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https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=21&articleId=53699&articleTitle=mens-college-takeaways-from-opening-day Akron Resurgence Akron has been a sleeping giant of sorts in recent years. The four-time national finalists have qualified for the NCAA tournament just twice since reaching the College Cup final in 2018. There was renewed excitement this season brought on by the combination of talented returners with several eye-catching transfers. A 1-1 tie with No. 2 Notre Dame away from home adds to the hope that the Zips are back to claim their position among the elite.

Here’s a few reasons why I still believe Moorhead will be successful and the program is in a far better place than the record indicates. 3 things are needed for a winning program - Culture, Coaching, and Talent. - I can’t speak to the culture at Akron as I’m not in the building or around the team, but the players I’ve spoken to that have committed are excited for the opportunity and speak highly of the program. - I believe Moorhead has assembled one of the better staffs in the MAC, despite financial restraints. - I can certainly vouch for the uptick in recruiting as I cover recruiting part time. It’s also why I correctly predicted most of our All-MAC players to eventually be named All-MAC. I’m definitely not always right, but far more right than wrong. My timeline on when the turnaround would happen was off. I thought it would happen last season. Little did I know DJI was not fully healthy. I also thought JU would be an adequate backup if called upon after seeing him play well in the spring game and seemingly progressed. That turned out to not be the case. The fact is, it’s hard to win without solid QB play. Add in all the other issues we’ve discussed adnauseam on this forum and it led to a wasted season with many close losses. The roster was in horrendous shape when Moorhead took over. There were a handful of talented players, but little talented depth at most positions. The OL and DL especially needed major upgrades. This year’s class will be just Moorhead’s third. The first class has produced 6 All-Conference players so far. Chances are the 2023 and 2024 classes will be even better. The talent and depth continues to be increased. It’s unfortunate this year’s schedule is so tough. Even if this team is much better (and I think they will be), winning just 5-6 games will likely be a challenge.

I don't know if this extends to other universities in the area (CSU, Kent, etc.) but having a direct plug into the NFL for college students is never a bad thing. I'd imagine Kaulig had a role in this, but props to whomever else was involved.

Great goal by Kuz. Good work by Stefan and Emil to set it up. Great play by Dreas. Hardin and Buebendorf did well with their limited minutes. I look forward to Kamdem getting in there. Gonna be tough losing Beto for Puerto Rico National team duty for WC qualifiers. Emil took a pounding as did Mitch Budler. Hope they’re ok. Good work not giving up a goal in the run of play. Some better decision making might have brought a W.

Lots of positives from the first night Emil is good at hold up play....very nice pass to WKWK for the goal Beto had good night at left back.... Matt Dreas is vastly improved...he had good night Josh Hardin and James Buebendorf.....both looked really good at outside back in limited minutes Malik really battled on defense...and had a near assist that forced the keeper to bat away a header from Dice I look forward to Ashton Kamdem returning from sitting out due to red card in last year big east tourney. I really think that Ashton can be a difference maker at left back. zips looked much better in the 2nd half. in my humble opinion, the zips got homered on calls in the road game at ND bring on the Buckeyes...Ohio State and Cleveland State played to a 1-1 tie tonight

That was a fun, entertaining match. Without personally having an ability to meaningfully analyze any soccer x's & o's, I simply thought it looked like the Zips got a little pissed off after ND was awarded the penalty kick & played more aggressively from that point onward, controlling most of the rest of the match. I hope they retain that fire & want to shove it down opponents throats the rest of the season.

Good, early season road result. Several Zips made their debuts and were quite good. These Zips can be dangerous if they can gel together. The depth will be important as well over a long season and manage the physical toll, so it was encouraging to see several new, and/or young players show up!

ND 1-1 AKR FT Good result. Matt Dreas seems born to play #6. He really has a knack for it. Now, if only he learned to shoot first touch from the D….

best results that help the zips VCU upset #15 Wake Forest 2-1 #12 WEstern Michigan had strong 3-1 win over #14 Vermont result that does not help Pitt 2 #16 Georgetown 0 other scores Ohio State and Cleveland State 1-1 Villanova and St. Peters 2-2 St. Francis 3 St. Bonaventure 0 Temple 1 Army 1 Marquette 2 Drexel 0 Butler 2 Southern Indiana 1 Creighton and Fla. Atlantic 0-0 Seton Hall 1 FIU 0 Providence 2 Quinnipac 0 Xavier and N. Kentucky 0-0 Rhode Island 2 St. Johns 0 U Conn 6 Stone Hill 0 IU Indy 2 UIW 0 DePaul leads UIC 4-1 at 74 Wright State opens their season tomorrow night against Bowling Green

This seems like a good idea, and I'm pretty sure that the new UA President, Nemer, must be beind this initiative.

Perhaps this was already shared, but just in case, here is a podcast with the winningest QB in Akron history: Interview with Tommy Woodson

I’ll often put it in the position previews and usually state which players I think are primed for it after the spring game. I think the most likely candidates this year regardless of class are: QB - Ben Finley WR - Alex Adams (2022 1st Team) WR - Adrian Norton TE - Jacob Newell OL - Laurance Seymore OL - Da’Quan Thomas DE - CJ Nunnally (2023 1st Team) LB - Bryan McCoy (2023 3rd Team) LB - Antavious Fish NB - Darrian Lewis S - Paul Lewis That said, we’d probably have to come close to winning the conference to get that many. Jones and Fish were deserving last year, but no way we were going to get them all with the few wins we had. It’s also about time for this offense to feed the RBs more. Even if that’s the case, if we are splitting touches between Simmons and Kellom, I’m not sure either one would have enough stats to make an All-MAC team. I’d also like to say Blanchard, but injuries are a concern. One of the DTs may also make it. Marcus Moore has the highest upside, although Lavea and Kapongo will probably get the most snaps in 2024. 2023: Adrian Norton Jacob Newell Laurance Seymore Jayvin James Marcus Moore CJ Nunnally (2023 1st Team) Kam Cheatom 2024: Israel Polk Tristen Graham Elijah Davis Ronald Hull Rich Benenge Paul Lewis Elijah Reed Daymon David Rodrick Hunter

That was a great podcast. Thanks for sharing @Blue & Gold Here’s a summary: Adapting to Modern Players (00:00-01:30): Moorhead emphasizes the importance of adapting leadership and coaching styles to the modern-day player, as traditional methods are no longer effective. Quarterback Leadership (01:31-02:45): Moorhead prefers a quarterback who is aggressive yet not reckless, with unquestionable confidence, rejecting the idea of a "game manager." Career Influences (02:46-04:00): Throughout various coaching positions, Moorhead has learned valuable lessons at each stop, with some of the most impactful experiences occurring at Penn State and Fordham. Penn State Turnaround (04:01-06:00): At Penn State, he helped instill confidence in an offense that previously struggled, particularly focusing on revitalizing the offensive line. Big Ten Championship Season (06:01-07:15): A turning point in the Big Ten Championship season was a pivotal moment during the Minnesota game, which led to a strong finish. Fordham Experience (07:16-09:00): As a head coach at Fordham, Coach learned how to manage time effectively and handle multiple responsibilities, helping to quickly turn around a struggling program. Adapting to NIL and Transfer Portal (09:01-10:30): He discusses the challenges of building a program in the current college football landscape, where the NIL and transfer portal have changed traditional recruiting and program-building methods. Program Building at Akron (10:31-12:00): Coach acknowledges the difficulty of balancing the need for immediate wins with the long-term goal of building a sustainable program culture at Akron. Mississippi State Reflections (12:01-14:00): Reflecting on his time at Mississippi State, Moorhead highlights the contrast between public perception and the actual achievements, emphasizing lessons learned from that experience. Future of College Football (14:01-15:30): Moorhead speculates that college football may see a split between schools that can afford to invest heavily in their programs and those that cannot, due to the growing financial disparities.

It ends in a 1-1 draw.

Can't believe we didn't partner with the Steelers instead. We have an in with the QB coach!

UA is now the official University of the Cleveland Browns. https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/university-of-akron-teams-up-with-cleveland-browns-in-multi-year-strategic-partnership

as you saw, no for regular season. My understanding is golden goal returns for the post season when OT is needed.

I completely agree. I thought they were much more aggressive. It led to more possession and our only goal.

Great result to start the season against the #2 team in the season. Malik Henry is an absolute game changer with his speed and grit.

Notre Dame already with their 4th offsides of the game.

20 minutes in and no score.

3-10 in one-score games means they're really good at finding ways to lose. Doesn't feel generally competent to me. I do understand your general optimism with how things are looking down the line. I don't share it for a second because they're 7-47 in their last five seasons, and Moorhead's win percentage is marginally above Arth's (and exactly the same as Arth's last two seasons). I do acknowledge that I could be wrong and they really are on their way to being average.

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

Inside the casino is fine... the problem is the loiterers/panhandlers outside on Public Square. That was Mary Jane you were smelling away from the casino.

This is MASSIVE news.

The Akron football Twitter and Instagram accounts actually do a pretty good job of posting a lot of pictures and videos but there is zero coverage in regards to what is actually happening. It would be nice to see a few interviews with some coaches or players. It’s unbelievable how little the ABJ does to cover this team. I’m not asking for a daily report but maybe one every few weeks??

I think we will be improved enough that we won't lose to all of OU, BG, WMU, EMU and NIU. Glad we don't play the RedBricks. Rockets at Infocision Nov. 26 for an ESPN Maction matchup with a chance for the Zips to go bowling.