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NCAA football scores | Akron Zips vs. Kent State Golden Flashes football recap
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- NCAA football scores | Akron Zips vs. Kent State Golden Flashes football recap
The University of Akron and Kent State University football teams met tonight with the winner getting the wooden Wagon Wheel .
Akron and Kent State are at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference standings with Central Michigan (3-7, 1-5).
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Here's how the game unfolded through our live updates:
Akron beats Kent State 38-17, hands Flashes 20th straight loss
The Zips reach 3 wins for the first time since 2018. The Flashes will have one more shot to avoid going 0-for-the-season. They have lost 20 straight games. Akron improves to 3-8 overall, 2-5 in the MAC, while KSU drops to 0-11, 0-7.
Kent State's Tommy Ulatowski throws second touchdown pass
Quarterback Tommy Ulatowski has been a bright spot for Kent State. He threw an 80-yard touchdown pass in the first half and has tackled on a 37-yard TD pass to Chrishon McCray here in the fourth quarter.
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The Flashes cut Akron's lead to 38-17 lead with five minutes left.
Ben Finley, Akron extend lead over Kent State in Wagon Wheel football game
Ben Finley throws a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Rush with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter. Tahj Bullock throws a conversion pass to Charles Kellom for two points and Akron leads Kent State 38-10.
Finley has completed 13 of 26 passes for 225 yards.
Jordon Simmons has 10 carries for 110 yards rushing. Kellom has 11 carries for 85 yards rushing.
Tahj Bullock, Akron extend lead over Kent State
Tahj Bullock runs 8 yards for a touchdown with 10:52 to go in the third quarter and Garrison Smith converts the extra point. Akron leads 30-10.
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The drive included Ben Finley completing a 10-yard pass to Jake Newell and a 12-yard pass to Adrian Norton. Charles Kellom contributed 14 yards rushing on four carries.
Finley is 11 of 24 for 185 yards. Norton has five catches for 107 yards.
University of Akron football players hold up the Wagon Wheel after defeating Kent State on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at Akron's InfoCision Stadium.
Long drive, field goal give Akron 23-10 halftime lead
Starting from their own 1, the Zips grab a 23-10 halftime lead on Garrison Smith's 27-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Jordan Simmons ' 59-yard run helped dig Akron out of its hole. Simmons has 104 yards rushing on nine carries.
Ben Finley has completed 9 of 22 passes for 163 yards. Adrian Norton has four catches for 95 yards.
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Akron has 154 rushing yards on 17 carries at halftime. Kent State has 19 rushing yards on 16 carries at the break.
Garrison Smith restores an Akron 10-point lead over Kent State
Garrison Smith's 26-yard field goal increases Akron's lead to 20-10.
The Zips could have tackled on a little more on that drive. A 29-yard pass from Ben Finley to Adrian Norton on third-and-10 gave them a first down at the Kent State 11. They gained just two yards after that catch.
Long completion leads to Kent State field goal
The Flashes needed a score to stay within reach.
Will Hryszko's 40-yard field goal gets Kent State to within 17-10. It was set up by Tommy Ulatowski's 45-yard pass to Chrishon McCray.
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Three drives, three scores for Akron
Kent State hasn't found away to stop Akron yet.
Charles Kellom's 22-yard touchdown run gives the Zips a 17-7 lead. They drove 91 yards in seven plays.
Akron has scored on all three of its possessions.
Akron leads Kent State in Wagon Wheel football game
Quarterback Tahj Bullock runs for a 1-yard touchdown and Garrison Smith makes the extra point to give Akron a 10-7 lead over Kent State with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter.
Quarterback Ben Finley completed two passes for 46 yards during the drive to Adrian Norton. The pass plays covered 10 yards and 36 yards.
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Akron trims into Kent State's lead
Garrison Smith converts a 43-yard field goal for Akron and Kent State leads 7-3 with 10:34 remaining in the first quarter. Akron's drive featured four running plays by Jordon Simmons that gained 20 yards. Kent State was whistled for four penalties during the drive that covered 25 yards.
Kent State football leads Akron
Kent State needed just three plays on offense to take a 7-0 lead with 13:31 to go in the first quarter. Tommy Ulatowski completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Luke Floriea and Will Hryszko made the extra point.
Akron's Antavious Fish and Bryan McCoy wrap up Kent State quarterback Tommy Ulatowski on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at Akron's InfoCision Stadium.
What time is the Akron vs. Kent State football game?
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Dix Stadium.
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Akron leads the football series with Kent State
Akron leads the all-time series with Kent 36-28-2. The teams first played in football in 1923, with the Zips winning 32-0. There are multiple seasons in which the teams have not played in the last 100 years. The Wagon Wheel trophy was introduced in 1946. The teams have played each other every year since 1983 with the exception of one year.
Joe Moorhead is 1-1 against KSU as Akron's coach, with the Zips prevailing 31-27 in last year's game at InfoCision Stadium. KSU coach Kenni Burns is 0-1 against UA.
KSU won four in a row in the series from 2019-2022 under former coach Sean Lewis. Akron won four in a row in the series from 2015-2018 during the Terry Bowden era.
University of Akron football coach Joe Moorhead takes in the scene with five seconds left on the clock in a Zips victory over Kent State on Nov. 1, 2023.
Kent State, Akron football common opponents
The Zips and Golden Flashes have played four common opponents in the Mid-American Conference this season.
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Akron defeated Eastern Michigan 25-21 and Kent State lost 52-33. The other three common foes are Bowling Green (beat UA 27-20, beat KSU 27-6), Western Michigan (beat UA 34-24, beat KSU 52-21) and Ohio (beat UA 30-10, beat KSU 41-0).
Who led Akron football to a win over Kent State last season?
Akron's top four playmakers on offense in last year's win over Kent State are not with the team this year. Jeff Undercuffler Jr., Lorenzo Lingard and Daniel George completed their athletic eligibility in 2023 and Jasaiah Gathings is now a redshirt junior at Connecticut.
Undercuffler completed 23 of 39 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, and added a rushing TD. Lingard ran for 106 yards and a TD on 22 carries. George had nine catches for 104 yards a one TD. Gathings added nine catches for 103 yards and a TD.
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Akron returns several of its leading tacklers from last season's KSU game, including senior linebacker Antavious Fish, senior linemen CJ Nunnally IV and Bennett Adler, redshirt junior cornerback-safety Darrian Lewis and junior linebacker Bryan McCoy. Fish had a game-high 10 tackles, including six solo stops. Nunnally added five tackles and one sack.
Kent State returns four key players from last season's game at Akron: junior QB Tommy Ulatowski, redshirt sophomore receiver Chrishon McCray, graduate senior receiver Luke Floriea and junior defensive lineman Stephen Daley.
Ulatowski ran for a TD and completed 15 of 23 passes for 229 yards and three TDs at Akron. McCray had six catches for 161 yards and two TDs, Floriea added four catches for 37 yards and a TD and Daley had eight tackles (five solo).
Akron's CJ Nunnally IV tackles Kent State's Gavin Garcia on Nov. 1, 2023, in Akron.
Akron football players to watch
Redshirt juniors Ben Finley and Tahj Bullock continue to get snaps at quarterback for Akron this season.
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Finley has completed 188 of 337 passes for 2,160 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Akron quarterback Ben Finley (10) throws a pass against South Carolina in the second quarter Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Columbia, South Carolina.
Bullock has completed 19 of 26 passes for 149 yards, run for 85 yards and five TDs on 36 carries and caught 10 passes for 63 yards.
Akron's offense also features running backs Jordon Simmons and Charles Kellom and wide receivers Adrian Norton, Bobby Golden, Ahmarian Granger and tight ends Jake Newell and Conner Cravaack.
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.
Simmons has 99 carries, 551 yards and two TDs rushing along with 21 catches for 183 receiving yards.
Kellom has 45 carries for 179 yards and 22 catches for 133 yards and one TD.
Norton has 38 receptions for 724 yards and seven TDs. Golden has 29 catches for 424 yards and one TD. Newell has 31 catches for 225 yards and two TDs. Granger has 15 catches for 202 yards and one TD.
Akron Zips wide receiver Adrian Norton, center, celebrates his first-half touchdown catch with tight end Jake Newell against Colgate, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
The Zips' leaders on defense are McCoy, Fish, Nunnally, Adler, Darrian Lewis and Paul Lewis III.
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McCoy has 96 tackles (44 solos), Darrian Lewis has 67 tackles (41 solos) and one interception and Paul Lewis III has 63 tackles (36 solos). Fish has 58 tackles (17 solos) and one sack and Nunnally has 46 tackles (19 solos) and four sacks.
Kent State quarterback Tommy Ulatowski throws a pass over Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Joey Zelinsky, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
Kent State football players to watch
Kent State wide receiver Chrishon McCray makes a clean break towards the end zone for a touchdown during the first quarter of a game against Eastern Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
Ulatowski is KSU's primary quarterback. He has completed 62 of 143 passes for 1,022 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The offense also features running backs Ky Thomas and Curtis Douglas, wide receivers McCray, Floriea, Dashawn Martin and Jay Jay Etheridge and tight end Conner Muldowney.
Thomas has 122 carries, 497 yards and one TD rushing. Douglas has 43 carries for 130 yards.
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McCray has 37 receptions for 612 yards and eight TDs. Floriea has 37 receptions for 547 yards and five TDs. Etheridge and Muldowney each have one TD catch.
The Flashes' leaders defensively are Josh Baka, Rocco Nicholl, Tevin Tucker, Mason Woods, Matt Harmon and Daley.
Baka has 73 tackles (51 solos), Nicholl has 61 tackles (30 solos) and Tucker has 50 tackles (32 solos).
Kameron Olds has six sacks and one interception. Daley has three sacks and Harmon has two sacks.
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
Akron quarterback Tahj Bullock looks to throw during the first half against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron football score vs Kent State live updates from Wagon Wheel game
