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POSTSEASON HISTORY POSTSEASON COLLEGE DIVISION 1968 Grantland Rice Bowl Akron’s First Bowl w Louisiana Tech 33, Akron 13 w December 14, 1968 w Floyd Stadium | Murfreesboro, Tenn. Louisiana Tech 21 0 0 12 - 33 Akron 0 7 6 0 - 13 Scoring Summary LT - Bradshaw 16-yard run (Golmon kick) LT - Spinks 36-yard pass from Bradshaw (Golmon kick) LT - Herren 2-yard run (Golmon kick) UA - Vargo 1-yard run (Harrison kick) UA - Beidleman 13-yard run (kick blocked) LT - Brewer 6-yard pass from Bradshaw (kick failed) LT - Bradshaw 8-yard run (pass failed) Team Stats LT UA First Downs 21 14 Rushing Yards 86 118 Passing 33-19-2 21-6-3 Passing Yards 261 78 Total Offense 347 196 POSTSEASON HISTORY POSTSEASON UA Individual Stat Leaders: MURFREESBORO, Tenn.– It was the first bowl The Zips managed to get on the board with Ron Lemon, 18 rushes, 75 yards Jack Beidleman, 18 rushes, 48 yards, 1 TD; 2 appearance for either team when The Univer- 1:50 left in the half on a 1-yard run from ju- recs, 22 yards sity of Akron and Louisiana Tech met in the nior fullback John Vargo. At 28, Vargo was the Dan Ruff, 4 receptions, 56 yards fifth annual Grantland Rice Bowl for the 1968 oldest running back in the country. College Division Mideast Region Champion- ship. The Zips opened the second half with their most impressive drive of the day as they Both teams touted quarterbacks who rewrote marched 80 yards in 19 plays as sophomore their respective record books. halfback Jack Beidleman took the ball in from 13 yards for the Akron score, cutting the For the Zips, under head coach Gordon Lar- lead to 21-13. son, senior Don Zwisler entered the contest ranked fourth in the nation in passing. For The Zips though could draw no closer as two the Bulldgos, junior Terry Bradshaw ranked more Bradshaw scores in the fourth quarter first in the country. sealed the Bulldog win. Tech jumped out to a quick lead with three On the day, Bradshaw rushed for two scores touchdowns in the first quarter for a 21-0 ad- and threw for two more giving the football vantage. world a glimpse of things to come for the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback. 176 176 GoZips.com/ZipsFB | #OurWay | #HereToDevelop COLLEGE DIVISION POSTSEASON HISTORY POSTSEASON 1772019 AKRON FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE 177 DIVISION II 1976 Division II Playoffs | Quarterfinal First Postseason Victory in Program History w Akron 27, UNLV 6 w November 27, 1976 w Rubber Bowl | Akron, Ohio UNLV 6 0 0 0 - 6 Akron 10 10 0 7 - 27 Scoring Summary UA - Embick 24-yard field goal UNLV - Bowls 100-yard kickoff return (kick failed) UA - Bezbatchenko 43-yard run (Embick kick) UA - Hovanec 1-yard run (Embick kick) UA - Embick 24-yard field goal UA - Evans 14-yard pass from Bezbatchenko (Embick kick) Team Stats UNLV UA First Downs 14 25 Rushes/Yards 16-8 77-419 Passes 19-42-3 5-10-1 Passing Yards 241 31 UA Individual Stat Leaders: POSTSEASON HISTORY POSTSEASON Mark Hovanec, 21 rushes, 111 yards AKRON, Ohio– It was all Akron as the Zips for the Rebel touchdown. UNLV led 6-3 after Marty Bezbatchenko, 14 rushes, 88 yards hosted the University of Nevada-Las Vegas at the extra point attempt missed. Glenn Evans, 4 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD the Rubber Bowl in the quarterfinal round of the 1976 NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Zips regained the lead for good later in the first half when quarterback Marty Bez- Akron head coach Jim Dennison’s trademark batchenko scampered 43 yards for a touch- running attack was true to form as the Blue down. and Gold racked up 419 yards on the ground, while the defense held the Rebel runners to Akron added 10 more points in the second only eight yards and controlled the game. quarter on a 1-yard Mark Hovanec run and a 24-yard Embick field goal. The Zips got on the board first, taking the opening kickoff down to the Vegas 7-yard Bezbatchenko closed out the scoring in the line where Jim Embick split the uprights with fourth quarter when he hit senior wide receiv- a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 Akron lead. er Glenn Evans from 14 yards for the Akron touchdown. UNLV had its only point production on the afternoon on the ensuing kickoff when 5-6, For Akron, the win marked the first postsea- 143-lb. freshman Ken Bowls took the Embick son victory in program history. kick in the endzone and returned it 100 yards 178 178 GoZips.com/ZipsFB | #OurWay | #HereToDevelop DIVISION II 1976 Division II Playoffs | Semifinal Knute Rockne Bowl; First OT Game in NCAA Playoffs w Akron 29, Northern Michigan 26 (OT) w December 4, 1976 w Rubber Bowl | Akron, Ohio Northern Mich. 10 0 6 8 - 3 - 26 Akron 7 7 0 9 - 6 - 29 Scoring Summary NMU - Awrey 1-yard run (Harves kick) NMU - Harves 31-yard field goal UA - Axner 56-yard run (Embick kick) UA - Axner 6-yard run (Embick kick) HISTORY POSTSEASON NMU - Awrey 4-yard run (pass failed) UA - Axner 3-yard run (run failed) NMU - Brown 1-yard fumble recovery (Harves kick) UA - Embick 35-yard field goal NMU - Harves 39-yard field goal UA - Bezbatchenko 1-yard run Team Stats NMU UA First Downs 21 16 Rushes/Yards 51-97 60-271 Passes 16-27-2 2-6-2 Passing Yards 251 60 AKRON, Ohio– History between the Zips and In the fourth quarter, Axner scored his third UA Individual Stat Leaders: Wildcats added another chapter during the TD of the day on a 3-yard run. The Zips, too, Dave Axner, 15 rushes, 122 yards, 3 TD’s semifinal round of the 1976 NCAA Division II missed on a two-point try, leaving them with Greg Thurman, 10 rushes, 54 yards Playoffs– named the Knute Rockne Bowl as the a 20-16 lead. NMU reclaimed the lead after a Mark Hovanec, 15 rushes, 48 yards teams played in the first overtime game in the QB fumble on the Akron 1-yard line, and OL history of NCAA football playoffs. Roy Brown recovered for the score. Riding a six-game winning streak against Down by three points with 3:29 left on the NMU in series history, the Zips were down by clock, UA had one final shot. Starting on their 10 points before the Akron rushing machine own 29-yard line, the Zips drove the ball to began to roll. With 2:48 remaining in the the NMU 18-yard line where kicker Jim Em- first quarter, junior halfback Dave Axner took bick split the uprights with :01 left to tie the a Marty Bezbatchencko hand off on the right contest at 23-23 and send it into overtime. side and sprinted 56 yards to the end zone. With each team trading a series from the op- Akron took the lead in the closing minutes of ponent’s 15-yard line, the Zips won the toss the half when Axner hit paydirt again for six and elected to defend. They pushed the Wild- yards to help the Zips to a 14-10 lead enter- cats back to the 23-yard line where they hit ing the locker room. a field goal. The UA offense then took over and ran three rushing plays to move the ball NMU scored on its first drive of the second to the 1-yard line where Bezbatchenko went half but missed a two-point conversion. over the goal line on a quarterback keeper to seal the victory. 1792019 AKRON FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE 179 DIVISION II 1976 Division II Playoffs | Final Pioneer Bowl; National Championship Game w Montana State 24, Akron 13 w December 11, 1976 w Memorial Stadium | Wichita Falls, Texas Akron 0 0 7 6 - 13 Montana State 0 14 3 7 - 24 Scoring Summary MSU - McCullough 5-yard pass from Dennehy (Muri kick) MSU - Damberger 3-yard pass from Ueland (Muri kick) MSU - Muri 21-yard field goal UA - Axner 3-yard run (Embick kick) UA - Evans 22-yard pass from Bezbatchenko (kick failed) MSU - Kosterba 7-yard run (Muri kick) Team Stats UA MSU First Downs 14 19 Rushes/Yards 44-179 67-266 Passes 7-19-2 7-10-2 Passing Yards 91 50 WICHITA FALLS, Texas– It was windy and bitter The Bobcats added a field goal in the third cold in Wichita Falls when the Zips met No. quarter to take a 17-0 lead before Akron took POSTSEASON HISTORY POSTSEASON UA Individual Stat Leaders: 1 Montana State for the NCAA Division II Na- advantage of a MSU mistake. Charles Parnell Greg Thurman, 10 rushes, 44 yards tional Championship. recovered a Bobcats fumble at the MSU 30- Dave Axner, 11 rushes, 42 yards, 1 TD yard line. Akron got on the board five plays Glenn Evans, 4 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD The day was made for the ground game and later when Dave Axner ran in from 3 yards out ball control offenses, and the opponents did with 1:33 left in the third. not disappoint. UA caught another break early in the fourth UA entered the contest averaging 251.2 quarter when senior Louis Formen intercept- yards per game rushing, while MSU ranked ed a MSU pass and set the Zips up at the first in the nation with 287.5 yards per game Bobcats 25-yard line. Quarterback Marty Bez- on the ground.