"Bulls lead at half, collapse late"

If only the game had ended after the third quarter.

A late comeback from the Akron Zips spoiled homecoming Saturday and a chance for UB to capture its first win of the season, as the home team fell 13-7 amid an ugly collapse of dropped passes, costly penalties, and crushing sacks of Bulls quarterback Drew Willy.

Over 8,000 students, alumni, friends and family came together, thundersticks in hand, as the Bulls battled on the gridiron with Mid-American Conference rival Akron (3-2, 2-1 MAC) at UB stadium. Unfortunately for the Bulls (0-4 overall, 0-2 MAC), a solid performance from the defense went to waste.

The Bulls were the better team in the first half. UB was led by a smothering defense that held Akron to a mere 30 yards of offense and only one first down.

"I think we played a very hard-fought game," head coach Jim Hofher said. "I thought there was a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. I thought our defense played particularly well throughout the game."

The Bulls' defense forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the game, leaving the offense to take control of the ball at Akron's 42-yard line. Freshman quarterback Drew Willy, in the first home start of his career, converted on two third-down plays with passes of 18 and 15 yards.

A two-yard touchdown run from junior running back Steven King capped off the drive, making the score 7-0 and giving the Bulls their first lead of the season.

Willy struggled after his early success, completing only 12-of-25 passes for a total of 71 yards. Of the 71 yards, 33 came on the two third conversions during the first drive of the game. Willy also threw one interception.

The second Akron possession was much like the first. The Bulls defense forced quarterback Luke Getsy to scramble around the field, resulting in another three-and-out. For the second time, the Bulls started on Akron's side of the 50-yard line.

The men in blue and white had great field position and the opportunity to expand on their lead, but on a critical play early in the game, Hofher decided to punt on fourth-and-one from Akron's 38.

Hofher said he was torn on whether to go for the first down, but decided to play the percentages since the game was still in its early stages.

"I think if it's maybe a little bit different in the game and a little bit different set of urgency, maybe it's not even a decision," Hofher said. "I felt like we also had a chance at that point for field position, with the breeze, to be able to pin them in (their own territory). Unfortunately, we didn't kick it accurately, and I believe (Akron) ended up having the ball on the 20."

At halftime, the Bulls were up 7-0, marking their first lead at the half since the home finale last season, when the team was beating Central Michigan 28-0.

The Bulls dominated the Zips in every major category through the half, leading in first downs (7-1), total yards (131-30) and time of possession (20:14-19:46).

The second half was a different story. Akron came out determined and took control of the momentum in the third quarter by winning field position, which led to the Zips tying the game just over 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. Akron running back Brett Biggs ran into the end zone from three yards out to give the Zips their first points of the game.

The weather played a major factor in the game, especially in the fourth quarter when Akron's special teams used the wind to its advantage to nullify the Bulls' return game and forced a turnover.

With a little over 10 minutes left, two Bulls camped under a descending kickoff that seemed to defy gravity. Ernest Jackson eventually received the ball, but amid the confusion of players, fumbled the ball on the Bulls' 48-yard line, giving away great field position and a much-needed possession on offense.

Akron captured the lead with 10:24 left in the game on a 25-yard field goal from Jason Swiger, making the score 10-7. Akron would add another field goal to secure the lead and the win.

Akron's head coach J.D. Brookhart said the team was happy to just come away with a win.

"We're fortunate to get out with a win today, obviously," Brookhart said. "I think that as usual, coach Hofher had the team playing 60 hard minutes. They had a good plan, they executed it real well and they put us in a lot of negative situations."

The Bulls will face Bowling Green at home next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.