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As we head into a long offseason, I figured I’d look back at the players we lost, give a brief synopsis of how 2025 played out, see how the departed transfers fared at their new programs, and take an early look at what 2025 could be. Keep in mind, the portal will surely change some of these takes. QB: Departed Players: Bullock (Colorado State) Added Players: Johnson (FAU), Broughton (Freshman) I came into the season with high hopes that Finley would make a major leap in year two of Moorhead’s system — the same kind of jump I’d hoped to see from Irons in 2023. Neither scenario played out. Irons couldn’t ever seem to get or stay healthy, and while Finley may have shown slight improvement in a few areas, it wasn’t by much and his statistical output was similar to 2024. That said, it was obvious how much the offense struggled to move the ball without him. Bullock transferred to Colorado State and ended up seeing even less action for the Rams than he did here, and Johnson was brought in as his replacement. Early on, Johnson had a situational role much like Bullock’s, but his snap count fell off a cliff after the Toledo game. Looking Forward: Roggow (R-So.) and Broughton (R-Fr.) look poised to battle it out for the starting job, with highly touted freshman Semaj Beals joining the competition. I’d still expect coach Moorhead to bring in another strong-armed transfer to push that group. My hope is that regardless of who wins the job, we finally have an adequate backup who can keep the offense moving if pressed into action. RB: Departed Players: Simmons (Georgia State), Kellom (Eastern Illinois) Added Players: Gant (Tennessee Tech), Curry (Louisiana-Monroe), Gee (Colgate) The portal favored the Zips this offseason at running back. Gant ended up being a major pickup and became Akron’s first 1,000-yard rusher in years. Patrick split snaps with Gant early in the season, but an injury opened the door for Gant to take over as the main man. Patrick still appeared in most games, just in a reduced role. Williams was a distant No. 3 on the depth chart. Transfers Curry and Gee both dealt with injuries. Curry saw limited action in three games, while Gee missed the entire season. Portal departure Simmons had a reduced role in Georgia State’s offense and started only a handful of games. Kellom transferred down to the FCS level and ended up leading EIU in rushing. Looking Forward: Assuming no one leaves, this room is set for 2026. Gant and Patrick would immediately form one of the best backfields in the MAC, and if Curry and Gee are healthy, the offense would have two bigger-bodied backs capable of thriving in short-yardage situations. WR: Departed Players: Golden (Louisville), Norton (Marshall), Rush (Alcorn State), Wilson (Tennessee-Martin), Campbell (?), Granger (?) Added Players: Grear (Fresno State), Hills (Washington State), Monteiro (Pittsburgh), Williams (Marshall), Sivon (Freshman) Talent-wise, I wouldn’t say the portal hurt us here. However, I’m willing to concede that having basically a new group of receivers played a part in the losses to Wyoming and UAB. We had far too many drops early in the year and finished with 34 total, per PFF — the most in a season under the current regime. Williams, Polk, and Mason developed into a three-headed monster, and each has a legitimate chance to land on an All-Conference team. Hills held down the kick return duties, Monteiro served as a key backup, and Grear played a solid role before going down with an injury. Golden transferred to Louisville and hardly saw the field. Norton became a starter for Marshall a few games in, but he’s nearly 600 yards short of what he put up last season for the Zips. Rush and Wilson transferred down to FCS Alcorn State and Tennessee-Martin, respectively, and are having the best seasons of their careers as starters. I have no idea what happened to Campbell or Granger. Looking Forward: I believe Walker, Adams, and Grear are out of eligibility. If Adams is granted another year, the question becomes whether he returns — and if so, what his role would even be. I mentioned back in the spring that he didn’t look like the same player, and that was confirmed in the first game of the season. Williams was playing as well as anyone in the MAC to close out the year and has a real chance to be the best receiver in the conference if he returns. Mason proved to be as dynamic as expected and should only get better with added mass and reps. Sivon has speed to burn and could make a name for himself next year with a strong offseason of development. Polk has already declared for the portal, so we know we’ll need to replace at least one productive wideout. TE: Departed Players: N/A Added Players: N/A Injuries slowed down Newell this season, which led to Cravaack logging more than double the snaps of any tight end on the roster. The tight ends weren’t used as much in the passing game this year as they have been in the past, but they were a key blocking part of the offense posting its highest rushing average of the Moorhead era at nearly 135 yards per game. Looking Forward: All three tight ends still have eligibility left. Witherspoon has been reclassified as a wide receiver on the roster, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see another player added to this position during the offseason. OL: Departed Players: Blanchard (Grad.), Thomas (Grad.), Burrell (Morgan State), James (Mississippi State), Seymore (Western Kentucky), Williams (Georgia State), Mitchell (?) Added Players: Archer (East Carolina), Johnson (Western Kentucky), Jones (West Alabama), King (JUCO), Moore (East Texas A&M), Motley-Simmons (North Alabama), Gould (Freshman), McManus (Freshman) Ten linemen rotated and played early in the season as offensive line coach JRod worked to narrow down his best group. In the end, the line settled in left to right as Johnson, McManus, Lyons, Davis, and King — with Archer, Jones, and Morris rotating regularly. Morris proved invaluable, playing nearly every position on the line this year. The OL still gave up too many sacks and will finish in the bottom third of the conference in that category, but the numbers were substantially better than in 2022 or 2023. Conversely, run blocking was tremendously improved compared to any other season in the Moorhead era. Burrell transferred down to FCS Morgan State and was the starting right guard. James was the starting left tackle for Mississippi State. Seymore was the starting right guard for Western Kentucky. Williams started at left guard and center for Georgia State. I’m not sure what happened to Mitchell. Looking Forward: King has already declared for the portal, which isn’t a surprise given his size, ability, and the success he had at offensive tackle this year. It’s always going to be hard for us to keep good tackles considering how high the demand is for that position in the portal. There’s a chance Jones, Davis, McManus, and Morris return, which would give the Zips a solid nucleus of experienced players heading into 2026. A handful of others may be ready to contribute more consistently as well. JRod has lived in the portal and JUCO ranks since his arrival, and it’d be great if this is finally the offseason where he only needs to add depth instead of hunting for multiple new starters. DL: Departed Players: Adler (Grad.), Kapongo (Grad.), Lavea (Grad.), Richards (Grad.), Graham (JUCO), Moore (Purdue), Nunnally (Purdue), Brockington (?), Proffitt (?) Added Players: Durham (Arizona), Laventure (Penn West), Duncan (JUCO), Musika (JUCO), Vega (JUCO), Brown-Demery (Freshman), Kavals (Freshman), Watkins (Freshman) The starting group of Durham, Laventure, Hull, and Dall played more collective snaps than any other starting defensive line in the MAC. In fact, only a handful of individual linemen across the league have more snaps — or even have a chance to surpass them in their final game — than Durham, Laventure, and Dall. The defense as a whole produced its highest sack total (27) and pressure total (178) of the Tibesar era, with 15 of those sacks coming from the defensive line. Former defensive line coach Wart deserves credit for most of the DL already in place, while new defensive line coach Leonard brought Laventure with him from his previous stop. From there, he aggressively attacked the JUCO ranks for depth, but outside of Laventure, production from the new additions was limited in 2025. Moore played in three games for Purdue. Nunnally has started for Purdue since Week 3 and has put up numbers similar to what he produced last year at Akron. Graham went the JUCO route, and I have no idea what happened with Proffitt or Brockington. Looking Forward: Even with some sort of NIL funds, it may be difficult to keep Dall from collecting a payday at a P4 program. If Laventure were bigger, I’d say the same about him, but his size likely limits his options to the G5 level. Hull also came into his own this year and could draw some interest as well. Outside of Murphy and Mixon, the backups gave us very little. We entered the season with question marks and could go into next season with many of the same concerns. There’s some unproven young talent, along with a few of the 2025 additions who barely saw the field, but again — it’s all unproven. With that being the case, there may be more portal and JUCO activity to bring in players with more mature bodies who are more likely to be plug-and-play options. LB: Departed Players: Fish (Sam Houston), McCoy (Oklahoma State) Added Players: Boswell (Freshman), James (Freshman), Reeves (Freshman) The trio of Cooper, Spriggs, and Summers were solid and reliable in 2025. Those terms might sound like I’m underselling the linebackers, but that’s not the intent — according to PFF, they were the most sure-tackling group of the Tibesar era. PFF also graded Summers as the highest-rated defensive player on the team, with Spriggs fifth and Cooper seventh. Fish and McCoy were starters for Sam Houston and Oklahoma State, respectively. Looking Forward: Cooper and Summers should be out of eligibility at this point, and Spriggs may choose to listen to other suitors. He has the athletic ability to play at a higher level, and the light seemed to finally come on for him this year. The defense has steadily improved since Tibesar’s arrival, in large part due to his ability to identify under-recruited players who fit his system and then develop them. There’s plenty of young talent on the roster, but the question is whether they’ll be ready by next season. If not, expect an upper-classman or two to be brought in to bridge the gap. DB: Departed Players: P. Lewis (Grad.), Golden-Nelson (West Virginia), Hunter (Memphis), D. Lewis (West Virginia), Owens (JUCO), Proby (Houston Christian), Greenwood (?) Added Players: Al. Branch (Kent State), Aa. Branch (JUCO), Flowers (Penn State), Kamara (Upper Iowa), Somerville (James Madison), Stepney (Marshall), Davis (Freshman) It was a mixed bag for the defensive backs this season. DeWalt and Reed were excellent at cornerback — PFF graded them as the second- and third-highest defensive players on the team — while safety and nickelback play left plenty to be desired at times. Johnson and Anderson were the most reliable safeties, but injuries and depth issues opened the door for Hunter, Flowers, and Somerville to get reps. At nickelback, the Branches handled most of the snaps. Darrian Lewis was a starter for West Virginia, while Golden-Nelson, Hunter, and Proby each played in a handful of games at their respective schools. Owens went the JUCO route, and I’m not sure what happened to Greenwood. Looking Forward: DeWalt should be out of eligibility. If Reed, White, and Kamara return, that’ll give coach Littlejohn a trio of long and athletic defensive backs to work with heading into 2025. I expected there would be a drop-off at safety after losing coach Renna and the departed players. Throw in a few injuries, and there was definitely a step back in consistency from the position. That said, there were positives — Hunter, Flowers, and Somerville all flashed as they settled in. I believe Anderson is out of eligibility, and David should be as well unless he receives a medical waiver. At nickelback, Alex Branch should be out of eligibility, and I thought Aamii Branch played fairly well over the last few games. This is still a position that could be addressed in the offseason. ST: Departed Players: Book (Grad.) Jackson (Grad.), Reardon (Northwestern) Smith (Florida Atlantic) Added Players: Dennis (Colorado State), Johnson (Bethel), Samaha (Michigan), Schramm (Freshman) If I recall correctly, Schramm took over field goal duties around the Ball State game. Wiley continued to handle kickoffs, and Castle did most of the punting, although Johnson handled some as well. Looking Forward: Outside of long snapper Dennis and punter Johnson, all the specialists should have eligibility to return if they choose to do so. It would be nice to go into 2026 with the kicking duties already sorted out. Reviewing the players who left for “greener pastures,” only James, Lewis, McCoy, and Nunnally truly made impacts at power programs and became full-time starters. Almost all of the others — excluding those who dropped to FCS but including the ones who made lateral moves within the G5 — would have been better off staying put from a purely statistical and playing-time standpoint. Hopefully the funds raised over the next eight weeks help turn the tide and keep the 2025 roster mostly intact heading into 2026.

It's so ridiculous that we have to start a thread like this. You should be able to go into any area Walmart, JC Penney, Kohl's, Target, etc. and find a selection of merchandise. I don't get why the university keeps dropping the ball on this. Plus those posts about another new bland apparel piece are unexciting. Quit trying to maximize profit and sell most stuff through the bookstore. The idea is to get your name and logo out there in as many places as possible at reasonable prices then the money will come. Old man rant finished.

Another view of the goal..... while we all celebrate Matthew Paiva for the goal, let's not forget that Remi hustled his backside off to earn a corner kick for the zips. Remi always gives great effort.

Root against Princeton. If they lose we get another home game

And you're sure they're not just trying to keep you away? 😉😂

So I'm not the only one that does this! I believe a lot of the extras/overruns end up there. I got a Zips football hoodie, basketball quarter zip and generic pullover. All Nike, brand new and probably cost $20ish each, if that. Also got a game worn football jersey for $80.

An actual good angle of the goal by 330 to go https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRaiumZktx0/?igsh=MWZhNnFmcWpiaWg3ZQ==

My bad

Big East has only lost one game so far, and St Johns choked away that chance.

Under KD we beat both Temple and Florida State in the post-season NIT, but in different seasons. I do not know the years though. In the Iona preview on gozips.com there is an excellent history of MBB's performance in mid-season tournaments. To my surprise, we have won several. It is under the "Regular Season Tournaments" heading. https://gozips.com/news/2025/11/20/mens-basketball-zips-begin-paradise-jam-with-iona-on-friday

Was GP1s deal to return to the board after his hiatus that he had to mention Wake Forest in all his posts?

Consider yourself blessed.

They rallied from a 19 point 2nd half deficit to win in 3OT.

Gotlieb's presence alone accomplishes that.

For regular season games, yes for NCAA tournament, NCAA has different rules

Immediately followed by a red card for Princeton!

Obviously March madness is the best. But this tournament is right up there with the MLB for best postseason

I believe the ACE fund was created as a result of the settlement that allows schools to pay players directly. I understand it was created to help to pay for that. I think the Zips circle is more geared towards funding operations.

Sweet 16!!!!

GOALLLLLL

Indiana is out. They lose 1-0 at home to St. Louis.

No, but I think Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, is happy about it.

Evansville comes into tonight's game at 4-3 with wins against Oregon State, Henderson State, Calumet College of St. Joseph and Oakland City. They've lost to Purdue, Middle Tennessee and UT-Arlington. Evansville appears to have some talented bigs. 6'10" Australian junior forward Joshua Hughes leads the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 13.2 ppg and 7 rpg. 6'10" Butler transfer senior forward Connor Turnbull contributes 12.8 ppg and 4 rpg. 6'9" senior forward Miami and St. Louis transfer AJ Casey adds 8 ppg and 5.3 rpg.

However much one may hate the NCAA, it's not enough.

Iona is a very nice squad. Completely brand new roster so they should keep moving up

Yes, I guess it went to only 2OT. I turned it on with about 15 minutes left in the 2nd half. It was a really great game. Iona looked a bit lost defensively and forced too much offensively, which allowed OSU to build that lead. They regained their composure and never quit fighting. Much like they did against us. Difference is I feel we were able to respond to Iona's runs by running the score back up to 20 everytime they got it down to ~12.

The next TV deal will tell us the answer.

Has he lost to Nowhere You yet this season?

UMass falls to Green Bay 79-75. If Frank Martin can't turn this around one would have to think he'll quickly find himself on the hot seat. UMass isn't paying him $1.2 million and their collective isn't spending in the neighborhood of $2 million on players just so UMass can be an average to below average MAC team.

🧊 🐐

What an awesome rookie season for Beto. Game winning goal in the US Open Cup v NYCFC. Winning pk in the Eastern Conference semifinal. Winning pk in the USL Championship final. Friendly with Puerto Rico National team v Argentina on the field playing against the GOAT, Messi.

https://x.com/ATGoodrich/status/1991967431481586107?t=BKzouw0SYzLAxiSbuM8nCg&s=19

I agree, just emphasizing the word “at”, because in my world our 18 point loss at Purdue equates to an 8 point loss on a neutral court. Much better than the 30 point drubbing Texas Tech just took.

From someone on Iona's board... "Akron is better than anyone we'll see this season not named St John's. They would destroy anyone in the MAAC." MAC, MAAC - we own it all. 😉

So if I’m understanding this right, eight wins is the expectation next year. That essentially means going somewhere between 7-1 and 5-3 in conference play and hoping to steal one — or maybe even two — from Wake, Minnesota, and UNLV. That’s a tough ask, especially considering the schedule was about as favorable as it’ll ever be this past year. I had us pegged for 5–3 in conference against five new head coaches and winning both Wyoming and UAB. We all know how those turned out, so no need to revisit it. If eight wins is truly the expectation, then Goodrich has to find a way to get Moorhead the money he needs to retain most of our top players and expand the coaching staff. I’ve never questioned this staff’s ability to evaluate and bring in talent. An increased recruiting budget would also help, but I don’t see it as the biggest hurdle when so many of these coaches have years of experience and deep recruiting networks already built. If the expectations have been raised — which I’m all for — then the resources need to rise proportionally. If Goodrich can get this done for Moorhead, 2026 suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. I’m curious to see how it unfolds.

For future reference, I can highly recommend the Zip Burger at Zip's Cafe, ~3.5 miles from Xavier's soccer field. Tasted great, especially following a 3-1 Zips WIN!!! https://www.zipscafe.com/menu/

Our favorite team, #13 UConn, gets past Cornell 3-1. I like their chances at a very tired #4 Maryland.

It's been this way for years, too. You can't even buy a fitted hat with the current logo on it. It's crazy to me.

UAB player stabbed 2 of his teammates this morning at the team facility... https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47061708/uab-football-player-arrested-stabbing-two-teammates