In its last game of the season, Kent State’s football team defeated Buffalo in an overtime comeback Saturday.

The Flashes finish the season 5-7 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference. They do not qualify for a bowl game.

Buffalo falls to 5-6 on the season and 4-3 in the MAC. The team must win its last game against Akron to be bowl eligible.

First half gets tied up 

Less than five minutes into the game at Buffalo, Kent State’s sophomore kicker Andrew Glass got the Flashes a 3-0 lead with a 24-yard kick.

After 14 plays on the next drive, Buffalo’s senior kicker Alex McNulty kicked the ball in from 47 yards to tie the game 3-3.

Buffalo’s senior quarterback Matt Myers scored on a two-yard run with 8:36 left in the half, giving the Bulls a 10-3 lead.

Freshman KSU quarterback Devin Kargman entered the game on the next drive in the second quarter. Redshirt junior Collin Schlee, who has played in 10 games this season, would not return to the game.

Junior running back Marquez Cooper scored Kent State’s first touchdown of the day on a 21-yard run. KSU tied it up 10-10 with 3:53 left in the half.

Kent State had 144 yards of offense in the first half. Buffalo had 121 yards in the first half.

KSU storms back late

Myers rushed in his second touchdown of the game to open up the second half, putting Buffalo up 17-10 with 11:12 left in the third quarter. The senior QB scored again six minutes later with a one-yard touchdown run, extending his team’s lead to 24-10.

Kent State did not score in the third quarter.

Kargman threw his first and only interception of the afternoon with 10:51 left in the fourth quarter. The Bulls took over at the KSU 23-yard line but McNulty would miss a 33-yard field goal at the end of their drive.

With 8:32 in the fourth quarter, Kent State put in freshman quarterback Tommy Ulatowski for his collegiate debut.

Senior wide receiver Ja’Shaun Poke scored on the same drive. The score was now 24-16, Bulls.

Ulatowski threw to Poke for the two-point conversion, but the pass was incomplete.

On Kent State’s next drive, Cooper scored on a two-yard touchdown run, putting the team within two – 24-22 with 1:01 left in the game.

Poke caught this two-conversion pass to tie the game at 24-24.

Overtime success

After seven plays, McNulty scored a 30-yard field goal on Buffalo’s next drive, giving the Bulls a 27-30 lead. Junior Cole Snyder, who came in with 5:56 left in the fourth quarter, was Buffalo’s QB at this point.

On the next and final drive, Walker caught a seven-yard touchdown pass to give KSU the 30-27 victory.

Ulatowski finished 102 yards passing on six completions and one touchdown. Kargman was five-for-18 with 25 yards passing and an interception. Schlee had 14 yards passing and 41 yards rushing.

Cooper finished with 140 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Walker led the receiving core with 84 yards and a touchdown.

Snyder had 165 yards passing. Myers finished with 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Jacob Hansen is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].