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This week's very very very painful advanced box score: https://collegefootballdata.com/boxscore/401520256 This one will sting for a very, very long time. Obviously, the Michigan game 10 years ago would have been far more seismic, but this one felt so much different because this Akron team, in the 2nd half, finally began to show flashes of its potential. The defense could wind up being a unit that finishes in the top third of the MAC as far as overall effectiveness. They're starting to create some turnovers too. And a couple of the huge chunks of yardage they gave up on Saturday were on great deep balls by Jackson, both at Tallandier which could be something to keep an eye on. These linebackers are a joy to watch, imagine if Bubba was still here! Offensively, though N. Williams had about 35 holding calls, I feel the OL did a nice job. Indiana didn't seem like they wanted to pressure the QB as much as most teams Akron plays, so DJ was able to stay in the pocket a little longer and make some throws. This was as close to the 2022 DJ that we have seen, for better or for worse. I still don't see him as a QB that is able to be aggressive and go out and win games with his arm, but his effectiveness running the ball was outstanding. If Jackson makes that kick, you'd probably give him the game ball. But DJ willed Akron to that position. Having an offense based on generating yardage through scrambling isn't what I want to see, but having that as a threat with the playmakers on this team could be huge. When you give the ball to Lingard, good things happen. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that. Every time he has the ball, he runs hard and finds space, like he's shot out of a cannon. You can see the 5* DNA he has. Same with Anderson, for that matter. Very disappointing that Adams dropped the big TD. Great throw, would have swung momentum like crazy. Such a big coulda-woulda-shoulda. And I really feel for Jackson. He is a great kicker and punter and I was so bummed for him and the team when that kick went wide. It's just one of those funny intangible things--not knowing how to win. The second Bowden year saw quite a bit of that. Close losses to Louisiana and Michigan, close win against an FCS, and they looked awful the first few games of MAC play. The 2023 Zips are in a similar spot. They should be 2-2, funny enough with one of those losses to Morgan State. I stand by what I said about Moorhead teams having some discipline issues. That happened at Mississippi State and it seems to be happening here as well. This teams does enough to shoot themselves in the foot during plays, getting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Indiana proved to be costly. All in all, there were again so many self-inflicted wounds and this team still had an easy win and gave it away, on the road against a bad Big Ten team. You gotta win that game. I hope this is a better lesson in urgency than the close losses to Temple and MAC teams. It's time to start expecting to not only compete, but to WIN against teams who have similar talent. They are a favorite over an FBS team for the first time since hosting Bowling Green in 2020. Before that, in 2019 they were 10-point favorites at UMass. Akron fans haven't walked through the gates of Infocision Stadium to see their Zips be a favorite over the visitors in nearly 5 calendar years. If ever there were a time to put up or shut up, it is now. Let's go 1-0 this week. Go Zips!

DJI named MAC offensive player of the week.

Busy weekend, so just some notes off the top of my head. - This team talks way too much to the opposing team and to opposing fans. It’s a sign of being undisciplined and it came back to bite us in crucial situations. That needs to be cleaned up. - Outside of the two interceptions, Irons was the best he’s looked this season. He moved around well in the pocket, was able to push the ball downfield, and his scrambling ability was a difference maker. - Most of the pressure came from the right side of the OL between K. Davis and N. Williams. Williams struggled mightily against the speed of Indiana’s edge rushers. - The DTs did a great job all game keeping the OL off the linebackers. McCoy, Fish, and Cooper were routinely running free to the ball. - There were several option plays Indiana ran that would have gashed us last year, but the athleticism and discipline of our DEs and LBs stood out. - Speaking of the LBs, McCoy had a standout performance with 12 total tackles and seemed to always be around the ball. - The red zone and goal line stands by the defense were incredibly impressive. DT Kyle Thomas was stout in that area again. - Good for Andrew Behm. I’ve been critical of his play and it was nice to see him snag the interception. - KJ Martin had one of his best games as a Zip. Too bad he dropped an interception that could have iced the game. - Special Teams once again created another turnover. Unfortunately, once again missed at least one field goal, which was another missed opportunity for this team. - The identity of this offense has to be to run the football first. Lingard saw his most touches with 14 attempts and produced 113 yards and a touchdown. He was close to breaking a few other runs. I’ll continue to say it, give him the ball. Between the running ability of Irons/Bullock and Lingard/Anderson, is what will keep the offense on the field and eventually open up more one on one deep ball opportunities. It will also limit turnovers. - Total Yardage: Akron = 474 Indiana = 282 - Time of Possession: Akron = 34:24 Indiana = 25:36 This team could be 3-1 or 0-4. Instead, we’re 1-3 heading into MAC play. I thought the team would have turned the corner by now, but we are still fighting some of the same issues of finishing games with 2 losses of a combined 5 points. Sooner or later this group will put it all together. Side note: Blanchard went out with what looked like a knee injury and did not return. QB - Irons (Bullock) (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (Anderson) WR - Gathings (Walker) WR - Adams (Golden) WR - George (Norton) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Blanchard (Chambers) LG - Frank (Kilbane) C - T. Williams RG - K. Davis (Kilbane) RT - Chambers (N. Williams) DE - R. Johnson (Adler) DT - Lavea (K. Thomas) DT - T. Jones (Robinson) DE - Nunnally (A. Smith) (L. Jackson) LB - Fish (Behm) LB - Cooper (McCoy) NB - C. Thomas (Lewis) CB - Hunter (Durant) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) S - KJ Martin (C.Thomas) S - N. Thompson (C. Thomas)

I can see Ohio and Miami being losses, and potentially CMU with it being on the road. With that said, PCCC and Buffalo are not as good as Akron overall and we should win those. Additionally, NIU seems to made no improvements from last year, and we seem to be Bowling Green's boogey team for their coach Scott Loeffler. BG got drilled by Ohio, and with my dad being a BGSU alum, he's not very confident for the team. EMU could go either way, depends on which Akron team shows up. Overall I think at least 4-4. Buffalo, Kent, BG, NIU I see us winning. CMU and EMU are toss ups, OU and Miami are likely losses. If we can snag a bowl game this year, that would be a severe morale boost from the nightmares we've seen the past few seasons.

I simply do not see Akron losing this game. (Bite my tongue, I should know better) Buffalo is bad, REALLY bad. I had higher expectations for them to be at least a 4-8/5-7 caliber team (much like us and the school in Portage Co.) However, they will be lucky to pull off 3 wins this year on second thought. Kentucky game was a poor showing, and Temple and Indiana showed us again Akron is competitive, but has a tough time closing games. I think head to head, every team we've played so far is confidently better than Buffalo. INCLUDING Morgan State. I say 27-17 Zips.

After 4 weeks and just about all of nonconference play, things at the top may be coming into focus even more. Top tier: Toledo, Ohio, Miami--Toledo loses their QB, not sure for how long. He has had trouble with injury in the past. Ohio looks like they may be the best team. If Rourke doesn't go down in week 0, there's a decent chance they would be 5-0. Miami coasted against a bad FCS team this week, and their best WR went out with injury. We'll see how serious. OLI (oustide looking in): Central Michigan has entered the conversation. The Chips have put Jase Bauers at QB and gave ND a game last week, and this week they go to South Alabama and come out with a win. A week ago, USA went to Okie St. and won by 4 touchdowns. McElwain seems to have this program back on track after the disaster last year. Joining the Chips, I'll put EMU here. They get shut out vs. a G5, but I still see them as a good MAC team that maybe just had a bad day. With that said, their offense has left much to be desired and I think Eagles fans were expecting more this year. After all, it took a small miracle to beat UMass at home last week. Maybe?: Akron has shown very few flashes of brilliance in what has been a SSDD type of season through 4 games. If they play to their reasonable potential, and I say that as a skeptical homer, they could easily be 3-1. Kind of wild how close they are to that considering the mean of what they've put on the field so far. Only way to prove they have turned the corner--win this week. I'll put Bowling Green in this tier as well. They had a somewhat respectable showing at Liberty, a comfy FCS win, some moments against Michigan....and then the Maple Missile rolled into town and embarrassed them. They were down 31-0 at half and OU cruised to 38-7. QB situation is a mess, coach is a mess, players ejected, personal fouls. Now is the time for Akron to make noise in the MAC East with other programs having so many issues. Things are looking bleak: NIU had a lot of hype. Lombardi back, Rudolph back, week one win vs. ACC team, then it all came crashing down. They're a mess right now, have benched Lombardi, and have lost 7 consecutive games at home. That is amazing. At the peak of Arth ball, I think Akron's home losing streak eventually made it to 8? Ball State was a bit of a wild card coming into this year. Lots of new faces at skill positions. Brutal schedule to start the year with Kentucky and Georgia, but beat a bad FCS team. Then a solid G5 in GaSo comes to town and dominates for 60 minutes. 40-3 final. Neu has been here a while now and done a nice job, we'll see how long his leash is. The Bottom: Kent, WMU, and UB are all in the bottom third, possibly along with Ball State. But I'll give the Cards the benefit of the doubt--for now. Kent had a nice showing at Arkansas and then crushed a bad FCS team. Then Fresno nearly has a perfect game (TD on every drive). WMU has shown some flashes of life, leading Toledo for quite a while this weekend. The Broncos have a little rushing attack, but not much else. Now Buffalo, a fascinating and puzzling team. Maybe they were a bit like the 2017 Zips last year, using some fluky turnovers and luck to get to 6-6. But this 0-4 start has fans ready to be done with Linguist. They have a decent QB by bad MAC standards, a couple decent backs, and a couple of great individual players on defense. But, they sit winless getting ready to come to Akron. I'm horrified. That said, I think any of the 3 teams in the lowest tier are capable of winning a game or two in MAC play. The league as a whole is not very good unfortunately, and even more unfortunately, it looks like the Zips are still way closer to the pack than we thought. I hope we are proven wrong, because there are potentially quite a few wins on this schedule.

A lot of rehashing of a lot of rehashing. The coaches and players must treat the UB game as a 'must' win. Whether they are favored or not, they can't lose this one. Being favored doesn't get a win. This could be a trap game for Akron if they have a big let down early. Coaches can't let that happen. If they put up the offense numbers they put up against Indy, and they cut the TO's and stupidity. Lets see if last week was a mirage or if this team has finally arrived.

The "Field of 68" puts out an incredible comprehensive preview almanac. I'm probably biased since they are very high on the Zips, but it seems like, somehow, they put in the homework on all 360+ D1 teams. Best $20 I spent this year. They have Akron winning the MAC too. They have the Zips #4 in their preseason mid-major top 25. No other MAC team is in it. They have Enrique Freeman as their #4 Mid-Major player to watch. Again, no other MAC players made the cut. Some snippets from their Akron review: "The 2022 NCAA Tournament appearance is still fresh in the minds of Zip nation. Usually, it’s a stretch to draw parallels between teams two years apart. However, there are some déjà vu vibes brewing with this 2024 rendition." "As a coach, it’s not always wise to look backwards and fixate on what worked in the past. Today, competitors adapt, players change and the game itself continuously evolves. For John Groce, however, a stroll down the 2022 memory lane may illuminate a proven path back to the NCAA Tournament in 2024." "The boomerang transfer return of Ali Ali will light the way, as will the impending return of Mikal Dawson, a quasi-starter on the 2022 squad who missed last season with injury. The reunion of Ali and Dawson is a storybook backdrop to what could be a special season for the Zips. " "Don’t let Sammy Hunter get lost in the frontline shuffle, especially after his coming-out party in March." "Rookie Darrion Baker is a man-child in the middle and may be plugged in to bigger bully lineups. If he played anywhere else in the league, Baker could be a fringe starter." "In short, Akron’s combination of depth, talent and experience is second to none in this league." "In the team’s foreign tour this summer, Freeman displayed a newfound comfort zone along the perimeter, including shooting 3s off movement. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the league, assuming he can convert at a high clip. The same goes for Dawson, who must regain his shooting stroke and shake off a year’s worth of rust." "Don’t dismiss this perimeter nucleus. There are question marks, sure, but Groce’s hit rate with freshmen and transfers deserves the benefit of the doubt. " "The bedrock of the backcourt is Greg Tribble, a defensive specialist who sets the tone for Akron’s coverage. Tribble’s offensive limitations can be frustrating, but his defensive value more than outweighs those flaws. He’ll be asked to run point in spurts this year, though his upside as a lead creator is limited by his rim-or-bust shot diet." "Another guard on deck is Ryan Prather Jr., a former three-star recruit who redshirted last season. It’s not often three-star prospects are slapped with the redshirt tag in this conference, further proof of Akron’s depth and robust internal competition. Groce said Prather was still nursing an injury over the summer, so he may not be cleared to play until fall." "The rocketship that is Hunter, coupled with the return of Dawson, gives Groce an endless supply of wings and forwards to play with." "The roster imbalance, however, portrays the perimeter as the Zips’ weakness. Whether that’s actually true or just a misnomer, comes down to Thornton, Scott, Tribble, Nate Johnson and Tavari Johnson. Collectively, this quintet runs the gamut of prototypes — but none is a bona fide scorer." "'Guys like Xavier Castaneda, and (Loren) Cristian Jackson — those guys were scorers,' Groce said. 'Our scoring this year will be carried from the frontline. We need the point guards to make open shots, but their primary job will be facilitating for others and defending.' On that note, role acceptance will also be pivotal this season."

Big disparity in rankings this week... College Soccer news has the zips at #5 Top Drawer soccer has the zips at #17 Akron is #42 in RPI this morning college coaches poll will come out around 4 pm eastern time on Tuesday according to college soccer news, there are 9 teams in Division 1 college soccer...that have not lost a match this year. Marshall 8-0-0 West Virginia 6-0-2 Akron 5-0-4 Missouri St 5-0-1 Michigan St 5-0-2 Northwestern 7-0-2 North Carolina 4-0-3 San Diego State 6-0-1 SIU-Edwardsville 5-0-2 edit on 9/27.....just saw that Old Dominion has no losses....Old Dominion - 3 wins , 0 losses and 5 ties

How in the world did Morgan State get into the SEC???

This team will win games, this year to be exact. Our coaching is good with the potential to be great. Our talent is no longer an issue. Yet we still find a way to lose. Maddening as this is I believe it is due to one issue, discipline, mental discipline. Repeatedly we find ourselves in position to win, yet we don't. An argument can be made that we could be 4-0, certainly 3-1. Mental discipline is the difference. We have not found a way to gain that extra 1-2% that separates winning from finding a way to lose. Though I believe some on the team have it. First Lingart, Fish, McCoy and Jones comes to mind. There are many more, yet not enough. This lack of mental discipline was seen last night in: Three interceptions (two due to DJ locking on one receiver and not following his progression; one due to Undercuffler throwing behind Banks) Unsportmanlike conduct on Frank for stupidly jumping IU players on their sideline leading to the loss of a much needed 1st down Two S & C coaches leaving our bench and crossing all the way to the other side of the field to restrain our players and antagonize the refs. Inexcusable! Dropped TD pass by Adams with no one around Repeated holding calls on N. Williams Missed gimme FG by Jackson Dropped interception by KJ Martin that may have sealed the game Unsportsmanlike conduct on Gaithings pushing an IU DB in front of the ref after he had secured a 1st down catch These mistakes alone amounted to near 20% of our offensive plays. We are our own worst enemy. Correct our mistakes and we win consistently. Joe and staff will get us there. Mental discipline comes slowly, but when we get it this team will roll. And it will begin this season. Just my thoughts.