New Mosaic Stadium set for Rams and Huskies
They’ll pile into a big, gleaming, $278 million edifice Saturday afternoon, for the express purpose of kicking and throwing a football.
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies are preparing to make a little history when they meet the Regina Rams at new Mosaic Stadium (2 p.m., CJWW 600). It’s the first-ever event held at the brandnew facility, and they’ll play in front of a curious crowd wanting to see what all the fuss is about.
It would be easy, both head coaches agreed this week, to lose sight of the football game amid the fanfare. Easy, but not advisable.
“There’s lots of hype,” said Huskies’ head coach Brian Towriss. “You do have to manage it, but it’s a football game, once we get started.”
Both teams are practising at the new facility on Friday. Towriss made sure to line that up when the game was made official, because he didn’t want his players to act like tourists on Saturday. Get it out of their systems a day earlier, in other words.
“It’s kind of like that old Hoosiers thing,” says Rams’ head coach Steve Bryce, “where the coach takes them out on the court, measures the free-throw line and the height of the basket. We’re playing on a football field. It’s 110 yards long, it’s turf we practice and play on all the time. Don’t worry about what’s going on around you, and the lights, and the number of people, because it boils down to a very important football game.”
The Rams, who suffered through an 0-8 campaign last season, have a surprising 3-1 record heading into the game with Saskatchewan. They lost 41-39 to the Huskies in overtime during the season opener for both teams, but have since scaled the heights and now hold the No. 4 national ranking.
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, started 2-0, but have lost two straight games including a 38-17 loss to the host Manitoba Bisons this past Saturday. The Huskies led 1713 at halftime, but surrendered 25 unanswered second-half points in what Towriss called “pretty much a complete collapse.”
The Huskies’ schedule won’t get much easier after the Rams game. They’ll partake in a conferencewide bye the following weekend, before playing Vanier Cup-champion UBC and No. 5-ranked Calgary. They close their regular-season campaign with a home game against the still-winless Alberta Golden Bears.
“It’s certainly going to take on a bit of a playoff atmosphere,” Towriss said of that Rams/Huskies game. “... it’s going to be a rare, unique experience for our kids. I know they’ve been looking forward to it since it’s been announced.”