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Zips coaching staff deserves a lot of credit. They made some very good in game adjustments. Bringing in Ashton Kamdem to play right back...and moving Malik Henry up the field....was a great in game adjustment. Gyuwon Chong did not start the game but he started the 2nd half. He had a big impact on the game Seth Wilson made an outstanding save with 15 minutes to go in the first half. Malik Henry pass to Dyson Clapier....was very special.... Malik Henry was a key guy to help break the tremendous Vermont pressure in the first half. Zips could not break the pressure on the left side.....but Malik Henry speed and skill opened up the right side for the zips. Zips do have to get better on the left defense back side offensively. Dyson is having to come too far up the field to get the ball. Tremendous credit to Dyson Clapier for being a team player late in the game and coming back to help Will Jackson defend on the left side. Vermont is an outstanding team. They brought great pressure and were good with their passes. Malik Henry is my Man of the Match........but again, I really have to credit the coaching staff for making major changes to the lineup at halftime. With the horrible FloFC camera angles, I could not tell you who was playing where in the midfield for the Zips. I think that Joey Paulus moved at halftime to replace Captain Sammy Tojaga as Holding midfielder. Joey Paulus....has improved tremendously as a ZIP. Excellent team win.

The schedule has been finalized. The staff did a great job. Added a well known opponent for what could be a fun road trip. Expect an official announcement soon.

At this rate, by 2026 it will be an even money game.

They probably release one but there’s nobody out there to cover it. It’s like a tree falling in the woods

Nothing short of an outstanding win. Vermont is the real deal. They make us play to our best or fade away. This was playoff soccer early in the season, which will only make us better and prepared for the BE. Our depth is incredible. That is a credit for the coaches going out and getting it and the players who built this culture that makes top players want to come to Akron. Now please, please share that magic with the other Zip footballers at Temple.

Should be an interesting year in the league, as they all are. My tiers of the MAC teams so far look as follows: Tier 1: Toledo Tier 2: EMU, Ohio, Miami Tier 3: Akron, Ball State, BGSU, Buffalo, CMU, NIU Tier 4: WMU, Kent While I am optimistic about Akron, I would not put them on the level of "contender" yet, but that could change after an impressive first four games. It wouldn't shock me to see anybody in the first 3 tiers representing their respective division in Detroit. Kent and WMU are way down there for obvious reasons, though I feel WMU has much more talent. However, the bodies that remain in Kalamazoo will be playing an entirely different style than before, so its a natural rebuilding year. It's far more likely that WMU is better than Kent than vice-versa. I'm really unsure of the whole Kent-Grit thing. Playing the Flash Fast style still? But Kent Grit? Does not make sense, as Burns is from a ground-and-pound background. But anything is possible, I suppose. Ohio, with Rourke, is as close to Toledo as anyone can get. Their receiving corps is also one of the best in the league, and Bangura is one of the best backs in the MAC. For some reason, Albin let their backup throw something like 40 passes in their loss last week. We'll see what Rourke's health is like going forward. He takes them from average to championship good. That Ohio defense is the real deal no matter what, though. NIU's success hinges on staying healthy. I am not going as far as most MAC followers and saying they will win the west, but I do expect them to be much better--as long as Lombardi is healthy and can have a big impact. With that said, 2021 was certainly an outlier year for Hammock after going 5-7, 0-6, and then 3-9 last year. After all, their 2021 was essentially the opposite of Akron's 2022. They won all the close games 2 years ago, Akron lost them all last year. If I were to break down into more tiers, I would put UB, BSU, CMU, and Akron in the same boat. All of them with decent floors and decent ceilings. All brought in some decent talent too. BG, on the other hand, is all over the place. Their 2022 was a lot like the 2017 Zips. They weren't that good, but somehow came out with a lot of wins--at least a lot more than expected. I expect this to be Loeffler's final season there if they do not make a bowl game. Some interesting week one matchups, here's the full list Thursday 8/31: Kent @ UCF, WMU vs. St. Francis (PA) Friday 9/1: EMU vs. Howard, CMU @ Michigan State, Miami U @ UMiami Saturday 9/2: Ball State @ Kentucky, Ohio vs. Long Island, NIU @ Boston College, BGSU @ Liberty, Akron @ Temple, Buffalo @ Wisconsin, Toledo @ Illinois

From Hustle Belt: Akron's Heisman Moment 130 years ago helped shape our beloved game "The intriguing tactician who would change the game of football forever had a spell in the future Rubber City, delighting Akronites with “scientific” football before his rise to fame."

Hell of a win!

Nothing like November soccer in late-August! Go Zips! FINAL - Akron 1 Vermont 0 Unofficial stats ...

The Zips go up 1-0 on a Clapier goal.

NO WAY. In 2026 this game will have been played 3 years ago.

I agree. The articles make it sound like he went after the "U". The video clip though shows it was little more innocent than that. Now that it is out, there is no sneaking into town. Ironically the Hurricane's defensive coordinator Lance Guidry was with the Redhawks when Haywood was the head coach.

NO WAY this is an even-money game in 2026. 2026 = Zips HEAVILY-FAVORED!

To whomever made the decision to turn down the music/announcements for the post-match "I believe" chant: Thank You! Very Much! Video from last night's post-match "I believe" celebration is not yet available. But it was a good one. Student attendance vs. Vermont was as good as we have seen in recent memory. Instead, here is video from a few years ago, after an NCAA Tournament victory (remember those?).

Huge win - makes me happy to see the Big East by the Akron name - with two other ranked teams in our conference. Can't wait for the conference season to start to see what we really have. Glad the MAC fell apart and we landed here.

Nice to see this from the Big East twitter account...

What a MASSIVE win for us. I am not asking, but just floating, could this be the year?

We hold on for 1-0 victory.

I remember looking at Arth's 2021 team and schedule and wondering "How will this team win more than one game?!" (they won 2). We've come a long way. Sep 2 (Sat) 2:00 PM Away Temple Prediction - Zips offense surprises the Owls. Zips win 34-31 (1-0) Sep 9 (Sat) 6:00 PM Home Morgan State No messing around...Zips win 51-9 (2-0) Sep 16 (Sat) 7:00 PM Away Kentucky Lexington, Ky. Zips keep it close at the half, but a couple explosive second half plays carry Kentucky to a 41-24 win (2-1) Sep 23 (Sat) TBA Away Indiana Bloomington, Ind. WKY took these guys to OT last year. Hoosiers aren't very good. I think the Zips lose in a tight one. 27-24 (2-2) Sep 30 (Sat) TBA Home Buffalo Akron, Ohio We should have beaten Buffalo last year. We will this year. Zips win 45-24 (3-2) Oct 7 (Sat) 3:30 PM Home Northern Illinois Akron, Ohio Pounded these guys last year. We'll do so again. Zips 51-16 (4-2) Oct 14 (Sat) TBA Away Central Michigan Mount Pleasant, Mich. Gifted the Chipps a win last season. History doesn't repeat itself. Zips win 35-20. (5-2) Oct 21 (Sat) TBA Away Bowling Green Bowling Green, Ohio Who knows which BG team shows up? Tough to figure the Falcons out. Zips lost by 3 last season. Bullish that Joe schemes hard to prevent back-to-back BG losses, and the JoMo Zips round into form. Zips win 30-27 (6-2) Nov 1 (Wed) 7 or 7:30 PM Home Kent State Akron, Ohio (InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field) No way the Zips lose this one. Arth was #heretodevelop. Joe is #heretopoundkent. Zips win 39-20 (7-2) Nov 8 (Wed) 7 or 7:30 PM Away Miami University Oxford, Ohio Zips due for a letdown, and Miami always seems to have their number. Miami wins 20-19. (7-3) Nov 14 (Tue) 7:00 PM Away Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. How did EMU get good at football? If they can play winning ball, anyone can. Unfortunately, the improved Eagles win 42-31. (7-4) Nov 24 (Fri) Noon Home Ohio Akron, Ohio (InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field) OU is down to their 4th string QB. Zips eek out a 19-17 win and look forward to their bowl game. (8-4) Offensively, the Zips should be able to hang with anyone. OL will be improved. RB is MUCH improved. WR should be as good, or better than last year. I expect a lot from Banks at TE. DL should be passable. Lots of size and mature bodies to choose from. Fingers are crossed a couple unknowns step up and make an impact. LB scares me. None of the returning guys made much of an impression last year. Hopefully a year in the system and in the weight room yields a big improvement. Secondary should be a strength...IF the DL can generate some QB pressure. 8-4 is a crazy prediction considering we've won 8 total games since we beat Northwestern in 2018. But I believe we're a MUCH better team that the one Jo inherited last year. Crazy goal...but definitely possible.

So pumped and so nervous. This board will be in an uproar if they lose this game but reality is, while the Zips should be able to win these games, the roster still does not know how to win. I wish it were at home, I'd be far more bullish on our chances. But it should be a great college football game in a terrible college football environment. This is going to be a fun season of Zips football, and opening with a road win would be awesome and the best way to enjoy a long weekend.

Prep Soccer currently has Akron’s 2024 class at #12. They are missing a couple commits, but they talk about Held and Buebendorf in their evaluation. This was included in their subscriber content on Aug 24. 12. Akron Verbal commitments (as of August 22): #15 James Buebendorf (St. Louis City SC), #99 Kamden Held (Chicago Fire) Buebendorf is going to end up as one of the top players from this class who plays college soccer. And he is headed to Akron where they have a proven track record for developing professional players. Buebendorf is an outside back and offers a well-rounded game for the position. He has the technique and confidence on the ball to play out of pressure. He has the vision to pick out runs from his teammates. He showed last season how he can hit a variety of passes with accuracy – from the cross field switch to the grass-cutter to the full spring cross. The left back has among the highest ceilings in this class. Kamden Held is an attacking midfielder from Chicago Fire. He was a standout for that academy last season. He has a clean first touch and excellent feel for the game. He should shine in the Akron style of play.

It is continually disappointing that the post-match music and/or announcements cannot be turned off for 90 seconds during for the Players/Students "I believe" chant celebrating a victory. This (now) traditional chant is what collegiate athletics is ALL ABOUT. Why would we not encourage this organic and (I'll say it) beautiful expression? To whom do I need to direct this complaint? 💓

Short MAC segment around 1:18:00. One person takes the the over on Akron and the other two won’t touch it. Interesting they like the under on Buffalo. They also like the under on Kent State.

I guess “realistic” is in the eye of the beholder. Below are other MAC teams that have made similar leaps in the win column that I’m expecting for this season. There is no hype for this program outside of myself, some others on the board, and two media outlets that actually follow MAC football to some degree. Even Joe Moorhead has been very coy this offseason. He clearly knows he has something cooking. Every other outlet and fanbase seems to think Akron will be a bottom dweller again, yet not a single one of them have actually paid much attention to what this staff has done on the recruiting trail since they’ve been here. Also guessing they didn’t watch many of the games last year… CMU: 2018 - 1 2019 - 8 EMU: 2015 - 1 2016 - 7 Kent: 2018 - 2 2019 - 7 Miami: 2009 - 1 2010 - 10 NIU: 2020 - 0 2021 - 9 Ohio: 2021 - 3 2022 - 10 WMU: 2013 - 1 2014 - 8 If the casual fan could get past the name on the jersey, they might see “realistic expectations” may not be so realistic. As for the diatribes of Ohio, I haven’t lived here long enough to have an informed opinion.

Solid two minute presser. Just like all big-time college football programs 🙄