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Game Day Notes: Kent State has been fairly effective through the air in conference play, thanks in large part to redshirt sophomore Dru DeShields, who has brought stability to the offense and done a great job protecting the football. He’s thrown for 1,321 yards and 11 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. The run game has been inconsistent, with Gavin Garcia and Minnesota transfer Jordan Nubin splitting carries. The pair has combined for 590 yards and 2 touchdowns but hasn’t been much of a factor in the passing game. Former running back Cade Wolford has transitioned to the slot and provided a spark with several explosive plays from that spot. Da’Shawn Martin — a player we once offered out of high school — and Wayne Harris are DeShields’ primary targets in the passing game. The rebuilt offensive line has actually held up well in pass protection, but the group has struggled to generate much consistency in the run game. Kent State rotates plenty of bodies on defense and blitz often. While none of the defensive linemen truly stand out, Southern Illinois transfer edge rusher Jamond Mathis has been the top pass rusher on the roster. Linebacker CJ Young leads the team in tackles and has put together an all-conference caliber season. The Flashes have been fairly stout against the run in MAC play, ranking fourth in the conference, but they’ve been torched through the air and have allowed more passing yards than any other team in the league. Mark Carney has Kent State playing well above its talent level, but there are still holes on the roster that simply can’t be masked without more overall talented depth. This is a game Akron should win, even with the Flashes having battled competitively in most of their MAC matchups. Time to start looking at potential All-Conference contenders. Not everyone listed here will ultimately make it, but these are the guys with the best shot from the Zips based on MAC-only stats: Offense - Finley is fourth in the league in passing yards and first in touchdown passes. It’s a six-man race for the three All-MAC quarterback spots, with Roberson (Buffalo), Kim (EMU), Gleason (Toledo), Parker (Ohio), and Finn (Miami) also in the mix. - Gant leads the conference in rushing yards and is on pace to be First Team All-MAC, likely alongside Bangura from Ohio. - Mason and Polk rank tenth and eighteenth in receiving yards, respectively. Mason has a strong case for All-MAC consideration with his four touchdowns (tied for third-most in the conference), while Polk would need a strong finish in receiving yards to earn a spot on an All-Conference team. However, Polk is also tied for third in touchdown receptions, which helps his case. Ma. Williams could work himself into the conversation as well if he strings together a few more performances like this past one. - Up front, Lyons (center), K. Davis (right guard), and King (right tackle) all have a shot to land on an All-MAC team, depending on how the final few weeks play out. Defense - Laventure looks like a lock for First or Second Team All-MAC as he sits fourth in tackles for loss and tied for seventh in sacks. Dall would be in the conversation too, but judging purely by his stats, they’ve dipped a bit in MAC play — though his disruption has not. - Summers and Spriggs could both sneak into the discussion — Summers has been a turnover machine, while Spriggs has come on incredibly strong over the past two weeks. - In the secondary, DeWalt and Reed have both been playing at a high level, but if it came down to one, I’d give the nod to DeWalt.

If Providence should happen to win the BET (shudder), the Big East would likely get five teams into the NCAA tournament (Seton Hall has an RPI of 16). I would be fine with four and an Akron tournament championship.

And since we are reviving this 3.5 year old topic, here is my 3.5 year old analysis of how the refs suck and we got hosed.

@Captain Kangaroo 1 day ban for @MDZip for reviving this thread without saying, "The refs suck."

The world you live in must be an interesting one. Go Zips.

Hard to take college football attendance numbers seriously. I'm not sure if it's still a requirement, but it used to be every 2 or 3 years a school had to average 15k fans to remain FBS compliant. You would see schools, like Akron, buy 10s of thousands of tickets from their athletic department to remain compliant. That's why if you go back and look you will see Akron averaged 15k fans 1 year, but average 8k the next.

White board update! As of 8am on 11/11

A fun development is that Kent also plays Purdue. Will be interesting to compare

I'll man up and take it 😉😂 (and the refs dud suck 😊).

Arkansas State and Marshall are the two that jump out to me.

I imagine Evan Mahaffey’s experience playing against Purdue and occasionally at their place will be helpful for our locker room. And to a lesser degree Hardman’s experience.

I will endeavor to update this as I or others learn / post the status of our Zips in the Pros for 2026. MLS Minnesota United FC - Wil Trapp Real Salt Lake - DeAndre Yedlin St Louis City SC - Ben Lundt Toronto FC - Richie Laryea, Malik Henry

I can;t access the article below as I don't subscribe I believe that Will had to play a certain number of games in 2025...for his contract to be picked up for 2026. He played in more games than needed....so Wil be part of Minnesota United for 2026 https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/24/michael-boxall-wil-trapp-to-return-to-minnesota-united-in-2026/

Now that Kent has a pulse, this will be a tough game. I've lost all hope that Finley will complete 65%, but at least I hope for no stupid mistakes. I think the D will continue to shine, and the O will score just enough. Zips 24 -- Flashes 17

The MAC without BG? Well, well... looks like UMass went back to the A10 and took the falcons along.

Well we are on one projection, though they probably don't even know we are on a ban.