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CJ Nunnally definitely deserved the MAC PoTY award this week, but Bryan McCoy put forth an absolutely heroic effort. He puked at least twice...maybe three times...voluminous releases too...not just a little phlegm...and hardly missed any PT. Game winning scoop-n-score TD. Fantastic game by the kid. @MDZip said it best...this was payback for CMU last season. Or, Buffalo...take your pick. Nice to see God is fair, and offset one of our improbable, impossible 2022 losses.

Congratulations to Josef Paulus for being named to the College Soccer News team of the week https://collegesoccernews.com/college-soccer-news-mens-national-team-of-the-week-week-ending-september-10-2023/

Agreed. Nunnally made most of the plays from DE Saturday night, but Ryan Johnson has also been solid. One source has Johnson credited with 6 pressures which is twice as much as any other defender on the roster. He just needs to finish. Needless to say, the DL and LBs have been pleasant surprises. It’s too bad we didn’t get more pressure on Temple. Games like that can be exhausting. Looked like JoeMo was battling a bit of an illness as well. I’m curious to see where this team goes from here. I’ve seen it time and time again when a team is counted out and they come out with an explosion no one saw coming. When that will happen, I don’t know, but there is too much talent on the roster and too good of a staff in place to not get it right. Good example is South Carolina last year beating Tennessee and Clemson back to back to close out the season or Illinois going on a 6 game win streak after losing to a terrible Indiana team. The offense is still trying to find some sort of “identity” without the level of play we had last year from DJI. The defense seems to be legitimate and improving. Special Teams also seems not far off from being really good. Unfortunately, poor QB play is masking everything.

The TV timeouts are killing the live viewing.

Can you elaborate on this? Nate Williams? Tyler Williams? Was one of them hurt? And, speaking of OL... Kamari Landers had to go to JUCO for a year but plans to return to UA as soon as he is able.

The good, the bad, and the ugly. OFFENSE: QB - The problem position that no one saw coming. Undercuffler came in and looked like the QB that played in the spring game. Then the issues crept in. I won’t hammer home the 3 interceptions that were bad decisions and poorly thrown. I also understand what he was trying to do on the last INT by putting it far back corner in the endzone for his receiver to run under. Unfortunately, it was under thrown. I’m not sure where the staff goes from here, but the offense at least moved up and down the field with Undercuffler. The overall decision making has to get better and I feel if there is a heavier focus on the run game then it will make things easier on the QB. RB - I’m still at a loss why Lingard and Anderson are not receiving more touches. I counted only a handful of carries that went for 2 yards or less and two of those were at the beginning of the game when Lingard tripped on the turf. There was one carry where Morgan State had 8 in the box and Lingard still managed a run over 5 yards. The duo combined for 13 rushes for 51 yards, which is a 3.9 average. WR - The receivers did their part catching the ball. Although, I can’t always see what’s happening downfield on their routes when watching on tv. There were a few missed blocks on the perimeter that caused some decent play calls to be blown up. OL - The offensive line could have been better, but they weren’t bad. I believe Blanchard played the entire game at LT. If he didn’t take every snap, he was close to it. In my opinion Lyons and Kilbane have been our best options at LG and RG, respectively, though two games. QB - Irons (Bullock) (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (Anderson) TE - Banks (Newell) WR - George (Wilson) WR - Adams (Golden) (Walker) WR - Gathings (Anderson) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Blanchard LG - Frank (Lyons) C - T. Williams (Georges) RG - Chambers (Kilbane) RT - Kindred (Chambers) DEFENSE: DL - It looked like an FBS DL vs an FCS OL. Jones and Nunnally were dominant as the DL collected 4 sacks. That’s following a week where just creating pressure was an issue. LB - McCoy and Fish are dynamite. No other way to put it. The duo had over 20 tackles combined and McCoy iced the game on a fumble return for a touchdown. Cooper was also solid for the second week in a row. DB - Lewis had one of his best games as a Zip. He was active in coverage and especially effective when coming up for run support. He nearly had a few sacks himself off blitzes. - Golden-Nelson may have had his best game as a Zip with solid coverage and an interception return for a touchdown. - Martin had to sit a half, but his presence was felt on his return. He also had an interception. - N. Thompson played a major role coming up in run support. That being said, either he or Woods took a few bad angles on a couple of plays. I couldn’t tell who by the number. - The other DBs didn’t do much noteworthy statistically, but coverage was usually solid. - Hence, Hunter, and Thompson(?) gave up the passing TDs. DE - Nunnally (Jackson) DT - Lavea (Thomas) (Adler) DT - Jones (Robinson) DE -Johnson (Smith) LB - Fish (Behm) LB - McCoy (Cooper) NB - Lewis (Thomas) CB - Durant (Hunter) (Hence) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) S - Thomas (Woods) S - Thompson (Johnson) (Martin) Special Teams: Mixed bag here. Not where we need to be yet, but can see signs of what this unit can be. No, it was not pretty but the team got it done. Sometimes all it takes is a spark and the fire gets lit. Am I saying this team will come out and beat UK and Indiana? No, although I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a catalyst for much better play. The staff showed last night they are not afraid to make a change at QB, so that tells me they are willing to make the necessary changes to get this offense back on track. This team is 1-1 with plenty left to play for. The defense ramped it up, now the offense needs to join the party.

I thrilled with our LB play. After losing Bubba I thought it'd take our youngins a handful of games to get up to speed. No way. Our LB's are STUDS!

Unfortunately, the real number was significantly lower than what they announced. With that said, I found it admirable that so many students actually stuck around the entire game. Around 1100 student IDs were swiped for the game. Not too shabby, we'll see how many come out next time. The team shop, while expensive, has a nice selection as do the various local Rally House locations. As for ZN.o, I feel like the few Akron fans who want to discuss online just fire up the Twitter and see what that garbage Zips Barstool account says. ZN, though I've only been a member a little less than 10 years, used to be one of the only places on the internet you could find fellow Zip fans. Since then its pretty much been passed through word of mouth. UA administrators used to talk about ZN and its posters all the time behind closed doors, now there's so much turnover and other places to see what people think of Akron athletics.

Sept 11 Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 #5 Akron https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-national-rankings/men Sept 10 College Soccer News Top 30 #5 Akron https://collegesoccernews.com/college-soccer-news-mens-top-30-poll-week-ending-september-10-2023/ Both have Akron at #5. Will be interesting to see if Akron goes up a spot or even jumps Syracuse to 3 after the brutal #3 Portland loss to WVU when they were 5 seconds from a tie. That's right WVU scored at the 89:55 mark.

Anyone who watched them play week 1.

I wish DJ were as good at moving the chains as he is a posting cryptic tweets. If he isn't mentally tough enough to accept getting benched after some really sub par work, then he's not a D1 QB. This is big boy football. If you go 4 full quarters without moving the chains whatsoever, against mediocre competition, it's next-man-up. I would start DJ against Kentucky. He's shown well against P5 teams in the past. If we go 3-and-out repeatedly, or he makes a crippling turnover or two, then we move to Plan B.

Joe incredibly high on Nunnally, understandably so. That is as impactful a game as an Akron DL has played in a long time. Zach Morton had some flashes the last couple of years, but I'm hoping that even at his smaller size, CJ can take the role of being a feared DL in the MAC to take some of the attention to himself and get opposing teams flustered so we can generate some pass rush. It's amazing to see Joe's body language after that one. He, like us, was in disbelief of what happened that night. But, they did technically finish and win the game, which has been the goal all along. It's funny. The Zips are at 1-1 now after losing a game they should've won and winning a game they should've lost. Real close to 2-0 and just as close to 0-2.

Barstool Gambling posted about Akron's Turnover Tire. The celebratory rubber necklace is getting A LOT of run.

And to add on Kentucky struggled at home last week against their FCS team Eastern Kentucky who was beat by 50 against Cincinnati the week before.... If that Kentucky team shows up and the zips show life of offense there is a outside chance a slight one but a chance.

Changing a culture of losing is very difficult. When you have a winning culture you don't need to worry about fans fretting about PA announcers and whether the band plays enough. Winning cures most ills. Rome wasn't built in a day.

In 2017 I watched Wake Forest, with future LA Rams back up John Wolford,eek out a one point win at App State. They played terrible and deserved to lose. They had to block a couple of field goals, with the second one being the last play of the game. After that, they settled into a solid season and beat Texas A & M something like 55-52 in regular time in the Belk Bowl. It propelled the program forward. If there are terrible wins, the Zips got one yesterday. They need to take it and move on. The talent is there to be successful in the MAC. They just need to play better and get the program moving forward. Everything they probably want to accomplish is still in front of them for the taking.

#11 FIU (2-1-2) visits #5 Akron (4-0-1) Rankings are United Soccer Coaches poll through games of Sep 4, 2023 FIU's schedule thus far in 2023 W 2-1 at Oregon St W 4-0 v VCU D 0-0 v Central Arkansas D 2-2 v UCF L 1-2 v #24 New Hampshire

Assist from Fitzgerald.

Nate Williams # 76 was in street clothes the entire game. You could see the leader that he was. He was doing everything he could to encourage his teammates, even grabbing the damn tire to put over a deserving players head. If Landers comes back he will be welcome, but he needs to commit to going to class.

Who would have thought that our defense would be the reason we won the game? Lots of great plays during the game. I thought we were supposed to be a dominant team on the offensive side. The offense still hasn't scored in the second half this season! Moorhead has to get this offensive problem solved ASAP.

Undercuffler. At this point he plays. In spite of the INT's which were awful. But, the offense moved when he was in the game. Remember, they were going in for a TD when he threw that last one. When he sees the film he will see he had an open receiver underneath. Give him first team reps. Get him up to game speed. IF the coaches think Irons is going to be a distraction, they need to address the QB issue NOW. Name the starter now and stay with him and explain it to the team. Thats the coaches responsibilty. Thats part of being a HEAD coach!

Would like to see more commit to the run also. Think others do also, Make the D respect it to help slow penetration. Still would like to see some 2 back. Run a screen and/or a draw once in a while. Morgan State burned Akron with a perfectly executed middle screen. Haven't seen that very often. Let Undercuffler play from here on out. He won't make plays with his feet, but I think will take care of the ball better if he is allowed to play and the coaching staff calls a game that looks like something more than randomness at times. In the meantime, if the D-line can continue to generate pressure which we haven't seen forever the backend will get its share of turnovers.

Kentucky started 4-0 last year with wins over Miami (OH), Florida, YSU, and NIU. They proceeded to lose 6 of their next 9, including a loss to Vandy (oof) and a scoreless 21 pt loss to Iowa in their bowl game. They had a potential Heisman QB and a QB that fell to the 2nd round in the NFL draft. They finished 7-6 and lost their QB. They are beatable. The issue is, upsets typically require a QB to pull off. It took 2 pick sixes to beat Northwestern with Kato Nelson at the helm under Bowden. We'll need a similar defensive performance to have a shot with the mess of Undercuffler/Irons/Tahj. I wish I could be more confident.

Biggest game of the year so far. If the zips can get this win then the OOC schedule will be a major success!

This is not me hyping up a Zips win, but UK has been less than impressive so far. Leary has surprisingly struggled throwing the deep ball, completing one pass for over 20 yards and the Wildcat defense has been suspect. Before the season began I thought Indiana would be the best opportunity out of the two P5s. At this point, it looks like UK is it. Of course we have our own issues at QB that need to be figured out before we beat anyone else. Frustrating that the team is better in every area on the field vs 2022 except at QB.

I’m not as concerned about winning since it’s a long shot as much as I am figuring out our issues for conference play, but Kentucky only beat Eastern Kentucky by 11 last week and we were 20-something point dogs when we beat Northwestern. CFB is weird (like NIU beating BC then losing to Southern Illinois). That’s what makes it great!

Each year when a game like this hits our schedule early, I always think how Akron NEEDS a win like this. Any win against a big program could really help with interest in the Zips. I know UK isnt ranked, but going into an SEC environment and winning would be awesome. The Zips barely beat Morgan State, so I'm not holding my breath. Just simply stating how a win could do wonders.

100% true. It can be done, but the coaches have to have NFL experience. There is approximately 50% turnover per year in NFL rosters. NFL coaches simply aren't interested in coaching in college, let alone MAC levels. Sanders manages his team like an NFL GM. He's the most interesting thing to happen to college football in many years. I want to dislike him, but the more I try, the more like him. He's a very good coach and if you don't think so, you haven't watched Colorado play.

Well said. Would much rather be dissatisfied after a win rather than a loss. Defense is much improved and biggest issue on offense is QB. Undercuffler and Irons issues are different. Irons getting back to form would be good enough to have a solid season, but if not we do have a handful of options (at least on paper). Whether they are ready to step up and run the offense is another story.

I appears we have both a Turnover Tire and a Touchdown Tire, and since Devonte had a pick 6 he gets both!! 🤣🤣

You could see the first one coming. ~8 sideline passes in a row... someone's going to jump it eventually. Also the last one - losing team needing a score in desperation time... interceptions very common.

Buffalo lost to Fordham. Imagine losing to an FCS. That must be rough.

No reason to get all worked up over a non D-1 game. Psst, the football forum is over there. 😊

Looking at the box score for last night's game, the starters combined to play a total of 920 minutes. There were only 5 subs used....and 1 of them only played 16 seconds (GRRR...on stopping the clock for that sub) the 5 subs....combined to only play a total of 70 minutes. FIU is a high powered offensive team. Last year, the zips escaped with a 5-3 win. Last year, FIU really attacked the sides late in the game as Will Jackson had played the full 90 and Ashton Kamdem had played 77 minutes. (Malik was returning from injury and only played 13 minutes). Jackson was out of gas at the end of that game and FIU scored goals at 83 minutes and 85 minutes. I can certainly understand...the coaches using the 2 center backs for all 90 minutes. However, with this quick turnaround (just 70 hours from the end of Friday game to the start of Monday game), I would sure hope that Will Jackson and the starting right back only play 30 minutes to 35 minutes per half. This team is supposed to have great depth. In last night's game, only 3 subs played more than 10 minutes. I sure hope that we see more than 3 subs Monday night with more than 10 minutes. LIU was the much fresher team last night in the 2nd half. They had 5 subs with more than 10 minutes...and had 2 other subs that played 9 minutes Zips bench players....that did not get in the game last night......Rui Reis, Matt Dreas, Daniel Firek, Alen Kapic , Joshua Hardin....and Darragh Reilly only played 16 seconds I have not listed Nathan Ferguson...and Jackson Herbert....and Dyson Clapier...and others that are battling injuries are the bench players not quality players? I have heard a respected former Akron player.....is raving about how good that Daniel Firek is.....Alen Kapic looked good the other night. Rui Reis had 14 goals and 10 assists for Keiser last year. Are the players that I listed...also dealing with injury? The next 3 games....are huge for the zips....highly ranked FIU on the 11th....first big east game on the 15th...and highly ranked Notre Dame on the 19th.....I sure hope the zips depth....can be a huge factor in helping the zips go 3-0 or 2-0-1 in that stretch Minutes for last night's game Budler 90 Buechte 90 Sangwa 90 I am OK....with all 3 of those 90 minute guys above Jackson 90 Malik 90 Shokalook 90 Wan Kamal 79 Paulus 79 Tojaga 77 Gyuwon 73 Kamdem 72 subs Nano Varela 24 Stefan D. 19 Fitzgerald 17 Hallenberger 9 Reilly 16 seconds Ashton Kamdem and Malik Henry have proved to be a dynamic duo on right side...... but Johnny Fitzgerald......is high energy and high skill....sure would love to see him play more than 17 minutes Malik Henry at RB and Johnny Fitz at RW and Ashton Kamdem at LB and Dyson Clapier at LW......in the last 15 minutes of the first half.....is going to make Akron dangerous on both sides.......those 4 would be a hand ful for the next 3 teams.....late in any half.....sure hope that Dice is back Monday night (as one zno poster predicted)

Is this Joel Rodriguez's "U" connection at work, or the Cristobal/JoeMo connection at work (as @GoZips88 brought up in an offline convo)? Either way, seems like quite the get. We need to avoid being one of the teams that has been put on upset alert all day by their FCS opponent (NIU, CMU, etc.).

Yep. People are going to call this an overreaction but: fire Joe Moorhead now. By doing it now we hopefully have a head start on 2024 not being a lost season.