark the second meeting between the provincial rivals this season with the only other coming in Week 4 in Regina. As has so often been the case in the rivalry, the first half featured a back-and-forth affair ending in a 17-17 halftime stalemate. Saskatchewan then dominated the third quarter, scoring a trio of touchdowns and out-gaining the Rams 175 to -10. Despite a pair of late scores from Regina in the fourth quarter, the Huskies defence held on for the win.
CLOSE CLASHES: Since the start of the 2024 season, Saskatchewan and Regina have met seven times. On three occasions the contest has been decided by two points or fewer and not once has the winning team claimed victory by more than seven points.
BEST ON BEST... AGAIN: The Saskatchewan-Regina playoff matchup will once again feature the conference's top offensive unit against the best defensive unit. Saskatchewan, led by the nation's best passing attack, has averaged nearly 500 yards this season while scoring 35.9 points per game. The Rams defence meanwhile once again leads Canada West in both points (18.3) and yards (346.3) allowed.
BE A GOLDFISH: Despite being statistically the highest ranking units, both the Huskie offence and Regina defence are coming off of games they would like to forget. Regina allowed over 300 yards passing to Manitoba in Winnipeg, a season-high for the Bisons, while Saskatchewan moved the ball, but could not finish drives on the road against UBC.
AIR RAID VS GROUND & POUND: Saturday will also see differring offensive styles go head to head. Saskatchewan has relied heavily on the passing game, which more often than not, has yielded positive results with 371.8 yards per game and 17 majors. However the run game has left something to be desired with just 117.6 yards per outting.
Regina meanwhile, boasts the conference's best run game which has produced nearly 200 yards per game. However, the Rams have struggled heavily through the air, averaging just 182.5 yards per game and producing more turnovers (10) than touchdowns (7).
NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION: With 397 yards last week in Vancouver, Anton Amundrud closed out the regular season and the nation's leading passer with 2,686 yards. Five times this year the fifth-year pivot surpassed the 300-yard mark and in Week 6 he set a new career-high with 506 yards against the Manitoba Bisons. He also ranks third in both completions and attempts, fifth in touchdowns, eighth in completion percentage, and ninth in passing efficiency.
MADE HISTORY: Fifth-year quarterback Anton Amundrud set a new program mark for career passing yards Friday against Alberta, surpassing former Huskie and Vanier Cup Champion Brent Schneider. Amundrud sits atop the record book with 8,797 career passing yards.
ALONE AT NO. 4: Fifth-year receiver Rhett Vavra closes out his career in fourth-place all time in program history for touchdown receptions after recording the 18th of his career last week.
RECENT HEAD-TO-HEAD MEETINGS
- 2026 Week 4 - Huskies 38 - Rams 31
- 2025 Hardy Cup - Huskies 25 - Rams 24
- 2025 Week 4 - Huskies 22 - Rams 20
- 2024 Hardy Cup - Rams 19 - Huskies 14
- 2024 Week 7 - Huskies 22 - Rams 20
- 2024 Week 2 - Rams 33 - Huskies 28
