REGINA – Big play after big play on offence gave the underdogs the lead, and a big play on defence iced it late as the ninth-ranked University of Regina Rams handed the No. 2 University of Calgary Dinos their first loss of the season by a 32-27 score at Mosaic Stadium Friday night.

After giving up 25 unanswered points to fall behind in the third quarter, the Dinos mounted a furious comeback in the final stages of the game but ended up a yard short of the win. Quarterback Jimmy Underdahl led the potential game-winning drive down the field, and with just seconds on the clock saw an opening and took off from the 12-yard line. He had his eyes on the end zone, but a big hit by Regina's Joey Dwyer inside the one-yard line knocked the ball loose, and the Rams recovered to seal the victory.

Playing their third out-of-province game in four weeks, the Dinos jumped out to a 14-0 lead with the wind in the fourth quarter, holding the Rams to just eight offensive yards in the opening 15 minutes Josiah Joseph scored the Dinos' lone touchdown in that stretch, however, as three times the Dinos had to settle for field goal attempts inside the red zone.

In the second, though, the conference's leading passer, Regina's Noah Picton, started airing it out. The Rams snatched momentum late in the first half when Picton connected with Ryan Schienbein for a 68-yard touchdown, and after the Dinos gave up a safety it was 14-9 at the half.

The Rams' momentum carried over into the third as Picton found his cousin Mitchell Picton for a pair of 13-yard touchdowns sandwiching a Daniel Scraper field goal, and it was 25-14 Rams. Calgary kicker Niko DiFonte's third field goal of the night cut the lead to eight heading into the fourth.

Needing points, the Dinos instead gave them up early in the final frame when Mitchell Picton turned a 7-yard pass into a 58-yard touchdown to make it 32-17. DiFonte hit another field goal, and then Jimmy Underdahl found Kelton Bailey for a 36-yard touchdown with 2:31 to play.

The defence got the stop it needed, setting up the Dinos on the Regina 40 with 90 seconds to play. A pair of third-down conversions to Tyler Ledwos kept the drive alive, but Dwyer's hit on Underdahl snuffed out the Dinos' chances.

"They went after the young guys and were having success there," said Dinos Head Coach Wayne Harris after the first regular season loss of his CIS coaching career. "They had a good game plan, and we had a hard time covering that deep route. We didn't finish drives early – we didn't take the opportunity to put it in the end zone when we had the chance.

"In the fourth quarter, the offence and defence both responded – they knew what was at stake. They worked hard to the bitter end, and we just came up one yard short. That's just the nature of the game – give Regina credit, they put enough points up to beat us."

Underdahl completed 27 of 45 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Hunter Karl was the Dinos' leading receiver with 74 yards on six receptions, while Jeshrun Antwi picked up 74 rushing yards. Noah Picton responded with 452 passing yards, connecting with Mitchell Picton 13 times for 215 yards and three TDs.

With the win, the Rams take over first place in the conference at 3-1, matching the Dinos with that mark. Both teams remain home next week: the Rams host the Saskatchewan Huskies to open the new Mosaic Stadium, while the Dinos will celebrate the University of Calgary's 50th Anniversary as they take on the Alberta Golden Bears at McMahon Stadium. Juno Award-winning band Dear Rouge will play pre-game and at halftime of that contest next Saturday, Oct. 1. Further information and tickets are available at www.godinos.com/battleofalberta.

-UC-