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Kent State lost to Ball State tonight. The Ball State quarterback had an off night so the game appeared to be Kent’s for the taking. But it’s Kent- multiple penalties. The real difference, however, was a long series of questionable decisions bordering on outright stupid by the KSU coaching staff. One would conclude that they must have gone to PCCC. We can not count on their repeating that many stupid moves in a single game. We will have to play better than Ball State did to beat them.

Obviously they can lose this because it is still Akron. But with what seems like a little progress in the past few weeks, the Zips can not afford to lose this game.

Slight correction MD. The team is mentioned just not listed. See UMess paragraph.

Jeff Undercuffler is in line first

For those who have (or had) YouTubeTV, we'll need to gameplan another way to watch. Anybody know of any free trials for a streaming service with ESPN2 or U?

Congratulations to Zips commit Kam Warnke and the Aurora Greenmen who advance to the Division III state title game by defeating CVCA 1-0 on a golden goal in OT this evening.

Congratulations to Zips Commit Calan DeWalt and Dublin Jerome who advance to the Division I state title game by defeating Cincinnati St Xavier 5-0 this evening.

Even with it being meaningless it feels like the first time in forever the Zips have not been mentioned in the Bottom 10 - or even the "waiting list", as a matter of fact even got kind of a positive mention.

We need a Revenge Tour graphic … this could be the OOC result we’ve been waiting for that sets them up for a better seed

Three big thoughts: 1) thank you for doing these. These are always great reads 2) When was the last time an FBS team was objectively bad and Akron just stepped on their necks? 3) Kenni Burns' Kent teams could beat this UMass squad.

If he gets to 6-6, you gotta figure they'll give him eight more years. That...is a bit hasty. But I'm willing to admit it may be steps forward towards getting there. Was a fun environment to attend, though.

Funny to look back at this thread 😬 is Joe getting an extension after this season?

QB: Finley made some really nice throws and generally had plenty of time in the pocket. Some of the longer developing routes were open against a UMass defense that struggled to generate pressure. Outside of the fumble at the goal line, Finley protected the football all evening. That hit on the fumble seemed to rattle him a bit, and honestly, I was surprised he came back in the game. He could’ve easily finished with more passing yards, but it wasn’t necessary with how well the run game was rolling. RB: Gant is tracking toward a first-team All-MAC selection. His patience and timing when hitting the hole are excellent, and he has that rare knack for moving in a way that makes it tough for defenders to square him up cleanly. Patrick is certainly the more explosive back, but Gant has settled into his rhythm and is playing at a high level. He finished with 153 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him exactly 150 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. WR: The receivers spent most of the night blocking, as the offense ran the ball 46 times compared to just 22 pass attempts. Mason made another highlight-reel touchdown grab, while Ma. Williams has clearly become Finley’s go-to target of late. TE: Another week, another solid showing from Cravaack. He did have one drop, but aside from that, he threw some crushing blocks in the run game and added a nifty 15-yard reception with solid yards after the catch. Whisner, backing him up, had his best game to date as well. OL: The offensive line dominated UMass’ front. They consistently opened up run lanes and gave Finley plenty of time to throw. They were credited with allowing only six pressures the entire game — easily one of their best collective performances of the year. DL: You have to feel for Laventure, who had back-to-back sacks wiped out — one by a teammate’s unnecessary penalty and another due to the staff accepting a holding call instead. Regardless, he absolutely mauled his matchup all game. Dall came close to a few sacks himself but just couldn’t finish. The defense as a whole held UMass to only 169 total yards, which says it all. LB: I’m a Shammond Cooper fan, but at this point Melvin Spriggs needs to be starting and taking the majority of snaps. Spriggs has really turned it on the past two games and has become a dynamic player. Summers may not have the same athletic upside, but he’s been in the right spot at the right time lately and continues to make key plays. DB: DeWalt, Reed, and Kamara may have taken all the corner snaps, and all three played well. The nickel backs didn’t see as much playing time as they usually do because the defense often went to a five man defensive front. Hunter and Somerville got the starts at safety and played well enough for a night, but they’ll need to elevate their play moving forward. ST: The only blemish came on the missed extra point. Otherwise, Wiley placed his kickoffs well, Schramm hit a 42-yarder, and Castle had a solid day punting. The return units didn’t generate much, but there were no major miscues either. Coaching: It was clear the team was locked in across all three phases. Outside of one big play allowed by the defense, they controlled things start to finish. The offense piled up 467 yards — an impressive total. Credit to the staff for having the group ready to handle business against a UMass team that simply shouldn’t be able to compete with the Zips in 2025. Next Tuesday night is another winnable matchup for the Wagon Wheel. * Some of the walk-ons that got in on the last play or two are not listed below. QB: Finley Roggow Johnson RB: Gant Patrick Curry WR: Ma. Williams Grear WR: Mason Louis Broughton WR: Polk Monteiro Hills TE: Cravaack Whisner LT: Morris D. Johnson Motley-Simmons Ndaiga LG: Archer McManus Stopiak C Lyons Mobley RG: K. Davis Fox RT: King Jones Mann DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall J. Frazier Cheatom DT: Hull Murphy DT: Laventure Mixon LB: Cooper Spriggs Benenge LB: Summers Boswell NB: Aa. Branch T. Thomas CB: DeWalt Kamara CB: Reed Kamara S: Somerville Flowers S: Hunter Di. Johnson Top Rated Offense (20 snap min.): QB - Finley RB - Gant WR - Ma. Williams RG - K. Davis C - Lyons Top Rated Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Spriggs LB - Summers DT - Laventure DE - Dall CB - Kamara

That's pretty cool, even more amazing you have to go back to Oct 23rd to find the last Zips single game loss (women's soccer lost to Western Michigan). Since then it's been wins from volleyball, rifle, football, men's soccer, volleyball, women's soccer (tie), volleyball and then the string you just rattled off. Heck of a couple of weeks.

Creighton started their season with 3 matches on the road. Since starting the season 0-2-2, the Blue Jays are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. Creighton has not lost a game this year at home. Their home record is 5-0-2. Over the last 11 games, Creighton has played like a top 20 team.

Honestly it just looked like a link to some random website. Usually those lead to a bunch of popups and not an actual game broadcast. Wasn't going to risk it and just spent the $13 for ESPN+

Winner takes the Big East Midwest Division. Creighton, however, can also claim the division with a draw. I don't want to think about scenarios that result in a BE Tourney appearance short of a WIN. I have confidence that our Zips can rise to this challenge and prevail. Go Zips!!!

A lot of the guys that are leaving also aren't transferring up. Some are going down to the FCS or never find another school as they weren't good enough to play at this level to begin with. Key contributors that are leaving for greener pastures are likely getting $50k or in that ballpark. Some much more. I think you would be surprised by the amount of NIL money P4 and top G5 schools are spending.

The opponent quality is also true. However, to be fair, in at least one of those games, we beat ourselves with turnovers, penalties, and other self-induced chaos. The final margins of victory for our opponents were small enough that not beating ourselves would have enabled different outcomes.

Yes, I do

Please don't let KSU spoil a 'happy ending'.

Yes. A lot of those that are leaving aren't getting $50K. But yeah, $50K, Akron's not keeping guys. Players in today's portal world want two things. Obviously the NIL money (which is more fleeting than many want to admit)...and playing time. Akron can provide one of those things.

If Wyoming and UAB would have been in UMASS kind of form...

Man, if we could have only been in this kind of form against Wyoming and UAB...