AKRON - Ohio – Colgate football wanted to waltz into Akron, Ohio and take its lone FBS opponent by surprise. The Raiders have 17 players from Ohio, and after the Week 2 loss to No. 5 Villanova, Colgate was determined to shock the MAC. 

It worked, and the Raiders had an early lead that silenced the Zips' fans. But it didn't last long, as Akron scored 28 unanswered points to take down Colgate, 31-20. 

"Our guys go out and compete whether we're playing against an FBS team, a CAA team, or whoever," Head coach Stan Dakosty said. "They have respect for teams but they play with a chip on their shoulder and an edge that they can compete against anyone. The upperclassmen set that tone and the underclassmen follow along with that."

TAKEAWAYS
Although the Raiders couldn't leave Ohio without a win, Colgate had multiple players record career- or season-highs.

Colgate's offense shocked Akron by jumping out to a 17-0 lead halfway through the first quarter, after senior quarterback Michael Brescia led the offense to points in three of the first four drives of the game. Brescia and sophomore Jake Stearney finished the game with 243 yards of offense through 65 plays. 

Many non-seniors contributed on both sides of the ball, including junior wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders, who had a season-high seven catches for 82 yards of offense. 

"There were a decent amount of first-years and sophomores out there for us," Dakosty said. "There were a lot of guys playing in critical moments that are getting their college football feet underneath them so it's a good experience."

Junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski continued his hot start, reaching a new career-high 13 tackles against the Zips on Saturday. His previous career-high was 11 tackles, which he recorded during Week 2 against Villanova. 

Kozlowski also had his first career multi-sack performance, reaching Akron's quarterbacks twice and pushed the Zips back 19 yards. To cap off his career night, the junior had 4.5 tackles for loss, adding another 27 yards Akron had to trot backwards. 

Colgate's defense followed suit to Kozlowski's efforts, with three other Raiders notching a new career-best in at least one statistical category. Junior defensive lineman Dane Picariello had a career-high eight tackles. He nearly doubled his single-game-high, after just notching five in the prior two matchups. 

Sophomore defensive back Josh Stinespring had a career-high six tackles, matching that marker from Week 2 against Villanova. He picked up his first career interception in the fourth quarterback, putting the Raiders on offense with under two minutes to play. Finally, senior linebacker Mack Marrone had a career-high two tackles and recorded his first-ever tackle-for-loss. 

Senior punter Shelby Pruitt recorded yet another season-long punt, bringing his career-average to 41.25 yards per punt. He averaged nearly 50 yards per punt against the Zips. 

UP NEXT
The Raiders return home to face in-state rival Cornell for the Homecoming game on Sep. 21 at 1 p.m. The game will be on ESPN+.