Box Score LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The University of Chicago football team came up just short in their season finale with a 34-28 loss at Lake Forest on Saturday afternoon.

The Maroons fell behind early after Lake Forest took the opening drive 75 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. Then, after a pair of punts for each team, the Foresters were able to drive down the field again for a 59-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Three drives later, the Maroons were backed up to their own 1-yard line after a 69-yard punt by the Foresters, but Jack Ruff would lead the team right down the field for its first touchdown of the day. Ruff finished the drive 7-7 for 102 yards and led the team to a 99-yard touchdown drive, capping the drive off with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Luke Degner. The Foresters would add a field goal at the end of the half to take the teams into the locker room with a 17-7 lead for Lake Forest

After a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, Lake Forest would add another field goal to stretch the lead to 20-7, but the UChicago defense would force a turnover of their own as Simon Tchakarov got his second interception of the season. The Maroons would take advantage of their good field position with Jack Ruff finding Mackey Keenan for a 20-yard touchdown to cut the lead to one possession.

The Foresters would strike back with two big touchdowns of their own as they would score a 92-yard touchdown run and a 55-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 34-14 early in the fourth quarter. However, the UChicago offense would not go away quietly as Ruff led another quick touchdown drive, going 4-4 for 71 yards and finding Degner for another 21-yard touchdown. Then, after the defense forced a three-and-out, UChicago went straight down the field once again with Ruff finding Russell Frye for a 5-yard touchdown with just 2:34 remaining.

After three straight runs for the Foresters, Lake Forest faced a 4th and 1 at the UChicago 39-yard line, but Jurgis Schmedlen came up with a huge stop on fourth down to turn the Foresters over on downs with 22 seconds to go. The Maroons would get into Lake Forest territory, but the final hook and ladder play would shut down the late comeback attempt for UChicago.

Jack Ruff was outstanding in his final career game as a Maroon with 335 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air on 26-37 passing. This marks the first time in his career that Ruff threw for over 300 yards, and his four passing touchdowns ties his career-high. Luke Degner was also outstanding in his final career game with 8 catches for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the defensive side, Cole Ostendorf made a team-high 11 tackles, and Simon Tchakarov and Stirling Sakashita each recorded tackles for loss.

With the loss, the Maroons' season comes to an end with a 7-3 record overall and a 7-2 record in MWC play. The seven wins are the most by a UChicago team since 2022 after a pair of 6-4 seasons in 2023 and 2024.