Ohio Answers Akron's Lead in 13 Seconds and Wins 28-20
Thirteen seconds. Akron finally got a touchdown lead on a Jordan Gant 1-yard run (and a two-point conversion) with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter, 17-14, and Ohio had the lead back at 9:22 on a 60-yard Nick Poulos pass to Dom Dorwart. Nothing Akron did after that got it closer than eight.
The game was a field goal contest for most of the way. Aidan Stire hit from 42 yards for Akron to start the scoring, Ohio's DJ Walker returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 0:09 left in the first quarter, and Stire kicked from 47 and 24 yards to put Akron back in front, 9-7, with 9:32 left in the third. Ohio went up 14-9 on Poulos's 5-yard run, and that is where it stood entering the fourth. Then came the 17-14 Akron lead, the Dorwart answer, and a 91-yard Duncan Brune run with 3:57 left for 28-17. Stire's fourth field goal, from 43 yards with 1:56 to play, made the final 28-20.
Take away Walker's pick-six and Ohio wins 21-20, so the Bobcats' defense earned its keep. Ohio's 161 rushing yards came on only 26 carries, with Brune's 91-yarder covering more than half of it. Akron matched the 161 on the ground on 43 attempts, and also threw 232 yards to Ohio's 197, but turned the ball over twice (an interception and a lost fumble) to Ohio's one lost fumble.
Ohio is 7-2. Akron is 1-8 and lost to a team that needed just three big plays (the pick-six, the 60-yarder and the 91-yarder).
For fantasy, Poulos led all scorers with 24.4, and Gant's 112 rushing yards and a touchdown put him second at 20.9.