Akron quarterback Ben Finley passed for nearly 400 yards and the visiting Zips scored the first 17 points, but Western Michigan rallied for a 34-24 win Saturday in a Mid-American Conference game extended by a weather delay of five hours, five minutes.
The game, which began at 3:30 p.m., was halted midway through the third quarter because of lightning and did not finish until 11:47 p.m.
The loss overshadowed the sparkling play of UA's Finley, wide receiver Adrian Norton and running back Jordon Simmons . Finley completed 24 of 36 passes for 395 yards with one interception, and Norton was his favorite target with eight receptions for 168 yards. Simmons had a team-high 63 yards on 16 carries and added another 97 yards on six catches.
The Zips (1-6, 0-3) led 17-0 early in the second quarter on touchdown runs of 2 and 5 yards by Tahj Bullock and a 38-yard field goal by Garrison Smith . But the Broncos (3-3, 2-0) stormed back with 24 points unanswered points to lead 24-17 at halftime.
Simmons scored on a 4-yard run to tie the score 24-24 with 10:37 to play in the third quarter before Western Michigan went back in front 31-24 on 10-yard pass from Hayden Wolff to Kaevion Mack. The teams were then taken off the field and the stands cleared because of an approaching thunderstorm.
When play resumed after the long delay, Broncos kicker Luka Zurak accounted for the game's final points with a 20-yard field goal with 11:28 to play.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips lose big lead in weather-delayed college football loss
