Akron football vs. Buffalo | Zips late rally comes up short

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Akron football vs. Buffalo | Zips late rally comes up short

Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Sat, Nov 2, 2024 ·

10 min read

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The University of Akron football team hosts the University at Buffalo Bulls in a Mid-American Conference game at noon today.

Akron (2-6, 1-3) is trying to win its second game in a row at home after defeating Eastern Michigan 25-21 last Saturday .

Buffalo (4-4, 2-2) lost to host Ohio 47-16 last Saturday.

Buffalo beats Akron in a Mid-American Conference football game

Buffalo tops Akron 41-30. The Zips rally comes up short after turning the ball over four times

Buffalo quarterback CJ Ogbonna finishes 17 of 29 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and runs for 63 yards and a TD on eight carries. JJ Jenkins and Jake Orlando caught the TD passes. Jenkins had five catches for 57 yards.

Bulls running back Al-Jay Henderson runs for 107 yards and a TD on 18 carries. Jacqez Barksdale added a rushing TD

Akron quarterback Ben Finley completes 23 of 42 passes for 378 yards, four touchdowns and interception.

Zips wide receiver Adrian Norton finishes with six catches for 98 yards and two TDs. Ahmarian Granger had five catches for 95 yards and a TD and Kyan Mason caught a 28-yard TD.

Akron gets defensive stop, gives ball right back to Buffalo

Akron's defense did its job again in the fourth quarter, but the Zips muffed a punt and Buffalo gets the ball right back on the Zips 22-yard line with 2:59 left.

Walsh Jesuit graduate John Keough recovered the muffed punt for Buffalo.

The Bulls turn the Zips mistake into three points as Upton Bellenfant makes a 36-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 41-30 lead with 2:38 left.

QB Ben Finley throws another TD pass as Akron gets closer Buffalo in fourth quarter

Akron scores again as Ben Finley throws a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kyan Mason for six points and then Tahj Bullock runs into the end zone to complete a two-point conversion.

Buffalo leads 38-30 with 4:39 to go.

QB Ben Finley throws another TD pass as Akron trims deficit against Buffalo in fourth quarter

Akron scores against as Ben Finley throws a 25-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Norton and Garrison Smith kicks the extra point.

Buffalo leads Akron 38-22 with 9:25 to go. The Akron scoring drive covered 75 yards on eight plays.

Bobby Golden and Jordon Simmons each had a reception on the drive

Akron football trims deficit against Buffalo in fourth quarter

Akron scores on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ben Finley throws a 28-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Norton for six points and then Tahj Bullock throws a two-point conversion pass to Norton.

Buffalo leads 38-15 with 14:51 to go. The Akron scoring drive covered 88 yards on 10 plays.

Buffalo QB CJ Ogbonna continues to give Akron football problems

Buffalo QB CJ Ogbonna runs for a 8 yard touchdown and Upton Bellenfant makes the extra point to give Buffalo a 38-7 lead with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter.

Drive covered 44 yards on five plays.

Buffalo football extends lead over Akron in third quarter

Buffalo's Al-Jay Henderson runs 45 yards for a touchdown and Upton Bellenfant makes the extra point to give Buffalo a 31-7 lead with 13:03 to go in the third quarter.

Drive included three completed passes by CJ Ogbonna that covered 26 yards.

Buffalo football leads Akron at halftime

Buffalo takes a 24-7 lead into halftime.

Bulls quarterback CJ Ogbonna is 11 of 19 passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Ogbonna also has 54 rushing yards on five carries. JJ Jenkins and Jake Orlando have TD catches for the Bulls and Jazqez Barksdale has a rushing TD.

Buffalo takes advantage of Akron's three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) and a fourth down play that did not result in a first down.

Akron QB Ben Finley is 7 of 14 passing for 106 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ahmarian Granger has the TD catch for the Zips.

Akron native Lamar Sperling had one carry for Buffalo in the first quarter for negative two yards. Sperling, a Hoban graduate, was named Ohio Mr. Football in 2022.

Buffalo Bulls maintain lead over Akron Zips in NCAA football game

Buffalo's Kobe Stewart and Malin White each record a sack on Akron quarterback Ben Finley. The Zips have the ball on their own 48-yard line on a 4th-down-and-21 with 2:00 to go in the second quarter. Avery Book ready to punt.

Buffalo extends lead against Akron football

Buffalo quarterback CJ Ogbonna throws a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Orlando and kicker Upton Bellenfant makes the extra point. The Bulls lead 24-7 with 8:04 to go in the second quarter.

The drive covered 88 yards on 11 plays.

Buffalo Bulls football adds to lead against Akron Zips

Kicker Upton Bellenfant makes a 33-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 17-7 lead with 14:16 to go in the second quarter.

Buffalo Bulls lead Akron Zips

Akron makes another turnover, its third in the first quarter, and Buffalo takes advantage and leads 14-7 at 4:32.

Marcus Fuqua forced a fumble that Jalen McNair recovered on Akron's 23 yard with 7:30 to go in the first quarter. Seven plays later, Jazqez Barksdale ran for a 4-yard touchdown and Upton Bellenfant made the PAT at 4:32.

Buffalo draws even with Akron in MAC college football

Buffalo draws even at 7-7 with 7:45 to go in the first quarter following an Akron turnover.

Dylan Drennan forced a fumble that Red Murdock recovered on Buffalo's 38-yard line with 8:24 left in the first quarter. Quarterback CJ Ogbonna completed a 44-yard pass to Victor Snow and an 18-yard TD pass to JJ Jenkins. Upton Bellenfant made the PAT.

That is two drives in a row that Akron made a turnover. Ben Finley threw an interception to Marcus Fuqua with 11:41 to go in the first quarter

Akron Zips football leads Buffalo 7-0 in MAC football game

Ben Finley throws a 29-yard touchdown pass to Ahmarian Granger and Garrison Smith makes the extra point to give Akron a 7-0 lead with 13:16 to go in the first quarter.

Akron's scoring drive covered 71 yards on five plays. Jordon Simmons had one carry for nine yards and Finley completed 3 of 4 passes for 62 yards. Conner Cravaack caught a 15-yard pass and Bobby Golden caught a 18-yard pass before Finley's TD strike to Granger.

Below is some pregame information :

Akron quarterback Ben Finley fires a pass during the second half of a game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in Akron, Ohio.

Akron football scores in 2024

Aug. 31: lost 52-6 at Ohio State
Sept. 7: lost 49-17 at Rutgers
Sept. 14: beat Colgate 31-20
Sept. 21: lost 50-7 at South Carolina
Sept. 28: lost 30-10 at Ohio (MAC game)
Oct. 5: lost 27-20 to Bowling Green (MAC game)
Oct. 12: lost 34-24 at Western Michigan (MAC game)
Oct. 19: bye
Oct. 26: beat Eastern Michigan 25-21 (MAC game)

Akron quarterback Tahj Bullock with the ball during the first half of a game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in Akron, Ohio. — Akron quarterback Tahj Bullock looks to throw during the first half against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.

Quarterbacks lead Akron Zips football to win over Eastern Michigan

Akron coach Joe Moorhead will go with redshirt juniors Ben Finley and Tahj Bullock at quarterback, and both made an impact in last week's win over EMU.

Finley threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Adrian Norton with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter, and Bullock rushed for two touchdowns in the first half.

Finley transferred to Akron last offseason after previous stops at California (2023) and N.C. State (2020-22). He won UA's starting QB job in a tight competition with Bullock, a Virginia Tech (2021-22) transfer who played for the Zips last year.

Finley and Bullock have played in all eight games this season. They have occasionally taken turns at QB. They also have been on the field at the same time.

"There's got to be mutual respect between both of the guys and understanding of the roles," Moorhead said after the win over Eastern Michigna. "The second guy's really got to buy in, and Tahj is a phenomenal kid, and he's really, really latched onto it. Now he's seeing a bunch of success with it."

Bullock's rushing TDs of 3 and 15 yards helped Akron (2-6, 1-3) build an 18-0 halftime advantage against Eastern Michigan (5-3, 2-2).

Although Akron squandered its big advantage and fell behind 21-18 with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter, the Zips fought back. Finley's 21-yard TD pass to Norton gave UA the lead for good. A forced fumble by cornerback Justin Anderson and recovery by safety Paul Lewis III at the Akron 16-yard line with 2:06 remaining and Eastern Michigan's incomplete Hail Mary pass with time expired allowed the Zips to hold on and snap a four-game losing streak.

"Off the field now, just how me and Ben are, we're cool definitely, for sure," Bullock said. "And then the guys around us, the whole team, our resilience is just the bond to push through anything. Being in situations like [Saturday], we just know we've got to rally with each other, and that's really what makes everything just flow."

Finley went 12-of-23 passing for 122 yards and a TD with an interception. He rushed three times for 15 yards. Bullock went 2-of-3 passing for 36 yards and rushed six times for 17 yards and two TDs.

"We have a strong advantage in the run game when Tahj is in there because he's obviously way bigger than me, and I wish I could run the ball like him," Finley said. "But I have full confidence when he's out there. It's all about just game plan and matchup, and when we see we have an advantage with Tahj on the field, we're going to stick him out there.

"I run off [the field and to] the sideline feeling totally confident that we're going to get the first down and he's going to have a big run. [Saturday], he had a big throw [for 20 yards]. But, yeah, I love watching him out there, and I love us both being out there at the same time, too. That's fun."

Akron running back Jordon Simmons carries the ball during the second half of a game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in Akron, Ohio.

Running backs make a difference in Akron football win over Eastern Michigan

Akron had success running the ball against Eastern Michigan with 31 carries for 220 net yards (7.1 average).

Zips running backs Jordon Simmons (16 carries, 109 yards, 6.8 average) and Charles Kellom (five carries, 65 yards, 13 average) excelled.

"Of all the things that happened in this game that made me excited and happy and proud is to see the main reason that we had success offensively and our ability to move the ball was running the football," Moorhead said. "... I challenged the offensive line. And for the past three weeks, they've answered the bell."

Akron running back Charles Kellom breaks free down the sideline during the first half of a game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in Akron, Ohio.

Who are the defensive leaders for Akron Zips football?

OK, enough about offense. Who were Akron's leaders on defense in last week's win over Eastern Michigan?

CJ Nunnally IV led the Akron defense with 10 tackles (one for loss), Bryan McCoy had nine tackles (one for loss) and Paul Lewis III added seven tackles, three pass breakups and recovered one fumble.

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips vs. Buffalo Bulls NCAA football scores, live updates

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