Tonight, the University Of Regina Rams will kick off their season when they host the UBC Thunderbirds.

The Rams’ championship hopes were crushed when they lost to the Thunderbirds on their home turf in the Canada West semi-finals last season.

Earlier this week, the Canada West Football preseason coaches’ poll was released. The Rams were ranked fourth in the conference, while the Thunderbirds and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies finished tied for the top spot.

After being pegged to finish at the bottom in 2022, Rams quarterback Noah Pelletier says the team can use the low expectations as a motivational tool.

“We know we can compete with the top teams in the league again, so again we’re going out there with something to prove, we’re excited to see the top two teams in the first two weeks, so we’ll be able to prove something here. ”

Last week, the Rams faced the University of Manitoba Bisons in an exhibition matchup. The Bisons came out on top 26-7. Even though he would’ve liked to see more points on the board, Pelletier was happy for the team to gain some valuable game experience before the regular season.

“We saw what we thought we needed to see especially from all of our starting guys.”

Entering his second season as the Rams quarterback, Pelletier has become more comfortable leading the green and gold.

“I don’t have those first-year jitters anymore, with a year under my belt, I definitely understand defences more, I understand our playbook and our receivers. ”

One player that has impressed Pelletier through training camp is former Regina Thunder receiver Rylan Sokul. The Rams quarterback said Sokul has done an excellent job earning a spot in the Rams lineup.

“Wherever I kind of put the ball he always seems to come down with it.”

Coverage of the Rams vs. Thunderbirds game starts at 6:45 on 620 CKRM with Sean Kleisinger. Kickoff is at 7:00 at Mosaic Stadium.