A last-second blooper sunk the Regina Rams on Saturday, but it was hardly to blame for them losing their third straight game.
Rams kicker Ty Gorniak doinked a 22-yard field-goal try off the upright that would have salvaged a victory but instead resulted out to be a 14-13 loss to the Calgary Dinos.
The defeat dropped the Rams into fifth place in the Canada West standings heading into their bye week, leaving them out of a playoff position going into the home stretch.
Rams coach Mark McConkey was quick to blame his offence's putrid performance for the loss and not the final play.
"We've got the best kicker in U Sports," he said. "That's not what lost us the game. It was probably the 60 plays prior to that.
“We just didn't do a good job offensively today. Too many dropped passes. Too many errant throws and too many missed blocks. We've got the bye week to recover, and we've just got to get better as a team."
It was a dreadful game to watch for fans of either side who like offence.
All 13 Rams points came off the leg of Gorniak, the conference's leading scorer, who made all four of his other field goal tries, including his longest of the day from 39 yards out. He also punted a lot in the second half.
Regina failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season in a game. Rams quarterback Owen Sieben completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes and was intercepted three times, mustering just 123 yards through the air all afternoon. He was limited to just 54 of those yards in the second half.
"Our defence played outstanding," McConkey said. "A few (poor) plays here and there but good to see they are back after that U of S game. Offensively, we looked good at times, but we just didn't put it together very much."
Despite what appeared to be ideal passing conditions, the game looked more like a match being played in November rather than early October.
It was a costly loss for the Rams, too. Reigning Canada West rushing champion Marshall Erichsen, who just returned one week ago from a torn Achilles’ injury suffered in last year's playoffs, left the game on crutches after a second half injury. His status is uncertain until further evaluation.
The three-headed monster of Erichsen, Christian Katende, and Carter Ashman did grind out 213 yards rushing on a day Rams fans didn't get much else to cheer about.
While Regina got nearly two thirds of its offence along the ground, the Dinos were pretty well the opposite. They had a bit more luck passing the football.
U of C quarterback David Jordan went 17-of-28 passing for 215 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He opened his Canadian university career in a loss to the Rams and had yet to beat them before this game.
"It was about time we got a break," Jordan said. "We had a lot of injuries going into this game and a lot of things happening behind the scenes. I'm just so happy this program could get a win under our belt and go into the bye week to fix the things we've got to fix.
"I think this dates back to our week one loss to them last year when we went to overtime and lost, unfortunately, but I'm so glad to get a win against this team. (The Rams) are very well coached and I think we'll see them again."
It was by far and away the lowest offensive outing for the Dinos. They were averaging nearly 32 points per game coming into this game.
Calgary survived off two Boaz Comeau field goals, including one from 49 yards out, in addition to a single from a missed field goal, and a Gavin Weiss four-yard rushing touchdown late in the first half.
It marks the first loss for the Rams at McMahon Stadium in seven years. It also hands the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Dinos, who now technically hold the final playoff spot ahead of Regina going into the final three games of the regular season.
Rams won't play again until Oct. 15 against the Alberta Golden Bears.
