Bowling Green State University Athletics
Photo by: Avery Zuercher, BGSU Athletics
Zips Hang On For 19-16 Win Tuesday Night
November 18, 2025 | Football
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University football team came up just short in the final home game of the 2025 season, falling by a 19-16 final to the University of Akron on Tuesday night (Nov. 18) at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
Austyn Dendy ran for a game-high 110 yards for the Falcons (3-8, 1-6 MAC), who took a 13-9 lead late in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Hunter Najm to Jacob Harris.
But, on the very next play from scrimmage, the Zips (5-7, 4-4 MAC) connected on a 75-yard scoring play to take the lead for good.
Jordan Gant ran for 85 yards for the visitors, while Ben Finley was 9-for-26 for 176 yards through the air.
The BGSU defense sacked Finley four times, forced four Akron fumbles (recovering two) and had an interception as well.
BG was a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons took the lead on the opening drive of the game, going 65 yards in 14 plays. The big play was a 38-yard pass from Hunter Najm to Jyrin Johnson into Akron territory. That drive also featured a fourth-down conversion, as Austyn Dendy went up the middle for a three-yard gain on fourth and 1.
• BG drove as far as the Akron 10-yard line before Jackson Kleather's 28-yard field goal gave the Falcons an early 3-0 lead.
• The Zips answered with a field goal of their own. Akron went 51 yards in seven plays, including a 40-yard scramble by quarterback Ben Finley, and Matthew Schramm connected from 39 yards out.
• Late in the first quarter, a strip-sack by Austin Hines III gave the Falcons the ball at midfield. The next drive saw BG move into the red zone on a 27-yard pass from Najm to Dendy, and culminated with a 28-yard field goal by Kleather with exactly 12 minutes remaining in the half.
• The Falcons got another turnover with just under five minutes left in the half, as Gideon Lampron caused Finley to fumble, with JoJo Johnson recovering. The UA defense held, however, and a 59-yard field-goal attempt by Kleather came up just short.
• Akron equalized on Schramm's 37-yard field goal with 1:47 left before halftime.
• The Zips' Brandon Hills returned the second-half kickoff to the BGSU 45-yard line. Six plays gained a total of just 15 yards, but Schramm connected from 48 yards out to give UA a 9-6 lead with 12:42 left in the third quarter.
• The next several drives ended in punts, before the Falcons took the lead on a five-play, 43-yard drive. Dendy gained a combined 22 yards on the first three plays, and after an incompletion, Najm found Jacob Harris, who made a diving catch in the front left corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown. Kleather's kick gave the Orange and Brown a 13-9 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
• It took the Zips one play to retake the lead, as Finley found Israel Polk for a 75-yard score, with the PAT making it a 16-13 game. Akron went 67 yards into the red zone on the Zips' next drive, with Schramm's 30-yard field goal giving the visitors a six-point lead with 11:43 remaining.
• The next drive saw the Falcons pick up a pair of fourth-down conversions in Akron territory. That 16-play drive saw Dendy gain all but two of the Falcons' 44 total yards to go over 100 for the game. After a third-down sack, Kleather's 31-yard field goal cut the Zips' lead in half with 3:20 on the clock.
• The Falcons held the Zips to a three-and-out on the next drive, and Brennan Ridley returned the ensuing punt 15 yards to the Akron 42-yard line with 2:12 to play.
• The Falcons drove to the Zips' 31-yard line, but UA came up with an interception with exactly one minute on the clock to seal the three-point victory.
STAT LEADERS
• Austyn Dendy: 27 rushes, 110 yards
• Jyrin Johnson: 3 receptions, 63 yards
• Gideon Lampron: 9 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss
• Andrew Hines III: 5 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss
GAME NOTES
• With three receptions, TE Jyrin Johnson extended his active streak of at least one reception to 44 games. He entered the week with the nation's longest streak.
• LB Andrew Hines III notched his first career sack in the first quarter. He also forced and recovered a fumble—both career firsts.
• P Jackson Kleather punted for the first time since the 2023 season, booting his lone kick 54 yards, the second-longest of his career.
• Kleather added three field goals, giving him 18 for the season. He is tied for No. 4 all-time in program history for single-season made field goals. The record is 23, set by Tyler Tate in 2014.
• RB Austyn Dendy rushed a career-high 27 times for 110 yards. He is the first BGSU player to rush for 100+ yards in back-to-back games since Terion Stewart in 2023.
• TE Jacob Harris recorded his fifth receiving touchdown of the season. He is currently tied for No. 4 in the nation among tight ends in receiving touchdowns.
• LB Gideon Lampron finished with nine tackles and 1.5 TFLs. He is just the fourth Falcon in the past 21 seasons to record 100+ tackles and 10+ TFLs in the same season, and the first since Austin Valdez in 2015. Lampron has 109 tackles and 15.5 TFLs on the season.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Q:Â Similar to several other games, you had a chance at the end. How much tougher does each one of these (close losses) get?
Head Coach Eddie George: "It's hard. No question. You know, kids are working their tails off every week; keep getting up off the mat and keep showing up to work and being positive, but it hurts because we are in position to win games. We're not, you know, looking for excuses. We're not saying what we have, what we don't have. The bottom line is that we have opportunities to win with the guys that we have. We just have to get over the emotional side and be really honest about ourselves. We didn't make enough plays to win the game. Plain and simple. You know, we had opportunities to do it, to affect the outcome, but it just didn't happen that way. So that's the same story."
UP NEXT
• BGSU will hit the road to face Massachusetts next Tuesday (Nov. 25), with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m.
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Austyn Dendy ran for a game-high 110 yards for the Falcons (3-8, 1-6 MAC), who took a 13-9 lead late in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Hunter Najm to Jacob Harris.
But, on the very next play from scrimmage, the Zips (5-7, 4-4 MAC) connected on a 75-yard scoring play to take the lead for good.
Jordan Gant ran for 85 yards for the visitors, while Ben Finley was 9-for-26 for 176 yards through the air.
The BGSU defense sacked Finley four times, forced four Akron fumbles (recovering two) and had an interception as well.
BG was a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons took the lead on the opening drive of the game, going 65 yards in 14 plays. The big play was a 38-yard pass from Hunter Najm to Jyrin Johnson into Akron territory. That drive also featured a fourth-down conversion, as Austyn Dendy went up the middle for a three-yard gain on fourth and 1.
• BG drove as far as the Akron 10-yard line before Jackson Kleather's 28-yard field goal gave the Falcons an early 3-0 lead.
• The Zips answered with a field goal of their own. Akron went 51 yards in seven plays, including a 40-yard scramble by quarterback Ben Finley, and Matthew Schramm connected from 39 yards out.
• Late in the first quarter, a strip-sack by Austin Hines III gave the Falcons the ball at midfield. The next drive saw BG move into the red zone on a 27-yard pass from Najm to Dendy, and culminated with a 28-yard field goal by Kleather with exactly 12 minutes remaining in the half.
• The Falcons got another turnover with just under five minutes left in the half, as Gideon Lampron caused Finley to fumble, with JoJo Johnson recovering. The UA defense held, however, and a 59-yard field-goal attempt by Kleather came up just short.
• Akron equalized on Schramm's 37-yard field goal with 1:47 left before halftime.
• The Zips' Brandon Hills returned the second-half kickoff to the BGSU 45-yard line. Six plays gained a total of just 15 yards, but Schramm connected from 48 yards out to give UA a 9-6 lead with 12:42 left in the third quarter.
• The next several drives ended in punts, before the Falcons took the lead on a five-play, 43-yard drive. Dendy gained a combined 22 yards on the first three plays, and after an incompletion, Najm found Jacob Harris, who made a diving catch in the front left corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown. Kleather's kick gave the Orange and Brown a 13-9 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
• It took the Zips one play to retake the lead, as Finley found Israel Polk for a 75-yard score, with the PAT making it a 16-13 game. Akron went 67 yards into the red zone on the Zips' next drive, with Schramm's 30-yard field goal giving the visitors a six-point lead with 11:43 remaining.
• The next drive saw the Falcons pick up a pair of fourth-down conversions in Akron territory. That 16-play drive saw Dendy gain all but two of the Falcons' 44 total yards to go over 100 for the game. After a third-down sack, Kleather's 31-yard field goal cut the Zips' lead in half with 3:20 on the clock.
• The Falcons held the Zips to a three-and-out on the next drive, and Brennan Ridley returned the ensuing punt 15 yards to the Akron 42-yard line with 2:12 to play.
• The Falcons drove to the Zips' 31-yard line, but UA came up with an interception with exactly one minute on the clock to seal the three-point victory.
STAT LEADERS
• Austyn Dendy: 27 rushes, 110 yards
• Jyrin Johnson: 3 receptions, 63 yards
• Gideon Lampron: 9 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss
• Andrew Hines III: 5 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss
GAME NOTES
• With three receptions, TE Jyrin Johnson extended his active streak of at least one reception to 44 games. He entered the week with the nation's longest streak.
• LB Andrew Hines III notched his first career sack in the first quarter. He also forced and recovered a fumble—both career firsts.
• P Jackson Kleather punted for the first time since the 2023 season, booting his lone kick 54 yards, the second-longest of his career.
• Kleather added three field goals, giving him 18 for the season. He is tied for No. 4 all-time in program history for single-season made field goals. The record is 23, set by Tyler Tate in 2014.
• RB Austyn Dendy rushed a career-high 27 times for 110 yards. He is the first BGSU player to rush for 100+ yards in back-to-back games since Terion Stewart in 2023.
• TE Jacob Harris recorded his fifth receiving touchdown of the season. He is currently tied for No. 4 in the nation among tight ends in receiving touchdowns.
• LB Gideon Lampron finished with nine tackles and 1.5 TFLs. He is just the fourth Falcon in the past 21 seasons to record 100+ tackles and 10+ TFLs in the same season, and the first since Austin Valdez in 2015. Lampron has 109 tackles and 15.5 TFLs on the season.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Q:Â Similar to several other games, you had a chance at the end. How much tougher does each one of these (close losses) get?
Head Coach Eddie George: "It's hard. No question. You know, kids are working their tails off every week; keep getting up off the mat and keep showing up to work and being positive, but it hurts because we are in position to win games. We're not, you know, looking for excuses. We're not saying what we have, what we don't have. The bottom line is that we have opportunities to win with the guys that we have. We just have to get over the emotional side and be really honest about ourselves. We didn't make enough plays to win the game. Plain and simple. You know, we had opportunities to do it, to affect the outcome, but it just didn't happen that way. So that's the same story."
UP NEXT
• BGSU will hit the road to face Massachusetts next Tuesday (Nov. 25), with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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