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QB: Finley had his best game of the season, and if he’d played like that against Wyoming, we’d probably be sitting here with another win. Granted, CMU’s defense wasn’t anything special — I thought the number of turnovers they’d created (or been gifted) coming in masked some of their flaws. Still, it was great to finally see the kind of performance we know Finley is capable of. Hopefully, that’s something he can build on moving forward. On the lone interception, it looked like there was some sort of miscommunication, with the receiver running a different route than what Finley expected. RB: I don’t have enough positive things to say about Gant. He was excellent and once again looked like the FCS All-American from a few years back. He seemed a little gassed in the fourth quarter — which is understandable given he carried the ball 32 times and was on the field for all but six offensive snaps. It would’ve been nice to have another playmaker like Patrick available to give him a breather, but that wasn’t an option. Curry saw his first action, and while he’s a bigger back, he didn’t have much of a chance to show what he can do in limited touches. WR: Mason finally had the breakout game I’ve been waiting for. His performance looked a lot like what he showed during the spring game — the flashes that had me raving about him during the offseason. Outside of one glaring drop that would’ve moved the chains, this group was solid, and that miscue didn’t end up costing us. We just need this unit to keep developing. If they do, we’ll be talking about one of the better wide receiver corps in the MAC by the end of the season. TE: All three tight ends caught passes today and chipped in with some key blocks as well. I’m not sure why PFF graded the group as low as they did — I actually thought they played a sound game all-around. OL: This was one of the offensive line’s best games of the season — especially in the run game. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they did enough to give the offense a chance to be effective in both phases. I believe K. Davis played every snap at right guard, which says a lot about his reliability and consistency up front. DL: I’m not sure when the last time our defense had five sacks, with four of them coming from the defensive line. Laventure was credited with six total pressures and two sacks, while Durham had two sacks, and Dall had three pressures. I also want to give credit to the DL for holding their ground and blowing up running lanes so often. LB: Summers played a whale of a game. I’m not sure what the refs thought they heard when he was flagged for mimicking calls again, but from my view, it looked like he was just trying to get everyone lined up correctly on a play where several defenders seemed unsure of their assignments. I’ll lump the secondary into this as well — it’s tough to always be in the right spot and still make open-field tackles against an offense like CMU’s, one that relies heavily on misdirection and gets its linemen to the second level. There were more busts than anyone would like to see, but overall the defense did enough to slow CMU down when it mattered most. DB: The secondary was asked to play the run more in this game than any other so far this season — as alluded to above. In coverage, they were generally solid, holding CMU to just 136 yards through the air. No individual stood out in a negative way, which is definitely a positive sign. ST: Special teams were very good overall, outside of the long missed field goal — which came from a tough angle — and Hills overestimating his ability by bringing out kicks several yards deep in the end zone. I like Hills and still think he’s going to break one this year, but there’s just no reason to bring those out from that deep. Coaching: Give credit where credit is due — great gameplans on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we were stubborn running the football while also taking timely shots downfield. The defense looked well prepared and didn’t hang their heads after giving up some explosive plays. Overall, I thought the staff came close to maximizing what they could in this game. The only downside was a handful of penalties that were 100% self-inflicted. QB: Finley Johnson RB: Gant Curry WR: Walker Masom WR: Mar. Williams Grear WR: Polk Monteiro TE: Newell Cravaack Whisner LT: Dar. Johnson Motley-Simmons LG: McManus Archer C Lyons Morris RG: K. Davis RT: King A. Jones DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall J. Frazier DT: Hull Murphy Musika DT: Laventure Mixon Madden LB: Summers Boswell LB: Cooper Spriggs NB: Al. Branch CB: Reed Kamara CB: DeWalt Thomas S: Flowers Hunter S: Di. Johnson Stepney Top Rated on Offense (20 snap min.) WR - Mason C - Lyons QB - Finley RG - K. Davis RB - Gant Top Rated on Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Summers S - Flowers LB - Spriggs CB - DeWalt CB - Reed

Today's scrimmage was by invite only. All I can say is Groce has a big problem on his hands. Too many good players and not enough minutes per game. Perkins and Henderson both look like they could play this year. Head and Evan Mahaffey looked solid. The Serb is going to be a matchup nightmare for our opponents. Scott buried at least 6 NBA range 3's. Overall a good showcase.

I’ll go a step further. I always liked our chances of winning when Evan Wilson was in the game at the very end.

Passing thoughts on the game b/c I have nothing better to do: Forget the rankings, the Zips are a top ten team. If what we saw from SLU was true to them, they are not a top 20 team. Akron was the far better team tonight. Our MF's were outstanding, especially in the first half They won the 50/50 balls They set up many beautiful shooting opportunities They filled the passing lanes so well SLU rarely put together more that 2 passes They repeatedly played the ball on the ground out of severe pressure. Having Freddy returning to the backline steadied the defense. I wish he was in there against UConn. The character of this team was on full display. They showed no fear of SLU or memory of having lost the last two. This team is confident and proud, but not arrogant. Jack Roman has emerged as a threat every time he has the ball. Coming from the wing he will force teams to widen their back four. Mitch and Ashton are both 1st team All-Americans. They will play in MLS. Matt Dreas is the unsung glue to our MF. Credit to our coaches for filling 8 open positions this season and for continuing to find the best combinations of players. We are getting better and finding a lot of depth.

My son gets married on the 21st so I will miss this one. On my wedding day 32 years ago the Zips were down 35-0 at the half to BG. I listened to the game on my Sony Walkman in the vestibule as the church filled up. Hoping for a better result in 2025. Here’s my niece, then a freshman at Akron, bottle-feeding him at the Acme-Zip game in 2001. Time flies…

That third goal just felt different. It seems in the last couple of seasons in that kind of scenario we can never seem to find a goal. Huge score there from Freddy

Amen. Wins like this on days like this makes me happy for those who can, and do, attend games. It's what college football should be. Today benefited the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron. This is what a public university should do.

On the spur of the moment I decided to attend the game since the weather was perfect. It is one of the best games by Akron in a long time. They had a nice balence of runs and passing and the receivers were open most of the afternoon. The defense made some great plays right before the half. Just wish we could have more games like today. I thought Finely was the best. On the interception it was a bad pass but the defender made a nice play on the ball. Makes me look forward to next week.

I don't know how to share it here because it was an IG story not a post, but I saw Enrique has the #25 jersey for the T-Wolves!

Zips win 1-0!

They've tried with Ianello...and Brookhart...and Bowden...and Arth...and Motorhead....yet here we are. Maybe it's not all about the head coach?

Or possibly just had their eligibility expire.

The through ball by the Cornell player was one of the prettiest passes I've ever seen in a soccer match. Chest-high bullet volley that split the Akron defenders to give the Cornell attacker the advantage. What a save by Mitch to prevent that from being the highlight of the year for Cornell.

I've only lived in two states, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Naturally I have grown to DESPISE both OSU and PSU. Probably more excited about Penn State losing to both Oregon and UCLA, than I am about the Zips win today. All these cocky and arrogant people who have never attended those schools are insufferable. I always say I'd rather watch Akron lose every single game than be a bandwagon fan of a school I have no connection to.

All these guesses at the starting lineup are fun. Just remember that Eric Mahaffey was penciled into the starting lineup last year until a knee injury sidelined him for the season. Under Groce, whoever plays the best during practice gets playing time. Every minute of every practice is graded by the coaching staff. Outside of the point guard we have a team full of multidimensional players. It's going to be a fun season.

I'm really starting to get excited about the upcoming season. I assume Tavari and Amani are locked into the starting lineup. I suspect we may see Stankovic in the starting lineup (just like I expected Taylor Currie!). I've also heard he's closer to 6'6" than 6'8." That leaves spots for 2 guards/wings. I could see either Mahaffey in one of those roles. Does Sharon move into the starting lineup or does Shammah? This is much more fun than trying to figure out who's going to play with Malcolm Duvivier and Jimond. How far we've come.

As a fervent Arsenal supporter (Go Gunners!), I dislike everything Tottenham Hotspur F.C. However, I could grow accustomed to Zips wearing the dark shorts with the home white kit. I think it looks sharp. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. - Wikipedia

James Madison comes into the 2025-26 season after posting a 20-12 record last season with a loss in the Sun Belt Final to Troy. From looking at their roster, they have a ton of new faces. Included in these transfers are the following: · Paul Jones, a 6’4” sophomore guard who averaged 7.6 ppg and 3 rpg last year at Winthrop where he was named to the Big South Conference. · Bradley Douglas, a 6’4” senior guard transfer from Geogia Southern where he averaged 12.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 2.2 apg. He’s on his 5th school in 5 years. · Cliff Davis- 6’2” senior guard transfer from Rio Grande where he averaged 12.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg. · Paul Lewis, a 6’2” guard who started at Vanderbilt then transferred to UTSA where he missed nearly all of last season due to injury. · Justin McBride, a 6’7 junior forward transfer from Nevada (Previously Okla. St.) where he averaged 7.8 ppg and 4/1 rpg. · Ike Cornish, a 6’6” senior guard transfer from Nicholls who averaged 7.7. ppg and 2.2 rpg. He started in Maryland and spent a season at Ohio U. · Eli Wilborn, a 6’8” junior forward who was a teammate of Barre at Duquesne where he averaged 5 ppg and 3.5 rpg last year. · Gabe Newhof, a 6’9” senior forward who was an NAIA All-American at Spring Arbor last season, averaging 21.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg. From looking at the roster JMU appears deep and experienced and will again be towards the top of the Sun Belt standings. They’ll also likely still be in transition mode with so many new faces. I'll keep updating as more info and previews become available.

JMU appears to have only one returner of any consequence, Eddie Ricks, a 6'7" junior forward who averaged 6.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg last season. This type of situation makes me realize how blessed we are to have a program that can hold onto kids from season to season.

I would have killed to see Lemmy coaching the Zips.

Any one who thinks simply paying close to $1 million to buyout our coach to bring in someone new will magically solve our problems is insane. We've gone down that route with how many coaches in a row? We have much deeper issues that need to be worked on. At this point it's probably way too late unless 2-3 deep pocketed boosters step up to carry the program like Bud has done with basketball. I say 2-3 because the costs to compete in FBS is several times that of hoops.

Those four are a good class. The best 4-year class in a while. They did not always play well, but they always stuck together. They were good soldiers. And they looked after each other. These men will succeed.

I think this is BG's year. Somebody had to say it! 🤣

Great PK save by Mitch Budler...late in the 2nd half.

Jordan Gant > Jordon Simmons (9 carries for 33 yards on the season...Georgia State is 1-4)

It's nice to look at the MAC standings and not see Akron in the heap of crap at the bottom. It does my heart good to see NIU flailing in their last year in the conference. Good riddance. If they think it's bad now, just wait.

This is how it should be. Hopefully the football team can keep this going. A competitive football season into a NCAA tourney run for soccer, into one of the most anticipated Zips basketball seasons could really be the momentum athletically the University needs to get back on track.

Ben is back https://x.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1974504534606270629

I get that. I was referencing Joe's consistently good attitude and ability to forge forward regardless of the situation. Joe's the best.

35 days until Zips basketball!

Don't throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back there GP1. LOL.

Somebody else posted this on Facebook. I agree with all.the conclusions. Akron Football: When Exposure Becomes an Auction Block For decades, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) built its football brand on one thing: exposure. Midweek “MACtion” meant that on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in November, when most of college football was idle, the MAC had the national stage. Even if stadiums were half empty, Akron, Kent State, and their peers could say: “We’re on ESPN.” That pitch worked for a while. Players got national airtime, coaches got recruiting leverage, and universities got their names mentioned on broadcasts that reached millions of households. But in the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era, exposure has flipped from asset to liability. Exposure, Then and Now Before 2021, a Tuesday night breakout could put a MAC athlete on the NFL radar. Coaches could sell recruits on the guarantee of national TV games. For universities like Akron, whose football profile lagged far behind Ohio State, the ESPN window was a rare equalizer. Now? That same highlight package on ESPN is an advertisement for Power 4 programs to swoop in and recruit Akron’s best players away—with six-figure NIL packages. The math is brutal: • MAC collectives average roughly $0.5 million annually. Akron’s is closer to $341,000.¹ • Power 4 schools now routinely spend millions per year per athlete. • A MAC player who shines on national TV is no longer a point of pride—it’s a scouting reel for someone else’s roster. Exposure without the financial power to retain talent just accelerates the talent drain. The Optics Problem Even when players shine, the pictures ESPN broadcasts are damaging. Attendance across the MAC collapses for midweek games: Saturday contests averaged 16,738 fans in 2018, while midweek games averaged just 12,255—a 27% drop.² At Akron, the numbers are even worse. In 2022, fewer than 3,000 fans attended a sunny, 80-degree home game against Miami (OH). For context, in 2005—a Thanksgiving morning blizzard game with –6° wind chill—more than 7,000 showed up. What ESPN cameras show now isn’t “passionate fans” or “hidden gems.” It’s empty stands, lifeless atmospheres, and lopsided scores from overloaded buy games. That hurts Akron’s brand far more than it helps. The Enrollment Squeeze Akron’s enrollment collapse compounds the problem. In 2011, the university had 25,190 students.³ By 2024, it had dropped nearly 40% to 14,813.⁴ That decline affects everything: tuition revenue, student fees that help fund athletics, and the size of the potential fan base. With fewer students and shrinking resources, Akron can’t afford to prop up an FBS football program at the level the system demands. A Conference in Decline The larger MAC picture isn’t rosy either. The league’s national perception has declined sharply since the early 2000s, when it produced NFL names like Ben Roethlisberger, Julian Edelman, Charlie Frye, and Josh Cribbs. In the past 20 years, the quarterback output has been thin: • Keith Wenning (Ball State, 2014) — limited to practice squads • Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan, 2010) — never started in an NFL game • Kurtis Rourke (Ohio → Indiana, 2025) — drafted but unproven The league that once marketed itself as a talent incubator now serves as a farm system for wealthier schools. The Core Problem: Exposure Without Retention For Akron, the ESPN window no longer sells. National visibility doesn’t build fan support, it doesn’t stabilize enrollment, and it doesn’t retain talent. Instead, it broadcasts the program’s weakness: low crowds, heavy losses, and players destined to leave once they succeed. The very tool meant to elevate the MAC now underscores its irrelevance. Exposure without retention is brand erosion. The Path Forward Akron faces a stark choice. Staying in the FBS MAC means continuing to cash the occasional $1 million “buy game” check and enjoying ESPN visibility—while enduring blowout losses, talent drain, and empty seats. Dropping to the FCS would lower costs and restore competitive balance, but at the expense of national profile and big payouts. Neither option is glamorous. But pretending that exposure alone is still a benefit in 2025 is self-deception. The NIL era has changed the rules. Without new resources or a strategic reset, Akron’s midweek ESPN appearances don’t build the brand—they auction it off. ⸻ Sources 1. NIL reporting: MAC collectives average ~$536,000 annually; Akron’s closer to $341,000. 2. The Ringer: 2018 MAC attendance — 16,738 (Saturday) vs. 12,255 (midweek), –26.8%. 3. University of Akron Institutional Research: enrollment peaked at ~25,190 in 2011. 4. Ideastream: Akron’s fall 2024 enrollment at 14,813.

Tremendous result tonight for VCU At home, VCU battled Marshall to a 2-2 tie as of 10:30 tonight, Zips are #11 in Gaucho Dan RPI VCU is #25 now in RPI

Nicer drive / ride back to Columbus for Evan whose alma mater got the better of Schulte's. 😁

What in the world is this page going to do, not much to bitch about!?!

Beautiful service from the great Ashton Kamdem

Board activity seems to be exponentially higher the week after a loss than a blowout win?😃

Great game / win last night. Excellent response following the UConn game. Many impressive plays last night. Players worked hard throughout. Need to keep that full on effort going into Butler.

Great match tonight from the Zips! When we dominate a top-10 team like that, I wonder if the other team is overrated or were underrated. I think we're underrated, obviously. Also, great to see former Zip and current Crew goalkeeper, Evan Bush in attendance. Along with fellow Crew goalkeeper and USMNT goalkeeper, Patrick Schulte.

Zips and guards win!

I have also swapped tickets numerous times because I am gone part of the season and my ticket agent has been great. Sometimes they move you around because they might not have seats in your section but they will find you tickets. I took my 3 adult children to the Ohio game last year using the swapped tickets and we had a blast.

Any time I don't use my ticket for a game, I email Matt and tell him which game I want to swap it for, and then I have 2 tickets to the desired game. You can do it after the game has happened too, so you don't need to pre-plan it. If you miss a game, just tell him which future game you want to use it for.

At most schools the big guarantee checks and media money go to a central athletics pot. Football doesn’t keep it all, the AD spreads it across sports, covers overhead and debt, then funds football projects as line items. I did budget work‑study in a MAC department and the payout from a P5 game was forecast months ahead to backfill travel, trainers, and a facility upgrade, not just helmets and recruiting. On the fan side, I’ve bought last‑minute tennis seats via https://www.seatpin.com/the-laver-cup-tickets and liked the clear pricing and 100% order guarantee. Made me comfortable buying day‑of.

Or when Morgan State could have taken a knee and beat us, and instead ran the ball, and we got a strip-6 as the horn sounded to win?

A few articles on former Zip Shooky.... He had 3 goals in a game on September 14 and has 15 goals on the year for Chicago Fire FC 2. https://www.chicagofirefc.com/two/news/match-recap-chicago-fire-fc-ii-falls-against-new-york-city-fc-ii https://ontapsportsnet.com/fire/chicago-fire-ii-make-history-defeat-rbny-ii-9-2/

Everything you say is true. JoMo's fatal flaw is his inability to attract and nurture the type of donors needed to fund those NIL dollars and program enhancements. John Groce has done an exceptional job at doing this and the results are evident. Jared Embick the same. At a MAC level school you need someone who is willing to help sell the program to the potential donors. At the P-5 schools where Joe had his success this was not necessary. The programs history sold itself. There were legions of development personnel eager to wine and dine to secure those donations. That infrastructure doesn't exist at Akron. We don't have that winning football tradition. It's going to take a different kind of coach than what have now if we expect different results.

We have Joe for $650,000? And he's HC, OC and QB coach. We have $0 in NIL. Our staff pool is the lowest in D1. I can imagine, if Joe leaves or is fired at year's end, how bad a coach we will get for the sack of beans, buttons and bus tokens we offer. I work in Industrial Automation. It's impossible to beat your competition when you have half their distribution network, half their direct sales force, 1/4 their overall budget, 1/10 the Marketing budget, limit your outside sales force to generating business by phone and Linkedin messaging vs. getting on the road and meeting customers face-to-face, etc. etc. On one hand you don't want the University to go public with the shackles and anchors they've strapped on Joe. It would kill whatever miniscule recruiting sell-points we have left. On the other hand, staying quiet hangs Joe out to dry. 99% of the general public thinks we're funded just like anyone else. They only see wins and losses. On TV MacGyver can beat the bad guys with paper clips, duct tape and a AAA battery. In real life, that doesn't play out so well. I hope Joe has a good MAC season and sticks around another year or two. He's been dealt the mother of all losing hands and been asked to beat Phil Ivey.