The game was the 324^th and final Zips football game played at the facility they have called home since 1940.

 

The win gives Buffalo sole possession of first place in the MAC East Division, and with a win next Saturday at Bowling Green the Bulls could clinch their first outright division title and a spot in the MAC Championship Game in Detroit on December 5.

 

Kicker A.J. Principe connected on a 40-yard field goal to give the Bulls their fourth consecutive win, representing their longest winning streak since a four-game streak back in 1996.

 

“This is a great win for our program” Gill said after the marathon “The whole team were warriors today. These guys played hard and did not give up”

 

The Bulls defense set up the game winning kick when they forced an Akron fumble on the exchange from quarterback Chris Jacquemain to running back Dennis Kennedy in the fourth overtime The fumble was recovered by defensive end Andrae Smith.

 

The UB offense ran three running plays into the middle of the field setting the stage for Principe. “It felt great. It was the best ball I hit all year. I stroked it a little but it cane right back down the center,” he remarked on the field after the game.

 

While there was joy on one sideline, there was sadness on the other as the Zips, who came back three times during the contest, could not pull out the victory.

 

“This is the one we wanted to win” said Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart. “We had opportunities. First and foremost, you have to give credit to Buffalo. They are a good football team.”

 

Junior running back James Starks had 151 yards rushing on a career high 37 carries with three touchdowns and added 13 receptions for an additional 90 yards for the Bulls.

 

Starks, a junior from Niagara Falls, New York, ran for over 100 yards in the first half alone. It was the fifth time this season and11th in his career he reached the century mark on the ground.

 

Starks commented afterward, “It’s a great feeling to be sore but come away with the victory. If it was the other way around it would have been sad. I’m just proud to win this game. A total team effort.”

 

Buffalo senior quarterback Drew Willy completed 27-of-39 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown and in the process became UB’s all-time leader in passing yards and in touchdown passes (45).

 

Meanwhile Zips’ running back Dennis Kennedy, a senior from Fort Lauderdale Florida, one of 15 seniors playing their final home game for the Zips, had a phenomenal game as he accounted for 263 yards of total offense (142 yards on the ground on 25 carries with a career best three touchdowns and 121 in receiving on five catches and a score)

 

”We came up short. It’s very tough to lose the last game at the rubber Bowl. It’s real tough right now,” said a dejected Kennedy after the game.

 

The game was the longest in history for both schools and featured 950 yards of total offense.

 

It started out though, as if Buffalo would settle this first place battle in the East Division very quickly.

 

The Bulls took the opening kickoff and moved 71 yards in 10 plays with Willy finding wide receiver Naam Roosevelt with a 24-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.

 

It marked the third consecutive game and fifth time this season that the Buffalo scored on its initial possession of a game.

 

The Zips had a chance to answer the Buffalo score with one of their own but after a 46-yard kick return by Dashan Miller and a 32-yard pass play from Chris Jacquemain to Kennedy moved the ball to the Bulls 10-yard line, kicker Igor Iveljic missed a 27-yard field goal attempt.

 

Buffalo added to their lead after the Iveljic miss moving from their own 20-yard line to the Akron 11-yard line where the drive stalled with Principe connecting on  a 28-yard field goal to make the score 10-0.

 

Akron needed just one play however after the field goal to get back into the game.

 

It came on a 57-yard pass from Jacquemain to Kennedy who outran the defense to the corner of the end zone to narrow the Bulls’ lead to 10-7.

 

Both teams then had chances to put points on the board but failed.

 

Buffalo’s chance came on the possession after the touchdown but this time Principe’s 23-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Miguel Graham. The Zips on the following possession also had a chance to tie the game but Iveljic’s 50-yard attempt hit the crossbar.

 

The Bulls regained their 10-point lead after the miss.

 

Utilizing the running of Starks and sophomore Brandon Thermilus, the Bulls moved 67 yards in 13 plays with Starks finishing the drive with a three-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead for the visitors.

 

Just before halftime, Akron took advantage of a 15-yard Buffalo punt gaining possession on its own 45-yard line. The Zips moved the ball to the Bulls’ 32-yard line where Iveljic connected on a 49-yard field goal to make the score 17-10 at halftime.

 

In the first 30 minutes, Buffalo ran 50 plays and gained 319 total yards with Starks having 104 yards on the ground and still were leading by just seven points at intermission.

 

The second half would be a totally different story for both teams.

 

Akron took the second half kickoff and moved the ball 76 yards in just seven plays to tie the score 17-17 with Kennedy scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 24 yard run.

 

After an exchange of punts, Buffalo took the ball at their own 11-yard line and regained the lead with the longest scoring drive of the game.

 

Willy, the senior from Randolph, New Jersey engineered an 89 yard – 16 play drive that consumed 8:43, ending the third quarter and starting the fourth.

 

Fifteen of those plays were running plays with the final being Starks’ second touchdown of the game, a five-yard burst to make the score 24-17.

 

During that drive the Bulls converted on four straight third down situations.

 

Buffalo had a chance to add to the lead on the following kickoff, and possibly win the game in regulation, when Kennedy fumbled on the first play. Bulls’ linebacker Raphael Akobundu recovered the ball but he Bulls failed to convert the opportunity into points.

 

The Zips gained possession on their own 20-yard line after a Bulls punt with 4:07 remaining in regulation and thanks to the passing of Jacquemain  and the running of Kennedy, Akron moved to the Buffalo one-yard line where Kennedy punched it in with 23 seconds remaining to tie the game 30-30  send it into overtime.

 

Both teams scored a touchdown in the first extra session with the Bulls scoring first on Willy’s one-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak while Jacquemain found Miller in the end zone from four yards out keeping the score deadlocked at 37-37.

 

In the second overtime, it was a pair of field goals with Akron’s Iveljic connecting from 42 yards to give the Zips their first lead of the evening 40-37. Buffalo answered however when Principe matched that three-pointer with one of his own from 24-yards.

 

In overtime number three, Starks scored his third touchdown of the game from a yard out. Under the overtime rules, a team must go for two-points after scoring a touchdown. Starks tried a halfback option pass that failed.

 

The Zips’ possession came down to a fourth down from the Buffalo one-yard line where Kennedy scored his third rushing touchdown of the game. The Zips had a chance to win it but Jacquemain’s pass on the mandatory two-point conversion attempt was incomplete as the teams remained tied at 40-40 after three overtime sessions.

 

Akron had the ball to start the fourth overtime but on its third play, the Zips turned the ball over on a fumbled exchange between Jacquemain and Kennedy, setting the stage for Principe.

 

“It was a read play” Jacquemain said after the game when discussing the fumbled exchange. “I read the defensive end and I was going to take it. He (Kennedy) clamped down on the ball and my arm was still there.”

 

Jacquemain the junior from Mentor, Ohio finished the game completing 20-of-38 passes for 295 yards and two scores.

 

The Bulls finally put an end to the marathon session when AJ Principe nailed a 40-yard field goal after three straight rushing plays.

 

It was Buffalo’s third overtime game of the season winning two of them while Akron played their second of 2008 and fourth overall losing for the first time (3-1). They defeated Kent State 30-27 in two overtimes on October 4^th.

 

After the victorious Bulls left the field, a ceremony took place as the Zips said farewell to the Rubber Bowl by honoring former players from the decades they had their home games at the facility.

 

The current Zips team stood on the sideline and football related items were given to the team mascot Zippy. The items will be put into a time capsule and placed in the team’s new on-campus home InfoCision Stadium.

 

Zippy took the artifact, got on the back of a motorcycle which rode out underneath the scoreboard setting off a gigantic fireworks display.

 

But for the people in attendance however, there were plenty of fireworks on the field in a wild farewell to the Rubber Bowl.

 

NOTES: The win was Buffalo’s second straight over Akron (and first ever at the Rubber Bowl)…Buffalo collected its third straight ‘first’ (their first ever over Ohio in Athens and the first ever victory over Miami)…The 43 points scored was Buffalo’s most in a MAC road game…Buffalo was 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions in the game…Buffalo ran 85 plays from scrimmage in the game...James Starks-UB has at least two touchdowns in each of his last three games…A.J. Principe-UB moved into second place on the all-time scoring list for kickers with 140 points…Chris Jacquemain-AKR has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games and in 12 of his last 13… Jacquemain also collected his fifth straight multi-touchdown game and seventh of the season…Former Buffalo Bills and current Indianapolis Colts General Manager Bill Polian and Former Notre Dame and Zips head coach Gerry Faust visited the press box before the game…former NFL kicker Steve Christie is a radio analyst for the Bulls football games.