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2024 Rewind: Kenni Burns was allowed to complete one of the worst two-year stints in college football, going just 1-23 during that span. Somehow, the team managed to regress following a one-win season, ultimately recording a historically bad 2024 campaign without a single victory. Mark Carney has now been tabbed as the interim head coach and inherits the nearly impossible task of trying to turn the Flashes around with very little recruiting time this offseason. The 2025 class is largely made up of players Burns brought in and leans heavily toward freshmen, making Carney’s job even more uphill from the start. Recruiting under Carney: 2025: On3 - 7th in MAC 247 - 6th in MAC *Note - On3 and 247 do not include comprehensive recruiting rankings (like Rivals used to do) for the MAC. The rankings only account for freshmen. Flashes on Offense: Kent State faces another gauntlet of a schedule, with road trips to Texas Tech, Florida State, and Oklahoma on deck—so who knows who the starters will actually be by the time this game rolls around. That said, it’s likely Fordham transfer CJ Montes will get the nod at quarterback to start the season. Behind him are Devin Kargman and Dru DeShields, both of whom have the tools to be solid players—if they’re ever given the chance to operate without a defender in their lap the moment the ball touches their hands. Minnesota transfer Jordin Nubin will compete for snaps with the oft-injured Gavin Garcia. The two backs should complement each other fairly well—assuming they can stay healthy and the offensive line gives them even a sliver of daylight to work with. Wide receiver might have more talented depth overall, but the unit will likely regress due to the lack of a true go-to target. All-conference receivers Chrishon McCray and Luke Floriea have moved on, leaving behind a massive production void that’ll need to be filled by youth and inexperience. Tight end will be manned by lower-level transfers, but it’s not a huge focal point—Kent hardly utilized the position in the passing game under Carney’s offense anyway. Dustyn Morell is the lone returning starter from what was the worst offensive line in the MAC last season. The rest of the group will be made up of either backups who saw minimal action a year ago or transfers who also struggled to crack the starting lineup at their previous stops. Even if the unit shows some improvement, there’s a good chance it still ends up being the worst offensive line in the conference. Flashes on Defense: It’ll be a new defensive scheme under this staff. According to Carney, this year’s defense will prioritize stopping the run first—marking a shift from last year’s bend-but-don’t-break, turnover-dependent approach. Backup defensive end Antoine Campbell and converted offensive lineman Mason Maddox are expected to step into starting roles. Beyond that, it’ll be a mix of four transfers and a handful of players with little to no experience rounding out the depth chart. Kent does return several linebackers who saw the field last year—that’s the good news. The bad news is that linebacker play left a lot to be desired in 2024, due to injuries and other issues. Mason Woods and true sophomore Nylan Brown are expected to start, but both will need to take significant steps forward if this unit is going to be anything more than a liability again. Safety Tevin Tucker is the lone returning starter in a secondary that struggled to stay healthy and maintain any sort of cohesion from week to week. The rest of the group is expected to be made up of a mix of returning backups, portal transfers who were also backups at their previous stops, and true freshmen. It’s a patchwork unit that will need to grow up fast. Will Hryszko is slated to return at kicker after converting all 15 of his extra point attempts and going 3-for-5 on field goals last season. Charlie Durkin, who didn’t see the field in 2024, will take over punting duties. Position Advantage: QB - Akron RB - Akron WR - Akron TE - Akron OL - Akron DL - Akron LB - Akron DB - Akron ST - Even Way too Early Prediction: There’s really no other way to put it—Kent State will probably be the worst team in college football again. Burns went all-in on freshmen, leaving behind a surprisingly solid core of young talent—believe it or not—but then patched the rest of the roster with “players who wanted to be there.” In reality, that meant lower-division players or G5 backups whose only FBS offer came from Kent. If the freshmen happen to ball out, they’ll likely bolt for greener pastures, and the cycle will repeat—holes filled with more freshmen and even less impactful transfers. It’s a brutal, unsustainable model. Mark Carney faces a near-impossible task trying to turn things around under these conditions. Kent’s best hope at a win comes right out of the gate against Merrimack. Outside of that, I just don’t think there’s enough talent or experience on this roster to find another one. Maybe they catch a break and steal a win against a team breaking in a first-year head coach if everything lines up perfectly—but that’s a big maybe. As for the rivalry game, I’m calling for Akron to blow out the Flashes, 45-10.

Yes, I bet on occasion, but mainly follow lines and over/unders to get educated expectations. Its not a perfect science

Thats why you hedge your happiness. That way if your team loses at least you made money. If you lose money, at least your team won.

I would be happy to pay. Donated to the program recently. Just asking a question.

Any update on how this went? Curious if there is a plan to appeal this bowl ban bs.

The drinks are on NWAkron.

Would hate for people to have to pay for their entertainment.

Appears to be from the email.

Is it free?

Sounds like the Pacers may move on from Freeman (or at least not offer a two-way)

Neither am I but I think it's relevant to the perceived expectations for the team. Feel free to not respond if you really don't care.

Only time I ever gambled was 2 or three years ago when they were at 3.5 and I bet the over...... doh!!! That $8.50 would have made a huge difference

Oh well. I'm not a degenerate gambler so I don't care.

P4 won't trim the fat as in cutting weak programs. It would be a smart for the Big 10 and SEC to have their own football conference. I don't know how many schools they have between them, but the number has to be around the same as the NFL. It's become pretty obvious that the Big 22 and ACC cannot keep up with them.

If anything, we're going to see the P4s start trimming the fat in the coming years. If the G5s position themselves right, they'll be able to add some outstanding institutions.

BetMGM has set the Zips' season wins under/over at 4.5.

The logical next move is for Memphis to leave the AAC for the MAC. Remember you heard it here first. They have been dying to get on UMASS's schedule. The Sunbelt has nothing on the MAC.

2024 Rewind: Don Brown was let go before the season ended in his third year with the Minutemen, as they stumbled to a 2-10 finish. He wasn’t able to recapture the same success he had leading UMass during their FCS days. Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak is the new man tabbed to take on the seemingly endless UMass turnaround. Recruiting under Harasymisk: 2025: On3 - 13th in MAC 247 - 13th in MAC Minutemen on Offense: UMass will have a tremendous amount of new faces seeing significant playing time this season, including at quarterback, which will be filled by either Yale transfer Grant Jordan or little-used Utah transfer Brandon Rose. The running back room will be almost completely new and feature mostly youth and inexperience. UTSA transfer Rocco Griffin will be the only player with significant snaps at the G5 level. Ty Harding and Jacquon Gibson return at wide receiver, with USF transfer Tyree Kelly rounding out the starting group. Harding and Gibson combined for 42 catches, 604 yards, and 6 touchdowns last season. Reece Adkins will compete with Illinois transfer Owen Anderson at tight end. The offensive line will be almost entirely new, with only interior lineman Benjamin Roy and tackle Ryan Mosesso returning as starters. As we’ve seen in some other situations, so many new faces at an underperforming position may not actually be a bad thing. Minutemen on Defense: UMass will likely run a different defensive scheme than what “Dr. Blitz” had in place. Three of the four starters up front will be new to the team, with incoming transfers from Jackson State, UConn, Virginia Tech, Maine, McNeese State, and Rutgers all in the mix. Former Zips defensive line coach Nyeem Wartman now holds the same position at UMass. There are questions at linebacker, with no guaranteed starters heading into fall camp. It'll be a competition between transfers and some of last year’s backups to see who earns the job. The secondary is more of the same, with transfers and last season’s backups competing for spots. That said, this group probably has the most upside talent on the defensive side of the ball, despite their lack of overall experience at this level. Cal transfer Derek Morris will take over at kicker, while Texas A&M transfer Keegan Andrew takes over at punter. Position Advantage: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t see a single position—at least at this point in the offseason—where UMass is a clear favorite over Akron. QB - Akron RB - Akron WR - Akron TE - Akron OL - Even DL - Even LB - Akron DB - Akron ST - Even Way too Early Prediction: UMass has a lot to figure out on both sides of the ball. Chances are, by the time this game is played, a number of different starters will be on the field compared to who began the season. UMass may be heavily investing in their football program by MAC standards, but I have a hard time seeing many wins on their schedule in 2025. Who knows though—maybe they’ll be the surprise team of the conference this year. Extremely doubtful, but there’s always one or two that catch everyone off guard. I’m sure the UMass fanbase is circling this matchup as a certain win, yet I just don’t think the Minutemen have enough in the tank to pull it out. Also, this is usually the point in the season where things really start clicking for the Zips under Moorhead. I’m calling for Akron to win 30-20.

I think that is what you said 7 years ago 😉

How embarrassing for Memphis. They won 11 games last year. Let me be the first to welcome them to the new G5 division. I will say, it's been nice to have an off season without all of the conference jumping. That part of college football may have run it's course.

Alright MAC, your move. Go get em. 🤣 And people think Toledo and Ohio are coveted commodities.

This was quite the ramble. I'm jealous.

I posted this 7 years ago and here we are.......

The Zips are hosting the Akron Men's Basketball Alumni Camp this Thursday, July 24th at the JAR. The schedule is: 4:30pm - Cocktail Hour with cash bar and light hors d'oeuvres. 5:00pm - Watch former Zips basketball student athletes take the floor at the JAR for the Alumni Game. Parking is available in the Lot 1 parking garage on the corner of Spicer and Carroll St. and must be paid for via the scannable signs in the lot.

For the 2nd straight game, there are 6 or 7 paragraphs written about the unselfishness and talent of Richie Laryea https://www.tfcrepublic.ca/july-20-toronto-fc-nashville-sc/ comments from their coach "I thought he was great. I thought he was very good. Again, Richie's understanding of what's dangerous, what's not, when to close, when to close hard, when to be patient, I think all of that [was good]. I knew Richie [when] he first came to TFC in 2019, and he was young and naïve then, and I feel like he's a completely different person now," Robin Fraser said. "He is a seasoned pro who we've obviously asked him to play in a number of different positions in the last couple of games, and he just does what's asked of him because it's what the team needs. So, I thought he put in a really incredible shift."