Wagon Wheel goes back to Akron in 20-0 loss

Friday, November 27

Akron, Ohio

12:00 p.m.

Kent State University

3-9 , 2-6

University of Akron

7-5 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Kent State

Akron

Wagon Wheel goes back to Akron in 20-0 loss

11/27/2015 3:16:00 PM | Football

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio – Kent State returned possession of the Wagon Wheel trophy to the University of Akron in a season-ending 20-0 loss at InfoCision Stadium on Friday.

Two devastating first-half fumbles – one in the red zone to spoil the game's opening possession and another deep in the Kent State end with less than a minute to play before halftime – were too much for the Golden Flashes to overcome.

"This was a tough one," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes, whose team closed the season with a 3-9 record. "Losing to Akron and giving the wheel back is always tough...But this is a young football team. We had a lot of young football players step up for us this year. This was a tough loss, but (we learned) a lot of lessons this year."

Playing without stars like Terence Waugh and Jon Cunningham, the KSU defense fought to the end, holding the Zips to just six second-half points despite being on the field for 23 of the game's final 30 minutes. The offense struggled, however, as Akron enjoyed better than a two-to-one advantage in time of possession at 40:59-to-19:01.

Akron carried a 14-0 lead into the half on a 7-yard touchdown run by Conor Hundley in the first quarter and an 11-yard Thomas Woodson-to-Newman Williams touchdown pass in the second quarter. The last touchdown arrived one play after the Flashes lost a fumble at their own six-yard line with 52 seconds to play before halftime. The Zips then used the first 12:48 of the third quarter on a drive that ended in a 23-yard field goal by Robert Stein. Taking advantage of a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Zips added another Stein field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Akron controlled the football for the first 17:22 of the second half. The game of keepaway helped the Zips to their first shutout of Kent State since 1985.

KSU's offense opened with promise, using a 45-yard pass from George Bollas to Raekwon James to march into the red zone on the game's first possession. That 8-play drive ended, however, with a fumble at the Akron 14-yard line.

The Flashes were outgained 369-to-195 by Akron while managing just seven first downs compared Akron's 26.

Quarterback George Bollas threw for 102 yards on 10-of-18 passing while Colin Reardon completed 3-of-6 for another 23 yards.

Senior Trayion Durham led KSU in rushing with 10 yards on seven carries in his final game for the Flashes. Ernest Calhoun caught four passes for 46 yards to lead the KSU receivers.

Safety Nate Holley recorded 16 tackles – the KSU junior's sixth game of the year with better than 15 stops.

Since the first Wagon Wheel game in 1946, Kent State leads the series 23-21-1.

Senior Trayion Durham finished his career with 3,140 rushing yards, ranking fifth among Kent State'all-time leaders. His 27 touchdowns rank seventh.

Senior Anthony Melchiori booted a 60-yard punt in the second quarter. He had a punt of 54 yards or more in 9-of-12 games this year and finishes his four years as the Flashes' career leader in punting average.

Senior Matt Dellinger finished his career with 273 tackles, while Jordan Italiano finished his career with 257 tackles.