The Regina Rams can nail down the last remaining playoff spot in Canada West football with a road win over Manitoba on Saturday. A loss, however, could end a season with lofty expectations much earlier than anticipated.
A victory seeds them third in the conference, ahead of Manitoba, and books a playoff road trip to visit either the UBC Thunderbirds or Saskatchewan Huskies in the playoffs.
A U of R defeat puts those playoff plans in major jeopardy. The Rams would require help from the other Canada West game Saturday in Edmonton: A Calgary Dinos loss to the Alberta Golden Bears would be needed to get the Rams into the postseason with the fourth seed.
"I don't want to think about that," Rams coach Mark McConkey said. "You never want to lose your way into the playoffs and need to have someone else help you out. It's right in front of us and it's pretty simple. We win and we're in. We're a good football team who's just hurt ourselves in games.
"We're deserving (of a playoff spot), but we've got to win this weekend."
The Rams started the season 2-0 but have lost four of their last five games, leaving them hot around the collar heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The winner of this game getting the third seed may have added importance with the understanding that both Regina and Manitoba are teams that rely less on their passing games than the top two seeds from Saskatchewan and UBC. That style of play might be better built for playoff weather than those two heavyweights.
It's entirely possible the Rams and Bisons could meet again in the Hardy Cup, a possibility not lost on Manitoba head coach Stan Pierre. His team has already clinched a playoff berth but still has something big to play for Saturday.
"You never know what's going to happen," Pierre said. "You could end up with a home game in the second (playoff) game and so there's value in that.
"Am I articulating that to the kids? No. We're trying to win this game like we're trying to win all the games and we're going to end up where we end up."
It wasn't that long ago when Manitoba saved the Rams' season. A late comeback Bison win over Alberta at the end of 2024 campaign got the Rams into the playoffs. The Rams showed their gratitude by eliminating them two weeks later. Regina also knocked out Manitoba of the playoffs last year.
Manitoba's coach sees it all as ancient history that has no bearing for his team in this game.
"That really is irrelevant to us," Pierre said. "We're just worried about ourselves and working through our goals."
McConkey appeared on the SportsCage on Thursday. Check out his segment below.
