The Zips missed a point after touchdown in the second quarter, a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, and finally, a 44-yard field goal attempt.

 

All three of those mistakes came back to haunt the Blue and Gold as the Bearcats got a 48-yard field goal from Jake Rogers with 7:35 remaining in the final period to give the visitors from the Queen City a 17-15 victory before 16,927 fans at the Rubber Bowl.

 

“I am sick to my stomach” said Zips head coach J.D. Brookhart. “We had opportunities. In the end, we did not overcome what we needed to overcome."

 

“It was a good opportunity for us” Brookhart added “We left points on the field and that is frustrating”

 

The loss saw the Zips record fall to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 at home. Next Saturday, Akron makes the short trip to Kent to face the 1-4 Golden Flashes at Dix Stadium.

 

Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike completed 23-of-34 passes for a career high 320 yards and two touchdowns. However, during the scoring drive that gave UC the lead, the junior from Cincinnati, in just his second collegiate start, fractured his left (non-throwing) arm and had to be carted off the field. Redshirt freshman Zach Collaros, finished the game and kept the Bearcats in range for Rogers’ heroics.

 

Pike had been playing for senior Dustin Grutza who suffered a high ankle sprain, and a fractured right fibula in the Bearcats 52-26 loss in week two at Oklahoma.

 

“We were outplayed in a lot of facets in the game today” said UC head coach Brian Kelly. “We were not clicking the way we needed to…The difference today was a 48-yard field goal. You never want to let a football game be decided by a 48-yard field goal, but Jake Rogers bailed us out”

 

Cincinnati (3-1) opened the game strong taking the opening possession and moving 76 yards in 10-plays with Pike throwing his first touchdown pass of the game, a 14-yarder, to wide receiver Mardy Gilyard.

 

Akron responded with a score of its own.

 

Junior quarterback Chris Jacquemain moved the team from his own 15-yard line to the Cincinnati nine-yard line where the drive stalled forcing to Zips to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Igor Iveljic to make the score 7-3.

 

At the start of the second quarter, UC moved the ball from its own 11-yard line all the way to the Zips one-yard line where they faced a fourth down and goal. Bearcats head coach Chris Kelly went for the touchdown rather than the field goal and the Zips defense came up big stopping running back John Goebel for no gain.

 

Of the fourth down play, Kelly remarked “If we could not make a yard, they would have to go 99 yards”

 

Late in the quarter the Bearcats again drove deep into Zips territory reaching the Akron 25-yard line where they faced a second fourth down situation, and for the second time they failed as Pike’s pass intended for wide receiver Dominick Goodman fell incomplete.

 

Akron took advantage of the missed fourth down opportunity.

 

Gaining possession with 2:21 remaining in the half, Jacquemain moved the team 75 yards in 13 plays to take their first lead of the game when the quarterback from Mentor, Ohio connected with junior wide receiver Deryn Bowser from seven yards away.

 

Iveljic ,unfortunately for Akron, missed the extra point to give the Zips just a two-point lead at intermission 9-7.

 

Early in the third quarter, Cincinnati regained the lead when Pike and Gilyard connected for the second time in the game. This time it was a 67-yard catch and run to give the Bearcats a 14-9 lead. Gilyard, a junior from Bennell, Florida had seven catches for 146 yards and those two scores.

 

Akron came back and moved the ball from its own 23-yard line to the Cincinnati five-yard line where they faced a fourth down and one. This time the Bearcats defense came up big stopping running back Andrew Johnson short of the first down.

 

Johnson, a fifth year senior from Pittsburgh, who came into the lineup due to the season ending injury to starting running back Alex Allen suffered in the Zips win last week at Army, was injured on the play and was carted off with a leg injury.

 

“In my opinion that was an important part of the game. We had to get our defense off the field in that situation” Kelly said

 

Late in the quarter the Akron defense came up with a big turnover when after a Pike completion to Gilyard, he was hit and fumbled the ball which was recovered by Zips' linebacker Evan Laube at the Cincinnati 24-yard line.

 

As the third quarter became the fourth, the Zips regained the lead. On a first down and goal from the Cincinnati one-yard line, senior running back Dennis Kennedy took the ball into the end zone to take a 15-14 lead

 

Akron decided to go for a two-point conversion which failed giving the Zips the lead by the narrowest of margins.

 

Again the Zips defense came up with a turnover after a Pike completion to slot receiver Marcus Bennett, Ray Siler hit him jarring the ball loose which was recovered by lineman Shawn Lemon.

 

Akron had a chance to extend its lead as Iveljic missed a 41-yard field goal attempt. Brookhart lamented “We did not take advantage of that turnover.”

 

The final special team mistake of the day came back to cost the Zips.

 

Cincinnati took the ball at its own 28-yard line and with the help of Pike and Collaros got the ball to the Akron 30-yard line setting the stage for Rogers’ heroics.

 

For Rogers, a sophomore from Warsaw, Indiana, it was just the second field goal he had made this season. In addition, it was the second longest field goal of his career. Last season, he connected on a 55-yarder in UC’s home win over Oregon State.

 

Akron had one final chance to win the game with 3:16 remaining.

 

Jacquemain moved the Zips to their own 46-yard line but then came a 14-yard sack by Bearcats' defensive end Lamonte Nelms, then on the next play, Jacquemain was pressured and hit by defensive end Curtis Young, the ball floated in the air and was intercepted by UC linebacker Brad Jones at the Akron 44-yard line ending the Zips final drive.

 

Jacquemain went 26-for-40 through the air for 254 yards, the touchdown strike to Bowser and the interception. He threw the ball to nine difference receivers with Bowser leading the corps with ten catches for 72 yards

 

Kennedy led the ground game with just 41 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown while on the defensive side, linebacker Kevin Grant led with 11 tackles (six of them were solo stops).

 

Brookhart remarked “We did some very good things today, but it wasn’t good enough against a very good Big East team”

 

With the win, Cincinnati improved its record to 4-1 on the season and heads to Huntington, West Virginia Friday night for a nationally televised game against the Thundering Herd of Marshall.

 

NOTES: Akron went over 300 yards in total offense for the sixth consecutive game dating back to last season…Tony Pike-CIN will have surgery on that fractured arm early next week and according to Head coach Kelly will be lost for about three weeks…UC Head Coach Chris Kelly is 3-0 lifetime against Akron (2-0 when he was the head coach at Central Michigan from 2004-06)… 'Cats defense has forced at least one turnover in their last 18 games.