30 Games in 30 Days: #20 Akron at Buffalo

Akron	@ Buffalo

Where: Amherst, NY

When: October 17th

All Time Series: Akron 8-2

Date	Buffalo	Akron
November 13, 2008	43	40
October 27, 2007	26	10
November 9, 2006	16	31
October 8, 2005	7	13
October 9, 2004	21	44
September 27, 2003	21	38
November 16, 2002	10	21
November 17, 2001	14	41
November 11, 2000	14	49
September 11, 1999	10	17

Like most teams in the MAC East the Akron Zips spent years as the beneficiary of football futility coming out of Western New York. With the Bulls seemingly righting their ship the potential for a decent divisional rivalry is emerging. During the Football season Buffalo broke Akron's heart, and their back and The Zips returned the favor the following spring when they defeated Buffalo in the championship round of the MAC basketball tournament.

For UB this game is the first at home against an Eastern division team and, probably, the first in conference game Buffalo should be expected to win. If UB falters here they could be looking at an 0-3 to start divisional play with their next two games against the Broncos and the Falcons. In other words a loss to Akron could be the game that, for all intensive purposes, knocks them out of the divisional race.

Akron comes into this game with a bit more breathing room than the Bulls. Of their two divisional games before hand, one is a very winnable home game against Ohio. No game is a throw away but a loss here still give Akron two very winnable games (Kent, EMU) and another two should be able to compete in (home against Temple / away at Bowling Green).

In short should Akron manage to beat Ohio the week before they can lose to Buffalo and still have a very good shot at a 5-3 divisional record where as unless the Bulls shock Central Michigan, Western Michigan, or Temple, a loss at the hands of Akron realistically limits them to a 4-4 divisional mark.

Last year's game between Buffalo and Akron was one of the best games in the Mid American Conference, if not college football. The game sent the two teams on distinctly different trajectories with UB defeating Bowling Green the following week to clinch the MAC East and Akron falling out the the divisional race and bowl contention by dropping their last two games.

Two times in the first half UB went ahead by ten, 10-0 eleven minutes into the first quarter and 17-7 slightly more than ten minutes into the second. Akron would close and tie it at 17-17 early in the third. From that point the two teams just traded punches until Dennis Kennedy's one yard run with 23 seconds left sent the game into overtime. The teams continued to trade punches in overtime until Chris Jacquemain coughed up the ball on the first possession of the fourth overtime. UB would kick a field goal to end the game minutes later.

Its a three and a half hour drive from Akron to Buffalo which, for a Saturday afternoon game, leaves plenty of time to tank up and take 90 into Amherst for some pregame tailgating.