Saturday afternoon will be a special occasion at IG Field for a number of reasons. First, it's the Bison football team's annual homecoming game, which always draws a big crowd. There looks to be over 4,000 fans in attendance, and Manitoba is 8-1 in their homecoming game dating back to when IG Field opened in 2013. Their only loss inside IG Field for homecoming took place in 2017 to Calgary. 

On the field, the biggest news comes at the kicker position, where Minnesota native Maya Turner will make history as the first-ever female to suit up in a U SPORTS regular season game. If she makes a field goal, or even gets a single, she will become the first female to score a point in a regular season game. The former Division 1 soccer player already became the first female to score points in a U SPORTS game when she kicked a field goal against Saskatchewan in the 2022 pre-season. 

Matchup-wise, the Bisons are 23-16 over their last 23 seasons against Regina. The two teams traded wins in 2022, with the Rams winning the first contest 33-23 and the Bisons winning the second, 44-30. The Herd also beat Regina 26-7 on the road in the pre-season, with starting quarterback Jackson Tachinski and long-time friend Vaughan Lloyd (relationship dates back to elementary school) combining for over 200 all-purpose yards in one half. 

The most productive player for Regina over the team's last two regular season games against each other has been receiver Bennett Stusek, who has 180 yards and two majors, including 131 in a road win for the Rams at the start of 2022. On defence, linebacker Cameron Mah -- who leads the Rams with 18 tackles and half a sack -- recorded four tackles, half a sack and a forced fumble in the two team's second meeting of 2022. 

For the Bisons, look for 2022 All-Canadian AK Gassama to have a big game. In Manitoba's 44-30 win on the road on October 29, he tallied a career-high 210 recieving yards, the fourth-most in a game in program history, while helping graduated pivot Des Catellier break the team's passing record. 

Gassama -- who has 210 all-purpose yards on the year -- scored touchdowns of 75 and 42 in the contest, using his speed to break away from the Regina secondary. In two games in 2022 against the Rams, Gassama went over 100 yards both times, for a combined total of 319 yards and three scores. 

Defensively, Manitoba is second in Canada West with five interceptions, led by two from Sebastien Reid. Statistically, third-year middle linebacker Isaac Dokken is tied for second on the team with 13.5 tackles, along with an interception, and he has 108 tackles in his Bisons career, which is 16th all-time, just 24 shy of the top ten. 

This game is massive in the standings, with both teams fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot in CanWest. Regina is 1-2 after knocking off 0-3 Calgary last week, while the Bisons are looking for their first win of the season, however they've faced nationally ranked opponents each of the first three weeks in Saskatchewan (2-1), Alberta (3-0) and UBC (3-0). 

This is the first of two meetings between the two teams in 2023, with the rematch set for October 14 in Regina. 

First-year Owen Sieben played the second half for the Rams following an injury to Bryden O'Flaherty, getting his first career win, 23-15 over Calgary. He threw for 187 yards and a major. On the Bisons side, Sawyer Thiessen got his second career start last week against UBC following an upper body injury to starter Jackson Tachinski. Suffice to say, both teams have starting experience at the pivot position, with each featuring three different pivots in 2023.