Game-opening onside kick backfires and Eastern Michigan tops Kent State 28-14

Updated Oct. 14, 2023 4:13 p.m. ET

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Kendric Nowling turned a game-opening onside kick attempt into a 44-yard touchdown and Eastern Michigan went on to defeat Kent State 28-14 on Saturday.

When the Golden Flashes tried to open the Mid-American Conference game with a surprise, the ball and a player from each team collided at the same time and Nowling scooped it up and raced to the end zone.

Eastern Michigan also got two rushing touchdowns from Samson Evans, who gained 47 yards on nine carries to surpass 2,000 for his career.

The win was the 50th for Chris Creighton, tying him for second with Fred Trosko (1952-64) for second all-time at EMU.

Sampson’s 19-yard run in the last minute before halftime capped a 12-play, 85-yard drive that made it 14-0.

Kent State (1-6, 0-3) got 172 of its 343 total yards on two drives. A 19-yard, 85-yard drive ended on the EMU 5 on a failed fourth-down conversion in the first half, but the Golden Flashes ended a seven-play, 87-yard drive with Tanner Knue turning a short pass from Tommy Ulatowski into an 18-yard score that made it 21-7 late in the third.

Samson's second TD made it 28-7 but the Eagles only finished with 218 yards and punted 10 times. Three Kent State turnovers helped.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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