Akron rolls past KSU, wins East Division title

AKRON (AP) -- Brett Biggs ran for 149 yards and scored twice to help Akron beat Kent State 35-3 and take home the Mid-American Conference's East Division title.
The Zips (6-5, 5-3) will play West Division champs Northern Illinois in the conference championship Dec. 1 at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Golden Flashes (1-10, 0-8) faltered early in a game that started in 27-degree weather with winds of 23 miles per hour.
Kent State fumbled twice in its first three snaps. Brion Stokes scooped up the second one and returned it 16 yards to the end zone to put Akron up 7-0.
Biggs scored late in the first quarter on a 7-yard run. Kent answered with a 26-yard field goal early in the second.
Biggs, who accounted for 207 yards of offense, caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Luke Getsy just after halftime to make it 21-3.
With Kent State punter Joshua Brazen standing near his goal line on the next series, the Zips blocked the kick. Jay Rohr recovered for a 2-yard touchdown return.
Akron wrapped up the scoring midway through the fourth with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon from Getsy, who had two touchdown throws despite just five completions for 47 yards.
Kent State quarterback Michael Machen managed only 7 yards on 4-of-12 passing.
Akron won the East Division tiebreaker over Miami and Bowling Green because the Zips' opponents in the West Division had a better record than the teams Miami and Bowling Green played.