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The Ohio Supreme Court kept their stay of the Court of Appeals decision in place today, which allows Evan to play. That could change after they consider the memorandum in support of jurisdiction but he's good for now.

Zips add Kamrin Oriel. Evan Mahaffey returns and Akron gets a roster exemption. Zips add Trevick Bertke for the 2027 Class.

QB: Roggow is not at the level where he can win a game without run support. His two worst outings have come when the run game has either been limited or somewhat ineffective and he’s thrown the ball over 30 times. Not to say Roggow didn’t have any good moments, because there were plenty of times where he displayed excellent pocket awareness and got the ball out on time. The problem was that the end result of those passes often wasn’t good enough. Not many teams are going to win a game by tossing four interceptions. RB: Gant ran hard, but there just wasn’t much room to work with on the interior. However, there were a handful of outside runs that worked well, including Gant’s touchdown run. I felt this was a game where Patrick’s availability would have been beneficial, as he tends to perform better on the outside runs than Gant. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, and Miami usually shut down the interior with just their base defense. WR: When the offense becomes one dimensional, the receivers must help the quarterback. Drops reared their ugly head again, and Miami dominated the 50/50 balls in the air. This receiving corps has too much talent to not come down with more of the balls thrown their way. There’s frankly no excuse for these guys to not help out their quarterback more on a day where he was struggling. I also want to point out the one pass play to the tight end where the receiver covered him up and caused the tight end to be an ineligible receiver. Things like that simply cannot happen. TE: I intentionally separated the tight ends from the wide outs, as I thought Cravaack and Alexander had a strong outing. Cravaack hasn’t performed as well as he did last year, but hopefully this performance will serve as a springboard for the rest of the season. Alexander has been Mr. Consistent all year and played well again. OL: Pass protection was excellent for much of the game. Eventually, it broke down some as the offense became more one-dimensional, but overall, nice job to this group in that area. On the flip side, push in the run game was almost non-existent. Injuries finally caught up to a unit that had been playing the same five guys for the past few games. At one point, backups were in at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard. DL: I actually thought the defensive line, as a whole, played decently. There were a few issues, like edges not squeezing down enough and leaving some wide-open gaps, as well as tackling the wrong back at the mess point, but overall, I thought this unit did fairly well. As far as tackling the wrong back at the mesh point, we used to coach that if you were unsure, go to the last back, and the Zips did that. It just ended up being the wrong choice in the end. Sometimes that is going to happen. I do want to point out that Durham had a standout day. It’s frustrating to imagine what this defensive line could have looked like with a healthy Abor on the opposite side. LB: This is tough because I thought the linebackers played well for much of the game. Unfortunately, the handful of times they didn’t, lead to some of Miami’s biggest runs of the season. Johnson was uncharacteristically shoved off by Miami’s running back, which led to a touchdown. On another play, Johnson and Nunoo took bad angles that resulted in another huge run by a Miami ball carrier. The way we lined up against Miami often required the linebackers and safeties to come down and fill the gap as the last line of defense. When we failed to do that or make the tackle, things turned ugly. DB: My only gripe with this group is in run support, and that’s a big gripe. Miami’s quarterback wasn’t a threat to throw the ball. Yes, he did make one perfectly placed touchdown pass, but that was really it. Everything else was either short or usually off-target. That meant we had to be stout in run support, and when we weren’t, it was glaring. ST: Outside of a nice return on kickoff, it was a rough day for this crew. A shanked punt at a crucial point in the game, another short punt, and a missed long field. I may be missing something else, but I think I’ve already listed enough. Final Thoughts: This game could have had a very different outcome. The Miami team we played yesterday did not have the same firepower on offense they had earlier in the year. Had we not self-combusted and wasted opportunities to potentially take and build on a lead, I don’t believe Miami had the quarterback to bring them back from a deficit. Our defense was already getting home on a number of passing downs, and forcing Miami to lean on the passing game would have changed the outcome. Instead, this team yet again, had a high number of self-inflicted wounds at critical moments. There is enough talent on this roster to be competitive and possibly win a few more games, but as long as we continue with this undisciplined nonsense, it won’t happen. Clean it up, Zips. QB: Roggow Beals HB: Gant Williams Curry WR: Williams Myers WR: Burris Hills WR: Mason Louis TE: Cravaack Alexander LT: Slayden Gould LG: Smith Puckett C Lyons RG: Hampton Falkner RT: Jones Gould Mann DE: Frazier Waye DE: Durham Waye DT: Hull Williams Ross-Graves DT: Mixon Kavals LB: Johnson Jones LB: Nunoo Curtis CB: Hobson CB: Newsome NB: Branch Moss Al. Branch S: Davis Moss S: Flowers Hunter Top Rated Offense: C - Lyons TE - Cravaack WR - Burris HB - Gant TE - Alexander Top Rated Defense: S - Moss NB - Branch CB - Newsome DT - Hull S - Flowers

Last season we had Lyles (4 yr.), Scott (3 yr.) and Tavari (4 yr.) as our go-to guys, being coached by a guy with 20 years head coaching experience. Now our go-to guys have 4 games of Akron experience, coached by a guy who's been The Man for all of 4 games. They're probably still using Google Maps to find the JAR. Groce always kept his post game comments close to the vest. You never learned a whole lot. Ford is such an open book. I really like listening to Dustin. I hope he stays that way.

That said, Akron has everything necessary to go for a 4-peat.

Thought I’d put together the full MAC schedule for the upcoming week with KenPom rankings included for each team. If there’s interest, I’ll keep doing these throughout the non-conference season. If not, I’ll save everyone the extra post! MAC Men’s Basketball Schedule | Nov. 8–14, 2026 SUNDAY, NOV. 8 2:00 PM | #269 Campbell at #215 Western Michigan | ESPN+ MONDAY, NOV. 9 6:30 PM | NR Penn State Schuylkill at #233 Buffalo | ESPN+ 7:00 PM | NR Muskingum at #98 Akron | No stream scheduled 7:00 PM | NR Brescia at #227 Ball State | ESPN+ 7:00 PM | #298 Cleveland State at #184 Bowling Green | ESPN+ TUESDAY, NOV. 10 7:00 PM | #190 Youngstown State at #271 Central Michigan | ESPN+ 7:00 PM | #119 Wright State at #138 Toledo | ESPN+ WEDNESDAY, NOV. 11 6:30 PM | NR Great Lakes Christian at #181 Eastern Michigan | ESPN+ 7:00 PM | #145 Kent State at #113 UNC Wilmington | FloSports 7:00 PM | #276 UMass Lowell at #162 Massachusetts | ESPN+ THURSDAY, NOV. 12 7:00 PM | #337 Niagara at #184 Bowling Green | ESPN+ 7:00 PM | #215 Western Michigan at #261 Purdue Fort Wayne | ESPN+ FRIDAY, NOV. 13 7:00 PM | #140 Ohio at #41 Purdue | B1G+ 9:00 PM | #227 Ball State at #77 SMU | ACC Network SATURDAY, NOV. 14 12:00 PM | #180 Tulane at #98 Akron | ESPN+ 2:00 PM | #124 Miami (OH) at #262 Evansville | ESPN+ 3:30 PM | #271 Central Michigan at #192 Northern Kentucky | ESPN+ 4:00 PM | #138 Toledo at #307 Detroit Mercy | ESPN+

Bowden went 4-8 in his final Akron season. That’s the same year he beat Northwestern. Academics no longer factor into D1 football. Every year the Zips lose 1/2 the team…over 40 players…to the portal. Every team does. Players today majoring in NIL money and maintaining eligibility outnumber the ones taking advantage of their free education 4:1. Education is parsley on the D1 plate. Why does no one mention Lee Owens when discussing the most successful Zips HC’s (post Dennison). The guy was 7-5 when he got fired. 5-3 in the MAC. Greats like Dwight Smith, Frye, Hixon, Blackburn, Cherry, Arthur, Payne …they were all his recruits. And he convinced them to play at The Rubber Bowl, with no Stiles Center. His final year at Ashland he went 10-2. In the tallest midget competition, Lee Owen’s dwarfs the field.

Since Halloween is right around corner as well as basketball season (and it is Kent week), I thought it was a good time to resurrect this video.

The Iowa Wolves play at Cleveland Public Auditorium twice this month. This coming Tuesday and Saturday Nov. 28th.

Games this weekend....that could have an impact on the RPI ranking of the Zips(and obviously seeding for the NCAA tournament) RPI Rankings shown are as of 8:30 am on Friday morning #1 Georgetown vs #5 Akron #2 SMU vs #9 N. Carolina #4 Indiana vs. #22 Washington #7 S. Carolina vs. #12 West Virginia #15 Cornell vs. #41 Penn #51 St. Louis vs. #99 Fordham #122 Cleveland State vs. #114 Purdue Fort Wayne #3 Clemson lost in the ACC quarterfinals to North Carolina #6 Maryland lost in the Big 10 semifinals to Indiana #8 Pitt lost in the round of 16 in the ACC tournament..to Syracuse Personally, I do not feel that 13-3-2 Clemson deserves a top 4 seed...... North Carolina was #23 in RPI before their quarterfinal win over Clemson. If North Carolina upsets SMU on Sunday, where will they end up for NCAA seeding? If Indiana were to lose to Washington on Sunday, would the NCAA committee be OK with the Big Ten not having one of the top 4 seeds? My humble opinion- If the Zips win on Sunday, the zips and Georgetown both deserve to be top 4 seeds.

In his 2nd game back in 30 minutes, Freeman scored 23 points, 9 of 12 shooting, 3 of 5 from 3, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals and lead the team with a plus 20 while on the floor. If he can bring those stats every night, he will be back on a 2 way soon or may find his way on a nba roster.

At the basketball golf outing he drove around in the cart with Ford for the better part of the day. Unrelated - I asked KD about his wife's health, and he said she was doing well. Her cancer treatments were coming to a successful close! 💪

I think even he might realize he needs to call a time-out on that pick - oh wait maybe he doesn't have any.

This is up-to-date:

the same article, they wanted to avoid ohio's kick returner? the one they had been controlling all night long? giving the ball at pretty much midfield worked out great... that thinking shows little confidence in your special teams... that same article he once again makes the excuse " that this is what happens when you lose 12 of your 16 starters" as mike ditka would say, come on man... do better than that. every division 1 team lost starters. we are 9 games in now... haven't beaten an Fbs team and the talent IS NOT why you are 1-7. to me this sounds more like joe saying hey it's not my fault, my guys just aren't good enough. shame on him... no responsibility. bunch of excuses. shame on him for ever giving the impression that the talent level isn't good enough because they lost starters...

Good riddance Vivek. The University of Akron is safe!

Why is a new AD “Wanting his own guy” such an improbable reason? It’s the reason most Akron AD’s have been hired for 30 years…to turn around a moribund football program. AD Thomas wanted his own guy, and became enamored with Brookhart during an AD interview with Pitt. JD had mixed results. His biggest downfall wasn’t the opioid issues with 2 players. It was his reliance on “high risk high reward” recruits that mostly flamed out, leaving him with a 3-9 record in his final season. He wanted to make a big leap after his MAC championship, and rolled snake eyes. Couple that with a new AD, and it was adios, JD. Ianello was hired because a new AD had a fetish for Notre Dame guys. He was the biggest jackass I’ve ever met. Tied with Arth for the worst Zips HC ever. Arth was hired because new AD Larry Williams loved Ohio HS catholic school guys. He thought that D3 Tom Arth’s playoff win over Mount Union portended bowl victories for the Zips. Williams paid UT Chattanooga something like $400,000 to buy out Arth’s contract. They still celebrate that day in Chattanooga, and will for years to come. Arth was woefully incapable of leading a D1 football program. Bowden did some good, and bad things. In the end he had some discipline issues and a w/l record that was trending in the wrong direction. Bowden always treated me well. He’s the only ex Zips HC that found employment as a D1 HC afterwards, although it didn’t go great at ULM. Guthrie wanted “his guy”, and couldn’t turn down Joe’s resume. I think Guthrie was a hot garbage AD, but not because of Joe’s hire. That was a no-brainer that just hasn’t panned out. Like Bowden, I think the world of Joe (and Reno and JD - legacy guys from the early 2000’s). It really bums me out that the wins aren’t there. Can anyone win at Akron when the program is so poorly funded? Can any HC generate the funds needed to be competitive at Akron? Being polite, I can only say - I have my doubts.

It's pretty exciting that we have three former Zips active in the G League right now - Enrique Freeman (Iowa/Minnesota), Shammah Scott (Texas/Dallas), and Nate Johnson (OKC). The Charge host Iowa on 11/17 and 11/28. It would be cool if we can get a big Akron contingent up there to cheer him on.

Basketball tipoff event tonight was good. A few things I found interesting: - Ford credited the returning players for locking in portal recruits this summer and mentioned MMK and Halligan specifically. He said it's his job to get recruits on campus and the current players to make them want to stay. - Wentz mentioned they have a system in place that tracks the analytics of every basketball player in the country so they are fully prepared to act when the portal opens. They've had it up and running for several seasons for the men's team and now have it for the women's team, too. - Henderson was on crutches and had a brace on. Burton didn't have anything on his foot. Also: - Coach Ford has so much authenticity and charisma to him. I really believe in him being successful here. - It was fun to see the players' personalities come out a bit. Chabi and Evan both in particular. - House Three Thirty was an excellent host. I enjoyed it a lot more than the events at the JAR.

Should sign today. Wolves Re-Signing Enrique Freeman To Two-Way Deal | Hoops Rumors https://share.google/9U20mvIGdolH9Okq7

Interesting stuff from EvanMiya.com

Lundt saved the first PK attempt and STL goes on to win the first trophy in club history.

Happy to get out of Cleveland with the (ugly) W, but this is frustrating as H*LL. This team is so much more talented than they're playing. Love these guys, but they have to stop hanging their heads and decide to fix this. The coaches can only do so much. The players have to own this. It is theirs to be mediocre or come together like the 2018 Zips, who finished the season strong and went all the way to the College Cup final ... unseeded and on the road to win the MAC Tourney at WVU and defeat Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Stanford to get to Santa Barbara.

The teams ability to not score is getting old.

That's why you would need to implement Financial Fair Play. Limit athletic programs to only being able to spend 125% of what they generate in revenue. And by revenue I mean real revenue. Strip out all the institutional support. That would bring fiscal responsibility and restore G5 athletics to what college athletics was 30, 40 years ago. Let the P4 have their NFL/NBA lite professional league.

Question 1: No. Those that spend, outperform. Those that don't spend, underperform. The job isn't attractive enough to draw someone capable of overcoming the lack of spending. Question 2: No. The job of being a head coach is too difficult to rely on that person to also raise money. This responsibility needs to fall squarely on the shoulders of the AD. From what I can piece together, our AD is putting his best foot forward, but we have a long way to go just to catch up. Could this get turned around and Akron becomes respectable? Of course it could. Wake Forest is having a Top 25 season with a cast off from UNC at QB, one future NFL receiver and a physical defense. None of this showed itself against the Zips. All of this has been strung together by a coach who is smart about how the money he does have gets spent. Can they win the ACC? Probably not, but at least everyone is talking about them in November. Akron could be a MAC program that at least MAC teams/fans must to pay attention to in November, but that will never happen with what they are spending.

Wtf was that ai stats graphic. The records were wrong and the logos looked jank

I have bad news for the MAC. We ain't going anywhere

JD was forced out due the repercussions from the over use of pain killers by the players. Oxycontin was a new drug and worked amazing. Unlike Oxycodone which gives immediate relief but makes you drowsy, Oxycontin was a slow release formula which made it very addicting. It just made you feel good. Bowden had lost control of the team by the time of his firing. Lots of discipline issues. Some reported, many more not.

Nowadays the only thing I'm occasionally doing at 3 a.m. is taking a leak.

Our long long long wait is over

QB: Redshirt junior Dru DeShields is the returning starting quarterback. He isn’t having as good of a season as he did last year, but he hasn’t had much help from the run game either. DeShields has thrown for 1,145 yards and 4 touchdowns compared to 6 interceptions. He has also rushed for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has performed about the same in a clean pocket as he has under pressure. Where DeShields has really excelled is on passes 10 yards or less, as he has a completion rate of 70% in that range. Beyond 10 yards it drops to 45%. RB: The usual starter, Illinois State transfer Mason King, missed the last game, allowing freshman Brandon White to get the start in his place. The two backs have combined for 393 yards rushing, but have rushed for only one touchdown. WR: Redshirt sophomore Wayne Harris, senior Da’realyst Clark, and former Kentucky transfer Ardell Banks are the main targets at receiver. Harris is on pace for an All-MAC season, with 31 receptions for 396 yards. Clark has 273 receiving yards, while Banks has add 206 yards. TE: Redshirt junior Hunter Hopperton will line up all over the place. He is mostly utilized as a blocker, but every now and then, he’ll see a pass come his way. OL: The offensive line has struggled to create much running room and has also been hit or miss in pass protection. LT - Moustafa Daoud (R. Fr.) (6’6 300) - Transfer from JUCO LG - Dustyn Morell (R. Sr.) (6’4” 290) C - Ben Midea (Jr.) (6’2 320) - Transfer from St. Francis RG - Cecil Wilson (R. Jr.) (6’4 320) RT - Mofe Adewole (R. Sr.) (6’3 275) - Transfer from Robert Morris DL: Redshirt sophomores Antonio Bottiggi and Jaihein Roy are the starters at edge, while numerous players have rotated along the interior. Freshman Dion’Dre Taylor and Robert Morris transfer Camden Wilborn started at defensive tackle last week for the Flashes. Despite the heavy rotations, Kent’s defensive line has accumulated 8 sacks this season. LB: USF transfer Rocco Nicholl returned to Kent this offseason and has recorded 33 total tackles with 3 sacks. He is usually flanked by Kentucky transfer Hayden Dawahare, who has 35 total tackles and 2 sacks. DB: Redshirt junior Angelo Stockstill and redshirt senior A’tiq Muhammad are the starting cornerbacks. Sophomore Trey Rubenstein starts at nickelback, while sophomores Derrick Jackson and Joel Cordoba start at safety. The secondary has been solid in conference play against the pass, but has yet to do much in the way of forcing turnovers. ST: Da’realyst Clark is an all-conference returner, although he hasn’t been able to break one longer than 27 yards this season. Sean Leonard is 3 for 8 on field goals and 9 for 9 on extra points. Redshirt freshman Jake Stoeckel averages nearly 43 yards per punt, with a long of 59 yards. Keys on Offense: Run the football and stay balanced. Kent has a solid defense, but they tend to spend a lot of time on the field and will wear down. Akron needs to sustain drives on offense and not beat themselves. Keys on Defense: Keep everything in front and make the tackle. Kent has struggled to finish drives and put points on the board. The more plays the Flashes have to run, the more likely they are to goof up. Final Thoughts: The Zips have more talent, but the Flashes are a scrappy bunch. Akron needs to jump ahead early and force Kent into uncomfortable situations. In the end, this game may come down to which team hurts itself the least.

I can’t think of anyone else worthy of a jersey ceremony, but there are 2 Zips teams that I remember fondly for different reasons and that history won’t be kind to. That very first Groce team was like the land of misfit toys. This forum struggled dealing with losing to teams you hadn’t in quite some time. But the likes of Ivey, Utomi, Duvivier, Sayles, Olojakpoke and Lucas Smith played with a ton of heart. The rebuild had to start somewhere and kudos to those guys for sticking around and giving max effort. And then the Covid team. We will never know for sure, but that could have been the team destined to win a NCAAT game. It was a complete team before the NIL/portal era really took hold. The fact that their resume is forever incomplete is such an injustice.

LCJ jersey retirement this year. LONG time coming.

But I'm left to wonder if Mount Union could beat Hoban? 🤔

Situation has been dealt with. Sorry it got to this point. Genuinely sorry.

Come on, how can you not love a guy who dives on the floor for the opening tip? I believe it was our home game against Can’t State.

I'm going to take the word of John Groce and Dustin Ford as to what role Zack plays. The Zips weren't great and seemed to be missing something early last year, though the OOC schedule, and Groce mixed it up starting Zack against EMU in the home opener and it added a gritty element to the team to open the games thereafter. Zack's never going to a star, but good teams need gritty role players lie Kurt Rambis, Craig Ehlo, John Paxson.....that do the dirty work and keep up the intensity.

You're too dismissive of the portal. How do you expect someone to build a culture with the scraps we get after the annual player exodus? You can't fix stupid. Our financial position leaves us with the dummies of the world. Did Indiana fix their culture or did Mark Cuban just buy a bunch of star players? Indiana's coach wouldn't be winning with the crap they used to put on the field.

Preview from Gozips.com: https://gozips.com/news/2026/10/23/mens-soccer-set-for-ranked-matchup-with-no-14-xavier Xavier is one of only three unbeaten teams in the country and have not lost since November 1, 2025. Akron needs a win to keep hopes alive for a Midwest division title. Big game tonight!

Sure there is. Having a lower seed means less/no road games leading up to the College Cup. We got lucky last year in having a higher seed and remaining at home throughout because the lower seeds in our quarter bracket all lost prior to crossing our path. Also, an excellent coach/manager will always find a reason for his team to play to its full potential. I do not know how Embick operates, but Porter had an entire list of goals to accomplish for the season, and this list made the result of nearly every game meaningful.

I'm pumped for tomorrow with all the brand new players.

Not sure what's funnier. NIU beating Toledo in men's basketball Or NIU tweeting like this game actually counted

As @Zips1991 said in another topic, the zips are at more risk of not making the Big East tournament than they are of not making the NCAA tournament. if the zips win their last 2 road games, the zips will make the NCAA tournament and be seeded in the top 16. as far as the Big east tournament, the zips can only get to 15 points Georgetown is the only team certain to get in right now as they have 18 points and still have 2 games left to play. Creighton will win the Midwest division with 18 points if they beat Georgetown and DePaul in their last 2 games. Is it likely that Creighton beats Georgetown? Probably not. But they can still win the Midwest with a tie against Georgetown and a win over DePaul. UConn could finish with 18 points with wins in their last 3 games. Their last 2 games are against Xavier and Georgetown so they have a challenging path to finish with 18 points. As I mentioned in another topic yesterday, Seton Hall has the easiest schedule and they could finish with 17 points. Bottom line, I think that the Zips are in good shape to make Big East tournament if they win their last 2. however, if Georgetown loses their last 2(super unlikely), things could get complicated.

This zips team should be very proud. An absolutely fantastic performance (other than the one glaring error at the end of the game). The zips played Akron soccer for the entire first half. They were aggressive on defense and they pressured Xavier relentlessly on offense. This team brought the energy and they had purpose all night. This was the best performance all year (IMHO). Congratulations to the Zips. You should be very happy and very proud.

Amato was largely responsible for most of the success of Akron football during the Bowden era.

The tight end was lined up on the line of scrimmage. For him to be an eligible receiver, the wideout next to him needed to be lined up off the line of scrimmage. Since the wideout was also lined up on the line of scrimmage he “covered up the tight end” making the tight end an ineligible receiver on that play. On the plays I was referring to, Miami was releasing one DE forcing him to make a decision. The DE is usually taught to square up and squeeze down. If he doesn’t squeeze down enough, he leaves a gap. If he squeezes down too much, he’ll leave a gap on the opposite side and probably get caught up in the “trash”. Our DEs kept getting caught in what I refer as no man’s land and allowing gaps on both sides of them. In regards to the “last back” this is for a defensive player on the backside that probably can’t see where the ball is during the mesh and has to make a decision to either hit the QB or RB. I recall Durham choosing to hammer the QB as the QB let loose of the ball to the RB. Earlier in the game (I think it was Durham again) chose the RB and the QB pulled for a nice gain. If he had stayed with the last back both times, one of those plays would have been a loss. Instead, both went for gains.

It just seems odd because there was at least 1 person saying that he heard he could have played against UNLV, but they didn't want to risk a further injury entering MAC play. Obviously it must have been a bit more severe than the miss 1 or 2 games that was originally led on. With FBS football pretty much functioning as a professional lite league now you would think they would require a similar injury report that the NFL does.

Follow the rules so we don’t get banned from March Madness. We have better character than the LSU’s or Texas Tech’s of the world. interesting how much the environment has changed since Covid. LCJ, Cheese, Riak etc got screwed by not only having their career cut short, but also the class after them got the extra COVID year and not them.