The Akron Zips defeated Toledo, 21-14, in overtime, snapping a five-game losing skid to the Rockets at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field on Tuesday.
The last win for the Zips before upending the Rockets on Tuesday evening came on November 29, 2013 when Akron defeated Toledo 31-29, also at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field.
After pressuring Toledo's kicker to a swing a 29-yard field goal right of the uprights in the dying seconds of regulation, redshirt junior Ben Finley hit redshirt freshman Charles Kellom on a 25-yard connection in the first overtime frame. The Akron defense held firm, causing the Rockets to lose 21 yards on their final two plays which was capped off by an 18-yard sack from senior CJ Nunnally IV.
Finley led Akron's passing attack with 194 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception. He fired a career-long 72-yard touchdown pass to Junior Ahmarian Granger in the first quarter.
Granger led the receiving corps with a career-high 106 yards which featured a career-long 72-yard TD reception from Finley.
Kellom totaled 69 yards to lead the Zips' ground attack in the game. Kellom also tacked on 33 receiving yards and one touchdown. Redshirt junior Tahj Bullock added 22 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Redshirt junior Gage Summers recorded a career-high 19 tackles while setting a season-high single game tackles mark for the Akron defense. Junior Bryan McCoy was close behind with 17 while Nunnally recorded eight tackles with two for loss which resulted in 22 yards.
The Zips won the turnover battle in Tuesday's game, forcing one turnover while avoiding any giveaways. Akron converted on 46.2 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Akron held up fairly well against the Toledo rushing attack, holding the Rockets to 176 yards on the ground.
The Zips improved to 4-8 on the year and 3-5 in Mid-American Conference play, while the Rockets fell to 7-5 and 4-4.
How It Happened
Akron got on the scoreboard first with 10:47 remaining in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead on a 72-yard touchdown from Finley to Granger. Another Zips score then increased the lead to 14-0 when Bullock found the end zone on a one-yard rush.
After Toledo tied the game at 14-14, Akron got on the scoreboard again in the first overtime with a 25-yard touchdown reception from Finley to Kellom to jump back ahead 21-14. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Akron won the turnover battle 1-0 after recovering one fumble.
»As a team, the Zips recorded a season-high 98 tackles. Akron has recorded 70 or more tackles six times this season (98 vs Toledo, 85 at Ohio, 75 vs Eastern Michigan, 75 at South Carolina, 73 vs Bowling Green, 71 at Rutgers).
» The Zips scored first with 10:47 left in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Akron converted 6 of 13 third downs while Toledo was successful on 6 of 17.
» The Zips had four players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Gage Summers, who had 19.
» Akron forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Akron got off to a hot start in the contest, putting 14 unanswered points on the board before Toledo could respond.