AKRON, Ohio - Led by redshirt junior Ben Finley's four passing touchdowns, the Akron football team defeated the Colgate Raiders 31-20 at Infocision Stadium Friday evening in the Zips' home opener.

Finley set a career high in passing yards (358) touchdowns thrown (4) and longest pass (56 yards) in the victory over Colgate.

Sophomore Adrian Norton and junior Bobby Golden both recorded over 100 yards receiving while Norton led all receivers with 125 yards. Along with Norton and Golden, redshirt sophomores Jake Newell and Charles Kellom all hauled in strikes from Finley for touchdowns.

Redshirt junior Darrian Lewis led the defensive efforts with 12 total tackles and snagged one interception which helped lead to a Zips' touchdown. Senior Paul Lewis III and junior Bryan McCoy each had nine tackles to help the Akron cause.

Akron was efficient in the red zone, going 4-of-6 in the process.

The Zips improved to 1-2 on the season while the Raiders dropped to 0-3.

How It Happened

Colgate stunned the Zips, taking a 17-0 advantage by the 5:49 mark in the first quarter.

The Raiders scored on the first drive of the game for a 7-0 advantage (6 plays, 75 yards), capped by a 33-yard touchdown pass. Colgate second touchdown came after a miscue on a Raiders punt, recovering a fumble on the Zips three-yardline. The raiders needed one play to make the score 14-0. Colgate added a 51-yard field goal at the 5:49 mark to make it 17-0.

Akron responded with 28 unanswered points with all 28 points coming in the first half. The Zips utilized a 9-play, 75-yard drive for their first score as Finley found Kellom for seven-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 10 points with 1:48 left in the first quarter. Akron forced the Raiders to punt before time expired in the first frame and used a 4-play, 69 yard drive to cut the deficit to three points early in the second quarter. Finley threw his second touchdown pass of the game with 14:10 showing on the clock, finding Newell in the back of the endzone for a two-yard TD pass in the second quarter.

The Zips third touchdown drive was generated from an interception by D. Lewis at the Colgate 47-yardline. Finley marched the Zips down the field, finding Golden for a 56-yard touchdown pass to cap a 4-play, 69-yard drive. After taking a 21-17 lead the Zips were not finished scoring as Finley orchestrated a fourth TD drive. The 10-play, 60-yard drive culminated with Norton catching an 18-yard pass in the endzone for a 28-17 Zips advantage at halftime.

Both teams added field goals in the second half as Colgate split the uprights from 45-yards out to make it a one-possession game. 28-20 Akron. The Zips responded with a 32-yard field goal off the foot of redshirt junior Garrison Smith to make the score 31-20, where it remained.

Game Notes

» Finley began the first Zip to throw for over 300 yards since Jeff Undercuffler threw for 312 at Northern Illinois on November 26, 2022.

»Finley set career highs in passing yards, touchdowns thrown and longest pass thrown.

» Finley was the first Zip to throw for at least four touchdowns since Kato Nelson threw four TDs at Ohio on November 23, 2018.  

» Akron recorded 416 yards on offense while holding Colgate to 243.

» Golden set a career-high for longest reception with a 56-yard catch for a TD from Finley.

» Golden's 56-yard reception was the longest since Alex Adams had a 54-yard and 61-yard reception against Eastern Michigan on November 8, 2022.

»Akron featured a pair of 100-yard receivers as Norton (125) and Golden (119) both hauled in over 100 yards. The pair were the first Zips to both have a 100-yard game since November 1, 2023, when the Zips defeated Kent State for the Wagon Wheel.

» Akron saw 31 of its 61 tackles come from D.Lewis (12), McCoy (9) and P.Lewis (9).

»Zips recorded the first two sacks of the season as Lama Lavea recorded Akron's first Sack and CJ Nunnally IV had a strip sack to close the game. Nathan Kapongo recovered the fumble.

What's Next?

The Akron Zips travel to Columbia, S.C., to battle the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.