A victory would have left the University of Akron — gulp — in first place in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Instead, Bowling Green rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to claim that distinction.

The Falcons (3-3, 1-1) scored 23 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night to edge the Zips 37-33 before a crowd of 17,119 at the Rubber Bowl.

''This was very much like the Cincinnati game. It was tough to stomach,'' said UA coach J.D. Brookhart, referring to a 17-15 loss to Cincinnati two weeks ago. ''We had a little bit of a lead and they got a lot in the fourth quarter. Some they earned. Some we gave them. It was a difficult loss.''

The Zips (3-4, 1-2) led 21-14 at halftime and 27-14 after three quarters, only to see the Falcons get three touchdowns and a field goal in the final 13:04.

''It's real tough. I thought we had it,'' said receiver Deryn Bowser, who caught five passes for 67 yards and one touchdown. ''We executed to the best of our ability, but we came up short.''

The Zips entered the game in a tie for first place in the MAC-East with Buffalo, which lost to Western Michigan. With the win, Bowling Green was in first because five of the seven East teams lost Saturday and none of the seven teams is over .500 overall or in the MAC.

''Every year, it ends up a 6-2, 5-3 race,'' Brookhart said. ''We are now chasing.''

Senior tailback Dennis Kennedy led the Zips offense by rushing for a career-high 182 yards on 29 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

For the Falcons, junior quarterback Tyler Sheehan was 26-of-41 for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Anthony Turner, who played running back and quarterback, led with 126 rushing yards on 19 attempts.

The Zips seemed to be in command, holding a 27-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, when the Falcons struck for two touchdowns within 90 seconds to go up 28-27.

The first score, with 13:04 remaining, came on a 19-yard run by Sheehan. Then, after an interception by Antonio Smith deep in Zips territory on a poorly thrown pass by quarterback Chris Jacquemain, the Falcons scored at 11:38 on a 5-yard pass from Turner to Jimmy Scheidler.

The Zips, sparked by a 50-yard kickoff return by Bryan Williams, countered with a 43-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 13-yard pass from Jacquemain to Merce Poindexter at 7:47.

The Falcons answered with a 74-yard touchdown drive of their own, culminating in a 21-yard pass from Sheehan to Corey Partridge at 4:46. A two-point conversion failed, leaving the score 34-33.

After the Zips gave up the ball on downs, Sinisa Vrvilo kicked a 44-yard field goal with 2:20 left.

The Zips had one more possession, needing a touchdown to win, and drove to the BG 33, only to miss on a fourth-down pass with 15 seconds left.

''When we needed to make stops, we made them,'' Falcons coach Gregg Brandon said.

The Falcons' first-place status is precarious, because five or six conference games remain for all teams.

''Every week is huge for everybody now,'' said Brandon, whose team had a 419-367 edge in total yardage. ''Everybody on our side had a loss, so this was a pivotal game. We control our own destiny now, which is a good spot to be in.''

The Zips took a 14-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes on a 3-yard run by Kennedy and a 37-yard pass from Jacquemain to Bowser.

In the final four minutes of the first half, the teams combined for three touchdowns to leave the Zips ahead at the break 21-14.

The UA score came on a 19-yard run by Kennedy, sandwiched around touchdown passes from Sheehan of 34 yards to Marques Parks and 8 yards to Partridge.

In the third quarter, the only scoring was field goals of 47 yards and 26 yards by the Zips' Igor Iveljic. The second one was set up by an interception by senior linebacker Doug Williams, the first of his career.

The Zips have a road game next Saturday, traveling to Eastern Michigan.