AKRON, Ohio - University of Akron head coach Terry Bowden got win No. 1 in the Blue and Gold in record fashion as the Zips set or tied six team and two individual school records, in addition to one conference mark, in a 66-6 win over Morgan State on Saturday at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field.
Akron's 66 points and 753 yards of total offense broke a nine-year mark set on Sept. 20, 2003, against Howard (65 points, 692 yards). The Zips also finished with a program-best 43 first downs, also in that contest against Howard. UA set a school record for completions as well with 44.
Akron (1-2) also set the program and Mid-American Conference mark for passing yards (565) and posted the third-most offensive yards in league history with 753. Akron's 59 pass attempts tied the UA school mark.
Dalton Williams finished the game connecting on 37-of-48 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns. His 94 completions over the last three games broke Charlie Frye's school record in that category (89). He also set the single-game completions mark, besting Frye's 36 against Kent State on Aug. 28, 2003.
Kyle Pohl completed 7-of-10 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Williams.
Jawon Chisholm led all rushers with 129 yards on 18 carries. It was his fifth-career 100-yard game on the ground (four in 2011). Conor Hundley added two rushing touchdowns while Marquelo Suel had 99 yards on six catches.
Morgan State (1-2) opened the second half with a three-and-out and the Zips would capitalize, driving 75 yards on 12 plays for the first points of the second half. Robert Stein connected on a 24-yard chip shot to increase Akron's lead to 24-6 with 9:39 on the third-quarter clock.
Following the second-consecutive three-and-out of the half for the Bears, the Zips went 74 yards on four plays with Williams connecting with Andrew Pratt for a 42-yard touchdown. The extra point would give Akron a 31-6 lead with 7:06 left in the quarter.
The Akron offense continued to move down the field, as Akron scored on its third-straight drive when Hundley scored on an 11-yard draw for a 38-6 lead. The TD run capped off a five-play, 75-yard drive.
Pohl entered the game late in the third quarter for Williams and connected with Jerrod Dillard for 28 yards on his first attempt of the game for an Akron touchdown. The score sent the game into the fourth quarter with the Zips leading, 45-6.
UA added three more scores in the fourth quarter, with Pratt catching his second TD of the day (37 yards) and Dee Frieson catching Pohl's third scoring toss (18 yards). The Akron defense added a score with Nick Rossi returning a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown.
The Zips opened the game with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that covered 4:08 on the clock. Williams connected with Tyrell Goodman for 17 yards to cap off the series. Chisholm accounted for 35 yards on the ground during the march down field.
Following a Morgan State field goal to cut the Akron lead to 7-3, UA would answer with its first rushing touchdown of the season. Starting on their own 25, Williams would carry the Zips down the field. Hundley punched it in from one yard out for his first collegiate touchdown, giving UA a 14-3 advantage with 3:14 remaining in the first quarter. The drive covered 75 yards on 12 plays and chewed up 2:58 on the clock.
UA added to its lead in the second quarter when Williams connected with Rhyne Ladrach for a 12-yard TD pass with 11:28 left in the half. The catch was the first TD of Ladrach's career and the ninth on the year for Williams.
An illegal hit to the head kept Morgan State's next drive alive following a near interception by the Zips. The Bears' drive would eventually stall at the Akron 26. MSU settled for a field goal, cutting the UA lead to 21-6 at the 7:47 mark.
Following a missed field goal by MSU's Ervin Gonzalez, the Zips drove 60 yards to the Bears 18 yard line. However, Stein would hit the right upright to send the game into halftime with Akron leading, 21-6.
Albert Presley led the Akron defense with six tackles, followed by Johnny Robinson's five.
Akron travels to SEC foe and nationally-ranked Tennessee on Saturday, Sept. 22, for a Comcast Sports South/ESPN3/ESPN Game Plan telecast. The contest is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: Dalton Williams entered the contest ranked second in the nation with seven TD passes, trailing only USC's Matt Barkley (10) ... Williams now has 10 TDs through the air ... Williams completed 30 passes against UCF in Week 1 and 27 at FIU in Week 2 ... Charlie Frye's previous record of 89 completions over three games included 36 against Kent State, 31 at Wisconsin and 22 versus Eastern Michigan ... Jawon Chisholm last reached the century mark on the ground against Central Michigan on Oct. 29, 2011 (130) ... the other time the Zips scored 65 points against was Eastern Michigan in triple overtime (Nov. 24, 2011).
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF AKRON ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
No comments:
Post a Comment