Leaderboard

Not sure what is meant by “general competence.” Under Mooorhead the Zips have played 13 one score games in two seasons. To my knowledge, that’s more than any other FBS program. Unfortunately, the wins have been lacking, but the team has been competitive (excluding a handful of P5/4 games). Akron has more All-Conference players than any other MAC program from the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes combined - Moorhead’s only recruiting classes that have players that have played a game. Moorhead has assembled consecutive top 3 recruiting classes in the MAC according to Rivals (2023 & 2024). The team has improved in nearly every statistical area from the 2021 season. Yes there are things can that can be called out, especially last season. For example, why wasn’t Lingard given more touches? Odd playcalling during stretches of games. Mishandling of the kickers. Etc. Outside of that, I’m not sure what more Moorhead could’ve done to this point.

Am I the source?

This is MASSIVE news.

Maybe. It certainly wasn't anyone at the ABJ.

Offer lists and what school the player commits to makes a difference in the final rankings. The top recruiting analysts at Rivals believe most G5 commits should be 2 stars. That line of thinking should really be revisited as better players are now committing to G5 schools, as the portal is taking up more of the P4 scholarships. We had several commits get downgraded to a 2 star after they committed to us. To me, that’s foolish as they are still the same player. They didn’t suddenly become a lesser player because they chose not to go P4. Recruits will also get rated based on their Rivals camp performances. Some analysts believe football production is more important (the ones that have actual coaching experience), while other analysts fall in love with measurables - stature, length, 40 time, etc. Recruits may also get ranked if an analyst sees them in one of the summer camps that many colleges hold. In general, to get as close to a fair rating as possible, recruits should attend a camp where analysts will be. Recruiting is definitely an inexact science. If 50% of the class turns out to be significant contributors, it’s usually considered a good class. 100% agree about the QB situation. I hope you’re right and we get to 6 wins.

Then again at: 6:30 PM on Wednesday, August 28th. 1:30 AM on Thursday, August 29th 10:00 AM on Thursday, August 29th

Standing up to FloSports, I love it. Hopefully some of the away games will be the same

Thank you for phrasing it this way...

Recruit ranks reflect their offer list. Many diamonds in the ruff are overlooked. Injuries could push a recruit off a big time offer. Out side of P4/5, recruit rank is suspect. Some players need more time to mature. When one looks at the turn over though out the MAC, who is to know the players who were overlooked, slowed by injuries, or late bloomers. QB play could make or break our season. I like to think positive. OOC: 1-3. MAC: 5-3. (Positive only goes so far; one must be a bit realistic.)

We’ll see if he decides to stay another year, but he has the COVID eligibility year to use if he wants it.

Big. For whatever reason, when he transferred in, I was under the impression this was his only year with us.

4-8, I guess. Normally I pick us to win a random road game every year, so I think that will be OU. Not very confident in that though. I have been too confident the last couple of seasons so I am just going to expect us to go 3-9, any worse than that is unacceptable. L @Ohio State L @Rutgers W vs. Colgate L @ South Carolina W @ Ohio L vs.Bowling Green L @ Western Michigan L vs. Eastern Michigan W vs. Buffalo L @ Northern Illinois W @ Kent State L vs Toledo

#10 Ben Finley is the hands down #1 QB. He began the scrimmage with a 20 yard pass to Adrian Norton, then a 30 yard TD to Norton. A severely blown coverage nets #88 TE Jake Newell an easy TD Ben sprinted to the endzone to celebrate The OL acquitted itself well today. The starters were #55 Blanchard, #58 Burrell, #56 Davis, #54 Williams and freshman Jayvin James at RT #15 Terrance Thomas broke up this pass intended for Adrian Norton. It was one of the few times Norton was stopped on Saturday morning. Isiah Jones made a nice over the shoulder TD catch in the back of the endzone. Boding well for the future, it came courtesy of a nice Brayden Ruggow toss. Jordon Simmons got a lot of PT today. He looks to be the #1A RB. Kellom looks to be #1B. Simmons breaks the goal line for a 10 yard TD. Tahj looked better today than in the spring, but there is no QB competition. He'll likely get some early season opportunities as we try to keep Finley as healthy as possible for MAC play. But he's entrenched at #2. Tahj moved the team down the field, but an ill-advised pass was snatched by Syracuse transfer Aman Greenwood and taken the distance for a pick 6! Like the Zips, the scoreboard remains a work in progress. Oddly enough, it's probably as effective right now as it was the past 2 seasons? Joe addresses the team after the scrimmage. Overall he was happy. He liked the physicality. I agree, as there were some hard hits, and tough running. It was a noticeable ramp up from the spring. He like that the defense generated 3 turnovers, and made several stops on 3rd and short. A few final words from the Coach before the players hit the shower. Owen Wiley hits a FG. We seem in MUCH better shape with special teams this year. The FG/XP holds were flawless. #47 and #99 hit some solid FG's. #99 and #36 both nailed KO's into the endzone. #95 Castle had some great punts. #37 Garrison Smith (McNees State transfer) kicked two second half FG's (both < 30 yards). Hoban's Grant Gainer pulls in a swing pass from Brayden Ruggow and waltzes into the endzone. #3 Jarvis Rush (Jr. JUCO from Mississippi) eyes a deep ball from Ben Finley... ... and pulls it in for the TD! A guy I am very high on is #9 Paul Lewis III (Safety). He's all over the place on coverage, physical against the run, fun personality...you will LOVE him. Shown here dapping up #13 Rodrick Hunter. Adrian Norton, celebrating after a Finley TD pass, can't be stopped in 2024. He seems to be Finley's go-to guy. He has great hands, and uses his body to shield-off defenders really well. #7 Alex Adams showed so much promise 2 seasons ago. If he could regain his 2022 form, the Zips could have a hell of an aerial attack. Other notes: Marquese Williams, the Minnesota transfer, seems to be the #3 RB. #29 Jordan Castleberry got some carries, and also scored a TD. Starting DL was #95 Andre Proffit, #90 Demitri Madden (UTEP), #16 Fr. Dahvon Frazier and #94 Kabbash Richards Bennett Adler is wearing #1 this year!?

It is really tough to keep track of the OL and DL sets in my situation. I really don't know the players numbers yet (there's maybe 40 new faces, plus some guys have changed numbers). The big guys roll up their shirts so you can barely read their numbers. And I'm running up/down the field trying to get some pics. No replays or announcers. No buddy next to you to ask "what happened?". Whatcha see is whacha get with my solo, amatuer reporting. 😀 Zips football is like a Yeti sighting. You've hear rumors it exists, but all you have to prove it is my grainy black and white footage of Joe Moorhead looking over his shoulder as he walks past that log.

I’m going. My in-laws have OSU player tickets from a dude they know that played there in the 70’s. So I’ll be the one Akron fan down low surrounded by former players, being super annoying when we score first.