Alumni of the University of Regina Rams and University of Saskatchewan Huskies don’t always get along as amicably as Nick Wiebe and Jaxon Ford.
It helps, mind you, that they are teammates with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, whereas they were once on opposing sides in the Canada West football ranks.
“We jab at each other all the time,” Wiebe, a former U of S linebacker, said at Mosaic Stadium in advance of Friday’s Rams-Huskies game (7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“It’s not just a ‘Rams hate week’ thing when we go at each other, but one thing I will say is that I never lost to the Rams. I let him know that every day. I played them seven times and they could never get it done.
“We actually had a joke up in Saskatoon. We called this place Griffiths South. I’ve never lost to him and I make sure he knows that.”
Oh, does he ever.
Ford has some ammunition of his own thanks to the teams’ comparative records early this season.
The Rams kicked off their 2024 campaign on Aug. 30 by defeating the University of Calgary Dinos 24-18 at McMahon Stadium.
The following afternoon, the University of Manitoba Bisons defeated the Huskies 37-24 at Princess Auto Stadium — where the Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers are to collide on Saturday (1 p.m., CTV, CKRM).
“(The Huskies) lost to Manitoba last week, so he heard a little bit from me,” Ford, a former Rams defensive back, said with a smile.
The Huskies-Manitoba result also pleased Roughriders Defensive Assistant Jordan Linnen, who played for the Bisons in 2013 and 2014.
“I had to wear a Bisons jersey today, just because we lost last week,” Wiebe said on Thursday. “Jordan Linnen actually made me wear that one. It hurt a little bit.
“The brown doesn’t look quite as good as the green.”
The Rams and Huskies are among the many football organizations in the province that receive support from the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation.
