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Akron suffers frustrating four-overtime loss to Buffalo in Rubber Bowl finale
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Friday, Nov 14, 2008
In dramatic, yet frustrating fashion, the University of Akron said goodbye to the Rubber Bowl and goodbye to first place at the same time.
The Zips (5-5, 3-3) staged rally after rally but were beaten by the University at Buffalo 43-40 in four overtimes Thursday night before a closing-act crowd of 18,516 at the Rubber Bowl.
In the Zips' 324th — and last game — at a Rubber Bowl first used by the team in 1940, Buffalo's A.J. Principe kicked a 40-yard field goal on the final play to move the Bulls into first place in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.
''We had opportunities. First and foremost, you have to give credit to Buffalo. They are a good football team,'' UA coach J.D. Brookhart said. ''I am proud of how we fought back.
''This is one we wanted to win, and it's disheartening that it didn't happen.''
The festivities before and after the game honoring the stadium were secondary to the momentum changes that brought hope at times, but disappointment in the end.
''We came up short,'' said UA tailback Dennis Kennedy, who rushed for 142 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns. ''It's very tough to lose the last game at the Rubber Bowl. It's real tough right now.''
In the fourth overtime, the Zips had the ball first, but lost it when Kennedy and quarterback Chris Jacquemain fumbled a handoff, and the Bulls recovered.
''It was a read play. I read the defensive end and I was going to take it,'' Jacquemain said. ''He [Kennedy] clamped down on the ball and my arm was still in
there.''
That ended the Zips' drive, and Principe followed four plays later with his longest field goal of the season.
''This is a great win for our program. We tried to mix it up on offense,'' Buffalo coach Turner Gill said. ''We have faith in our kicker. He is good from 50 yards in practice.''
With the victory, Buffalo moved atop the East Division standings in the MAC with two games left. The Bulls are the only team in the East to control their own destiny. A win next Friday at Bowling Green would give Buffalo the division title.
The Zips were left for dead several times, but battled back, except at the end.
The Bulls scored in the first overtime on a 1-yard run by quarterback Drew Willy. The Zips, needing a touchdown to stay alive, followed that with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jacquemain to Dashan Miller.
In the second overtime, UA had the ball first and made it count when Igor Iveljic kicked a 42-yard field goal. Principe kicked a 24-yard field to tie the score again.
The third overtime began with Buffalo scoring on a 1-yard run by James Starks. By rule, a team has to go for two points in the third overtime, and a pass failed.
The Zips countered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kennedy on fourth down, but a 2-point conversion pass failed.
The Zips were trailing 24-17 with 4:07 remaining in regulation when they got the ball at their 20 with their championship chances squarely on the line.
UA responded by putting together a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kennedy with just 23 seconds left. The extra point by Iveljic forced overtime.
The Bulls (6-4, 4-2) took a 10-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes. The Buffalo points came on a 24-yard pass from Willy to receiver Naaman Roosevelt at 9:38 and a 28-yard field goal by Principe at 5:08.
The Zips narrowed the gap to 10-7 on their first play from scrimmage after the Principe field goal. With the Bulls in a full blitz, Jacquemain found Kennedy alone in the middle of the field, and he beat the secondary to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown at 4:53.
In the second quarter, the Bulls went ahead 17-7 on a 3-yard touchdown run at 4:48 by James Starks, who finished with 151 yards on 37 carries.
The Zips cut the lead to 17-10 with eight seconds remaining until halftime when Iveljic kicked a season-long 49-yard field goal.
UA carried over that momentum by taking the second-half kickoff and driving 76 yards in seven plays to tie the score at 17-17. The touchdown was a 24-yard run by Kennedy at 11:14 in which he broke left and was untouched in reaching the end zone.
The Bulls broke that deadlock with a 16-play, 89-yard drive that began late in the third quarter and ended at 11:14 of the fourth on a 5-yard romp around right end by Starks.
The Zips close the season with road games at Ohio on Nov. 22 and at Temple on Nov. 28.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
In dramatic, yet frustrating fashion, the University of Akron said goodbye to the Rubber Bowl and goodbye to first place at the same time.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 09:49 AM, 11/14/2008
ahh this is so depressing
Kent, OH
Posted 02:10 PM, 11/14/2008
Only 18,516 showed up for the final game at the Rubber Bowl and even more importantly a first place showdown? Granted, it's the MAC East, but still...I thought a lot more would've showed up for the game.
Posted 04:55 PM, 11/14/2008
It couldn't happen to a better bunch !!!!!!!
Posted 07:12 PM, 11/14/2008
"Couldn't happen to a better bunch"?What does that mean?
Posted 07:15 PM, 11/14/2008
Also only 18,516 showed up.I agree they should have had more but did you go(if you live in the area?)?
