Akron's late field goal miss gives Eastern Michigan 25-23 win

The Akron Zips (1-5, 0-2 MAC) were in position to win a game late in the fourth quarter for the first time since their contest against FCS Robert Morris in September, hoping to break a stretch of rough second-half performances and put together their most complete performance of the season in front of the Homecoming crowd on Saturday afternoon.

Placekicker Matthew Schramm, who had already hit on a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter and both of his extra points, lined up to kick a 47-yard attempt with 19 seconds remaining.

The kick, unfortunately for the Zips, would sail wide, allowing the visiting Eastern Michigan Eagles (4-3, 3-0 MAC) to end the game in victory formation.

It was a dramatic end to what had been a back-and-forth contest, with the Zips looking to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a contest where the margin was never more than four points.

Akron's first two drives on offense showed promise, with Brayden Roggow and Marcel Williams connecting on two passing touchdowns of 15 and 40 yards respectively to go up 14-10 on the Eagles early through the second quarter. (EMU's first two drives, which both went over 10 plays, ended in a 23-yard kick from Rudy Kessinger and a one-yard rushing score from Noah Kim.)

The Eagles would claw back into the game with another 11-play drive, this one ending in a 22-yard field goal from Kessinger, to put the margin at 14-13 Akron with 4:37 remaining in the first half.

The game looked to be turning on its head with 2:13 remaining in the second quarter, when Tairan Davis intercepted a Noah Kim pass to put the Zips at the EMU 41-yard line– but Akron's offense would go three-and-out to kill the drive, with both teams unable to move the ball before the halftime break.

Schramm would open the second-half scoring account with a kick from 40 yards out to start the third quarter, putting the Zips up 17-13. The field goal capped off a drive which was hampered by a chop block penalty upon crossing into EMU territory, as Roggow's pass to Elijah Anderson to try and extend the drive on third-and-17 wound up five yards short.

A chop block penalty on EMU's responding drive would also doom the Eagles offense, as halfback Brayden Bennett got the football removed from his possession by Luke Reed and Mehki Flowers jumped on the loose ball to once again give the offense a chance to build on the lead.

A false start by Williams on the first play of the drive, combined with a sack of Roggow by EMU's Quincy Byas would force another three-and-out for the Akron offense.

That's where the game would start to turn, as EMU linebacker Marvel Eggleston blocked Joseph Castle's punt to put the Eagle offense at the UA 22-yard line.

Eastern cashed in the turnover for Kessinger's third short field goal of the day, then add on a passing touchdown from Kim to Harold Mack on their next drive to claim the lead back once again.

Crucially, EMU failed on the two-point attempt, keeping the lead to a nine-point margin.

The teams would exchange punts before Akron made their way back to the endzone, this time on a 24-yard connection from Roggow to third-string halfback Marquese Williams– set up on a 24-yard reception by Miles Burris to convert a third-and-12 three plays prior– to give the Zips a 23-22 lead.

Thanks to EMU's previous two-point conversion failure, Akron had the option of going for a two-fer of their own to try and go up by a field goal.

Akron opted to go for it, getting tricky with a wide receiver pass play– but Marcel Williams' pass fell incomplete, putting the score at 23-22 in favor of Eastern Michigan with 6:27 remaining.

EMU would find itself frustrated at the end of an 11-play drive inside Akron territory, as halfback Joey Mattord would get stuffed on fourth-and-one by linebacker Donelius Johnson with under two minutes remaining– but a holding call on Tanner Lemaster would ironically wind up saving the drive, nullifying the play and forcing a re-try on fourth-and-11 from the Akron 31.

The penalty gave EMU a scoring opportunity, which they took advantage of with Rudy Kessinger's 48-yard field goal.

Akron's offense put together one of its best drives of the game on their final possession, with Roggow going 4-of-4 for 22 yards and Jordan Gant picking up 16 yards to set up shop at the EMU 35-yard line with 38 seconds remaining. On second-and-eight, Akron drew a penalty for an illegal snap, forcing a replay of the down.

Now looking at second-and-13, Roggow connected with Marcel Williams for an eight-yard gain and then with Miles Burris for three yards, forcing Akron to settle for a field goal on fourth-and-five– the exact amount of penalty yards given three plays prior.

The kick would be missed, and EMU walked away as victors.

EMU now stands alone atop the MAC standings with a 3-0 league record– thanks in part to their Week 0 win against Sacramento State to start the season off. It's also their third-straight victory, after previously downing Lindenwood and UMass.

Noah Kim finished 26-of-46 for 277 yards, two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) and an interception on the afternoon, while Joey Mattord (18 rushes, 73 yards) led the rushing attack and Joshua Long (nine catches, 114 yards) led the EMU receivers.

The EMU defense forced four three-and-outs, as well as an additional four-and-out to help the offense stay in position to win. Quincy Byas was the star contributor, with seven tackles, a team-leading 2.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks and a pass break-up. Bryce Eliuck led the team with nine total tackles.

Rudy Kessinger made all four of his field goals– one in each quarter– and his lone extra-point on the afternoon.

It was a tough result for Akron, who have now lost their last three games in large part due to their own mistakes.

Making it worse was the fact QB Brayden Roggow had his best start as a Zip, tossing no interceptions as a full-game starter for the first time in 2026 and finishing 17-of-24 passing for 229 yards and three touchdowns.

Halfback Jordan Gant went over 100 scrimmage yards for the second-straight game, with 117 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards on the day, while Marcel Williams' rapport with Roggow continues apace, leading the team with five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

Two Zips eclipsed the double-digit mark in tackles, with Donelius Johnson (16) and Mehki Flowers (14) sitting top the chart. Flowers also recovered a fumble while Tairan Davis had an interception to help win the turnover battle. Cyrus Durham had three stops– all solo– and a TFL. The Zips had four PBUs and six QB hurries as a unit.

Schramm was 1-of-2 on field goal attempts on the day, with both attempts over 40 yards.

Eastern will now return home to host the Toledo Rockets next Saturday, while Akron will go on the road to face the Miami RedHawks. Both games are set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.