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Here are some Game Day notes. I’ve also added them to the bottom of the original post. Kitna has already thrown for 551 yards while completing 72% of his passes. However, he’s shown to be mistake-prone under pressure, tossing two interceptions so far. The Blazers will rotate at running back with UTEP transfer Jackson and top backup Beebe handling most of the workload. Jackson is a dangerous runner who can break one at any time, while Beebe is just as likely to catch a pass as he is to carry the ball. Milliner is UAB’s most explosive wideout, and Hooks has been Kitna’s second-favorite target. UAB has stuck with the same five starters through both games, not rotating a single lineman. It’s a rebuilt OL and they’ve surprisingly been a strong unit so far—giving up only one sack and 6 pressures. Going left to right: Sneh - 6’5”315 (Kansas State) Perez - 6’5” 315 (Duke) Lepkowski - 6’3” 300 Morgan - 6’4”320 (South Carolina) Moore - 6’8” 290 The Blazers’ defense has struggled to stop anyone this season, but a few players have stood out with consistent play. Interestingly, both starting defensive tackles—Smalls and Sam Houston transfer Warren—have been really good. At linebacker, Rhode Island transfer Hightower has been effective, while in the secondary Boston College transfer safety Cheek and Pittsburgh transfer cornerback Crumpley have been the top performers. UAB has only punted once this season—a 39-yarder downed inside the twenty. All extra points have been converted, and field goals are 2-for-3, with the lone miss coming from the 30–39 yard range. The two makes, however, have both been from beyond 40 yards. During Dilfer’s press conference, a reporter referred to this as a “get right game” for UAB. Dilfer laughed and said the Blazers are usually the get right game for their opponents, adding that he hopes Akron’s offense doesn’t get going this weekend. Some notes about the Zips: JUCO transfer right tackle Maasai King has graded out really well through the first two games, especially in pass protection according to PFF. Next is right guard Keylen Davis, who has been solid but noticeably stronger in run blocking. Keep an eye on JUCO transfer defensive tackle Nehemiah Musika in goal line situations. He was also mentioned on the Zips Weekly show. Musika was a commitment I really liked, though I wasn’t quite sure how we managed to land him. He supposedly isn’t as tall as listed and is still working into shape after being a late arrival due to coursework. Once Musika is able to play more regularly, he should give us a strong rotation with Laventure and Hull at DT—barring injury. Former Illinois transfer Shammond Cooper has been playing at a high level and also leads the team in tackles with 19 total. I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but DeWalt and Reed have really stepped up at cornerback. Reed in particular has been impressive—allowing just 19 yards on four receptions while being targeted 10 times. They’ll need another strong outing today if we’re going to have a chance at slowing down UAB’s offense.

Portland Pilots, my bestie's alma mater has played 6. They're now 5-0-1 and have allowed exactly ZERO goals. Biggest win: 1-0 over Wisconsin in Madison. I wonder how many D1 teams have a clean sheets for the season right now? I know two!! 😉

Friday September 12 West Virginia 2 Longwood 0 VCU 1 Penn 0 Number 9 Portland played tonight at number 24 St. Louis 0-0 tie

Vermont soccer tickets only available for purchase on Seat Geek!!! Student demand to watch Vermont soccer !!! Credit to Vermont for creating demand....to watch Catamount soccer https://www.instagram.com/p/DOhWxUKjvf3/?hl=en

Volleyball and women's soccer both seem to be improved this year, but it can be hard to tell in non-conference. Hopefully it continues into MAC play!

I can tell you from firsthand knowledge that while the bobbleheads weren't cheap, they did lead to a substantial boost in season tickets that year.

Wonder what the tariff is on bobbleheads?

I would also like to see them celebrate the glorious history of Akron soccer. I loved the DeAndre Yedlin bobblehead from a few years ago. I would pay extra every year....if they did special bobbleheads. Darlington Nagbe bobblehead !!! Richie Laryea Bobblehead !!! Scott Caldwell goal scoring bobblehead !!! Wil Trapp bobblehead !!! David "Big Sexy" Meves bobblehead !!! Anthony Ampaipitakwong !! Steve Zakuani bobblehead !!! Teal Bunbury bobblehead !!!

This isn't talked about enough, we used to get more value for less money. But I guess that's true of all economic spends nowadays 😆

Not saying Zips soccer isn't a good value, I have had season tickets for several years. I'm just saying the defending national champs are a better value. Plus, their $8 GA seats on equivalent seats (in terms of location) to the reserved seats at Akron, which are at least $25 per game.

Arrived in Burlington today after a 10+ hour drive between yesterday and today. Beautiful drive from Rome, NY through some of Vermonts back roads including the Fort Ticonderoga ferry. Looking forward to the match tomorrow night. Go Zips!!

I’d be willing to pay a little extra for my Men’s soccer season tickets if UA would provide soccer scarves again. I like looking back on those various designs over the seasons / rosters.

Plus they do discount codes every couple games

I’m working remote today and watched the volleyball game while I was working and they just got a really nice win. They are now 5-2 and just beat a 5-2 WKU in 4 sets and 2 they had to come back from behind. Fun game. I heard the mac is really competitive but it’s good to see an Akron team getting the job done

How many UA soccer fans are there who say, I'd go for $8, but $15 is too much? It is still an incredible value for your entertainment dollar, and it is literally the highest level of amateur soccer in the country.

Vermont also has a higher tuition and probably less debt. Also doesn’t have FBS football to sponge up the other sports budgets. Akron unfortunately probably needs the price where it is to hit whatever budget deficit they want to target. I’d prefer cheaper and more fans obviously but I assume it’s a reason more than capitalist gain

Also, not a critique of Vermont (maybe more a critique of Akron) but their tickets are all general admission at $8. Compare that to Akron where $15 gets you a GA ticket where you can only sit on the ends or on the hill. Also saw that Vermont season tickets are only $50.

Obviously a big match with two tops teams in the country. Zips going on the road to the defending national champions and I saw on the Vermont site that the game is sold out. Should be a fun one!

I think that's true for college athletics as a whole, particularly football. It has only been in the last 20 years or so where its become more common to see Universities to build new stadiums or do extensive renovations on existing ones. I imagine a lot of that has to do with the fact pro sports has been getting 100s of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for such things for decades. Making it more profitable for owners to want a new taxpayer stadium every 25 years since they absorb less of the cost. Its probably only been in the last 20-30 years that P4 revenue streams (particularly Big 10/SEC) has exploded to the point where building cathedrals has become obtainable. Before that college football was still amateur, at least much more closer to it than it is now.

Wednesday September 10 UConn got a 3-1 win at Brown Xavier and Evansville 3-3 tie Creighton earned a 3-2 win at home over Omaha Thursday September 11 St John’s 1-0 win at home over Fairleigh Dickinson Sacred Heart went on the road and tied Seton Hall 2-2

I guess when I think of CBB I tend to think of old arenas. I had no idea the MAC had two schools with new arenas in the 21st Century.

BGSU got the Stroh Center in 2011. Before them is was NIU in 2002. As you can tell it didn't lead to on the court success for either.

I'd be interested to know the last time a MAC school got a new basketball arena.?.?. I think Miami is getting a new arena but it isn't built yet.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/education/2025/09/11/university-of-akron-sees-higher-undergraduate-graduate-enrollment/86093682007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z112727p000050c000050e009300v112727b0054xxd005465&gca-ft=39&gca-ds=sophi This is promising, would love that number to keep creeping up closer to 20k

If you add in the $4.5-$5 million we're paying for Infocision then we're spending about just as much as OU on football. The difference is on how the money is getting spent. OU using it for staffing, training tables, and whatever else. We blew it on a shiny stadium that we couldn't afford, which sits empty. Edit: Kind of gets back to the point I make 1-2 times a year when major JAR renovations are discussed. Facility improvements are prohibitively expensive and you get more return on your dollars (from a performance perspective) on investing in coaches, recruiting, and whatever else instead.