By EVAN MEYER
AKRON, Ohio – Senior quarterback Thomas Woodson passed for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the second coming to fifth-year senior Kevin Gladney with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, to lead the Akron Zips to a 21-20 victory over the Buffalo Bulls Saturday afternoon at Infocision Stadium.
The win was the third victory over . . .
AKRON, Ohio – Senior quarterback Thomas Woodson passed for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the second coming to fifth-year senior Kevin Gladney with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, to lead the Akron Zips to a 21-20 victory over the Buffalo Bulls Saturday afternoon at Infocision Stadium.
The win was the third victory over . . .
. . . the last four games for Akron (5-4, 4-1 MAC) as it rebounded from last week’s loss at Toledo. The Zips remain tied with Ohio atop the Eastern Division pending the Bobcats home game Wednesday night against rival Miami.
“I’m just so excited for our players and the way they won this game. That’s a very, very good Buffalo team that has lost some close games to some outstanding teams. I thought they were as good as anybody in our league” Zips head coach Terry Bowden said. “ (But) 21-20 is the only stat that matters today."
Buffalo (3-6, 1-4 MAC) absorbed its fourth consecutive loss, with its four MAC losses coming by a total of 15 points.
“I’m just so excited for our players and the way they won this game. That’s a very, very good Buffalo team that has lost some close games to some outstanding teams. I thought they were as good as anybody in our league” Zips head coach Terry Bowden said. “ (But) 21-20 is the only stat that matters today."
Buffalo (3-6, 1-4 MAC) absorbed its fourth consecutive loss, with its four MAC losses coming by a total of 15 points.
“I’m proud of our effort, but we didn’t make enough plays when we needed to.” Bulls head coach Lance Leipold said. “We have to credit Akron for making good plays. Some key moments were in the first half when we had some scoring opportunities and some touchdown opportunities and we didn’t get them."
UB got on the scoreboard first thanks to Emmanuel Reed's two-yard TD run at 6:10 of the opening stanza. It was part of a 116-yard, two touchdown performance by the sophomore.
Akron tied things before the quarter, capping a six-play, 67 yard drive with a 23-yard pass from Woodson to fifth-year senior Franshon Bickley.
Mitcheson split the uprights for his first of two field goals -- this one from 37 yards -- early in the second period. Akron, however, went back in front with a 41-yard pass play from Woodson to Austin Wolf with 4:50 remaining before intermission.
When UB's Mitcheson squeezed another field goal (36 yards) through in the closing seconds, it narrowed the hosts lead to 14-13.
It stayed that way through three quarters and Buffalo moved in front with Reeds's 10-yard scamper at 14:25 of the final frame to give the Bulls a 2-14 lead. Reed now owns a team-high seven TDs on the campaign.
After intercepting a Woodson pass at the Bulls one-yard line, Buffalo held onto the ball for eight plays before being forced to punt.
The 51-yard boot put UA back at its own nine, but Deltron Sands quickly got the Zips moving with a 32-yard burst. Five plays later, Woodson hit Gladney for the 36-yard score to put the hosts up 21-20.
Buffalo put together an 11-play drive on its final possession, reaching the Akron 29. Facing 4th-and-6, the Bulls turned to Mitcheson. He missed right on a 46-yard attempt, and Akron ran out the clock to close out its win.
It was the Zips second victory in the last three meetings against the Bulls -- both at home.
Woodson completed 31-of-39 passes for the victorious Zips. He has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in the last eight games. It was the fourth time he has thrown for multiple touchdown passes. In the fourth quarter, he moved into second place on UA’s all-time leading passing yards with 6,834.
UB was led by sophomore QB Tyree Jackson, who was playing his first game in over a month due to injury. He completed 34-of-50 passes fpr 313 yards.
When asked about having his number one starter back at QB, Leipold said, “Having Tyree (Jackson) back on the field was great, because you can see what he can do for us with his arm and with his throwing game. I thought he played extremely well,”
On the defensive side of the ball, UA was led by junior CB Jordan George, who had 11 total tackles (eight solo) and a key interception in the end zone when the Bulls were driving in the second quarter.
UB was led by senior safety Tim Roberts with six tackles (three solo) and an interception in the fourth quarter.
One of the keys to the game was Buffalo’s LB Khalil Hodge, one of the top tackles both in the MAC and the Football Bowl Subdivision. He was held to just four tackles on the afternoon.
When asked about how will his team play the final three games of the season, Leipold said “You have to keep your players positive; you got to keep coming. We know we closed the gap on some things, but now it’s my responsibility to get that gap completely closed so we can turn those gaps into wins, and I’m not getting that done right now”
Next week, Akron heads to Miami for its final regular season road game of the season, while UB heads home to battle Bowling Green
UB got on the scoreboard first thanks to Emmanuel Reed's two-yard TD run at 6:10 of the opening stanza. It was part of a 116-yard, two touchdown performance by the sophomore.
Akron tied things before the quarter, capping a six-play, 67 yard drive with a 23-yard pass from Woodson to fifth-year senior Franshon Bickley.
Mitcheson split the uprights for his first of two field goals -- this one from 37 yards -- early in the second period. Akron, however, went back in front with a 41-yard pass play from Woodson to Austin Wolf with 4:50 remaining before intermission.
When UB's Mitcheson squeezed another field goal (36 yards) through in the closing seconds, it narrowed the hosts lead to 14-13.
It stayed that way through three quarters and Buffalo moved in front with Reeds's 10-yard scamper at 14:25 of the final frame to give the Bulls a 2-14 lead. Reed now owns a team-high seven TDs on the campaign.
After intercepting a Woodson pass at the Bulls one-yard line, Buffalo held onto the ball for eight plays before being forced to punt.
The 51-yard boot put UA back at its own nine, but Deltron Sands quickly got the Zips moving with a 32-yard burst. Five plays later, Woodson hit Gladney for the 36-yard score to put the hosts up 21-20.
Buffalo put together an 11-play drive on its final possession, reaching the Akron 29. Facing 4th-and-6, the Bulls turned to Mitcheson. He missed right on a 46-yard attempt, and Akron ran out the clock to close out its win.
It was the Zips second victory in the last three meetings against the Bulls -- both at home.
Woodson completed 31-of-39 passes for the victorious Zips. He has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in the last eight games. It was the fourth time he has thrown for multiple touchdown passes. In the fourth quarter, he moved into second place on UA’s all-time leading passing yards with 6,834.
UB was led by sophomore QB Tyree Jackson, who was playing his first game in over a month due to injury. He completed 34-of-50 passes fpr 313 yards.
When asked about having his number one starter back at QB, Leipold said, “Having Tyree (Jackson) back on the field was great, because you can see what he can do for us with his arm and with his throwing game. I thought he played extremely well,”
On the defensive side of the ball, UA was led by junior CB Jordan George, who had 11 total tackles (eight solo) and a key interception in the end zone when the Bulls were driving in the second quarter.
UB was led by senior safety Tim Roberts with six tackles (three solo) and an interception in the fourth quarter.
One of the keys to the game was Buffalo’s LB Khalil Hodge, one of the top tackles both in the MAC and the Football Bowl Subdivision. He was held to just four tackles on the afternoon.
When asked about how will his team play the final three games of the season, Leipold said “You have to keep your players positive; you got to keep coming. We know we closed the gap on some things, but now it’s my responsibility to get that gap completely closed so we can turn those gaps into wins, and I’m not getting that done right now”
Next week, Akron heads to Miami for its final regular season road game of the season, while UB heads home to battle Bowling Green
RSS Feed