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Talk about letting a prime opportunity go to waste. QB: I think we all knew this offense would go as Finley went, and unfortunately he picked a bad night to have one of his worst games. I honestly expected a lot more from both teams and came away disappointed. Granted, it’s Week 1 and there’s plenty of time to improve, but the offense won’t get much better if Finley doesn’t take a big step forward. He consistently missed throws that we saw him make with ease last year. The most concerning part is Wyoming isn’t a good team and probably won’t win many more games this season. RB: Patrick was as dynamic as expected. I don’t have the stats to back it up, but I’m almost certain our yards after contact dropped significantly after he went down. He’s a true playmaker, and we need him on the field. Gant looked dinged up to me. His vision and elusiveness were there, but he didn’t show much burst or explosiveness. M. Williams did fine with the opportunities he got, though he’s not on the same level as the first two backs. WR: The one good deep ball Finley threw was dropped by Adams, and that pretty much set the tone for the passing game. I don’t recall Adams getting many, if any, targets after that drop. I was also left wondering why Mason didn’t see many targets earlier—he made a few catches late, and it’s clear he brings something the other receivers don’t. There’s definitely talent in this group, and they’ll need to come down with some tough catches, but there weren’t many quality balls to work with. TE: Outside of some decent blocks in the run game, we got very little from this position. Newell did not suit up and our other tight ends did not make much of an impact. OL: Coming into the season I felt good about the IOL and had more concerns with the OTs. As it turned out, the tackles held up fine while the interior had issues in pass protection. There were also several times when the pocket was there for Finley to step into, but he bailed and scrambled into trouble—very reminiscent of early 2024. Overall, the OL was serviceable in the run game and created some holes. I’m not calling this a top-half MAC unit by any stretch, but they did enough to give the offense a chance. I think our two OTs (Johnson and King) played the entire game. DL: JUCO transfer DT Julien Laventure was a terror against Wyoming’s All-MWC linemen. Defensive ends Dall and Durham had their moments too. The rest of the DL may not have stood out individually, but they did a solid job holding their ground and making life tough on the OL. Credit to our new defensive line coach for landing Laventure. Now the focus has to be on developing some depth for when he comes off the field. LB: I’ll be honest, I didn’t see any drop-off in our linebacker play from last year. Multiple guys rotated in, and from what I could tell, they were rarely out of position or missing tackles. Summers and Cooper took the majority of snaps. True freshman Markus Boswell managed to come up with an interception in limited play. CB: I thought our cornerbacks were excellent in both coverage and run support. Granted, Wyoming really only had one true playmaker at receiver, but as a group the corners held up well. DeWalt, White (before injury), and Reed especially stood out. NB: I could be wrong here, but I’m fairly confident saying I counted several missed tackles that turned into big plays in the run game, plus a key reception in the 4th quarter by a receiver who wasn’t anything special. We definitely missed Darrian Lewis. Hopefully play at this spot improves quickly. S: Anderson picked up right where he left off last year, and his running mate was mostly DiMarco Johnson. Both stepped up at different times and looked well prepared. ST: Outside of a long missed 49(?) yard field goal, special teams were excellent. The lone kickoff was deep, punting and coverage were fantastic—no major mistakes in any area. Coaching: Offensively, I thought the game plan was fine, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I liked how often we ran the ball in the first half and tried to get it our best playmaker, Patrick. Normally, that’s a formula for success. But throwing the ball in the end zone after punishing Wyoming’s defense with the run on that drive was inexcusable. The sad part? I even said out loud, “we better not throw the ball here,” and sure enough… In no universe should this team be getting shut out by a not-so-good (to be polite) Wyoming team. Defensively, we gave up too many yards, but the unit made big stops repeatedly. Can’t fault the defense for this loss. Rotation: QB: Finley Johnson RB: Patrick Gant M. Williams WR: Adams Polk Louis Mason Grear Walker Monterio TE: Cravaack Whisner LT D. Johnson LG McManus A. Jones C Lyons Morris RG Davis Archer RT King DE: Durham D. Frazier Dall Cheatom Duncan DT: Laventure Mixon Hull Murphy LB: Cooper Boswell Summers Spriggs CB: White DeWalt Reed Kamara NB: Al. Branch Thomas Aa. Branch S: Johnson Al. Branch Anderson Al. Branch ST: KO - Wiley K - Wiley P - Castle Johnson I checked PFF against what I thought I saw and they have some players listed that I don’t remember seeing: Hunter Madden Vega Benenge J. Frazier Top Rated on Offense (At least 20 snaps): (RB) Patrick (RT) King (LG) A. Jones (LT) D. Johnson (RB) Gant Top Rated on Defense (At least 20 snaps): (LB) Summers (LB) Cooper (DT) Laventure (CB) DeWalt (S) J. Anderson

The last time I've seen 11 guys struggle this badly to score was back in college when I took my fraternity brothers to 69 Taps

I want to thank the Zip fans for their hospitality and kindness during our game. We found parking across from the stadium on a dirt field. The Akron fans there assured us it was OK and subjected us to some friendly ribbing about the game. I apologize for not getting over to the tailgates as we were late getting to the stadium and made it to our seats as the Zips kicked off. I was amused by comments of the Zips fans about their team's performance because the Wyoming fans were saying essentially the same things about the Cowboy's performance on their board. To me, it was a contest between two closely matched teams and the Pokes were lucky to pull it out. Eliminate the one interception, make the missed field goal and a couple more made plays and Akron would have won. So thanks again for your hospitality and here's hoping the Zipx win the rest of their games.

The TV experience was worse. Reghi continued to call out the wrong players when doing the play by play and a few times even got the down wrong. The TV was showing the player's name on his jersey but Reghi was not watching the monitor. It was ugly. And how many times can he indicate our coach is an offensive genius when we cannot score a point. And how many times can we watch the same wrestling commerical? 50 times and counting.

Should’ve built a new basketball arena in 2009 instead.

Fourth year and I'm still waiting for evidence of the offensive guru.

I’m sorry if this announcer on espn is a student but it’s rough. He just said recuperates the ball.

You misunderstand my point. That game was an awful bore to watch. As for the Top of the MAC competing with the Bottom of the Big Ten ... so what? It's not good football. The bottom of the Big Ten is awful, which means the top of the MAC is awful. It's not good football, and it's not particularly interesting or fun to watch. And pretending Akron is going to become that is just being silly. It's not, and it's time to STOP WASTING THE MONEY ON IT, all while the University is underpaying professors, cutting programs and shortchanging students. Akron CANNOT compete, and it's time to stop this farce.

Great question. I'm guessing the answer is yes. I didn't think this until I read Captain Kangaroo's report of the event held in west Akron before the season. When a coach openly bellyaches at a public event about all the things he doesn't have, he's finished. If you give a crap about how the program is viewed publicly, you don't do that.

Agreed. Akron Football is NEVER GOING TO BE COMPETITIVE and we need to stop living the fantasy. I watched the first hour of the OU vs Rutgers game too, which was remarkably boring, and both teams sucked balls. There needs to be a reckoning in college athletics, and this crap has to end.

Laventure was all over the place. The "stats" really didn't add up, 1 solo and 3 assisted but he was constantly causing havoc and running loose. Hull had 2 assisted tackles Hall 1 solo 2 assisted 1 QBH and 2 deflections (1 led to the int that I thought was going to change the momentum) Durham 1 solo tackle (TFL) 3 assisted I could be wrong but I believe he was on the field for 70 of the 75 offensive snaps, not including special teams. Cheatom 1 assisted tackle 1 pass deflectoin Mixon 1 solo tackle 2 assisted He came up HUGE on the fourth and 1 in the tight red zone. At the time it was 3-0 and I thought was going to give Zips a surge. I thought the LBs played well and the CBs helped out a lot on the outside runs. 1 QBH and 0 sacks is not going to cut it.. I do think that Laventure could have gotten credit for at least 1 or 2 QBH's but these stats came straight from the Akron statisticians. McManus played very well I thought for a true freshman. Stepped in and played well. It seemed early the OL was doing well and by half way through the third it started to fall apart. The sack that knocked them out of field goal range was the back breaker I thought. I thought Finley looked scared and extremely timid. He seemed to be short arming a lot I saw him rotating his arm like maybe it was sore or tight. He was throwing off his backfoot a lot and ducking. His reads and timing seemed off. Patrick looked great. For what it is worth the announcers said at half that Zips had 117 total yards offense and Patrick had 75? He looks like he could take it to the house on any play. Scott ran with ease through the line. It is not going to get any better this weekend. Nebraska's RB runs hard and Raiola completed 33 times of 42 attempts 2 tds, no ints Zips better figure out how to get pressure on him. A 68 yard punt in the air was insane. There were chances for the Zips to capitalize and they just couldn't. Wyoming did not respect or fear them and it was evident. Zips did not deserve to win that game, but they certainly could have.

Akron is certainly the school for a punter to be able to showcase their talent.

That would be one damn short line.

They have been do that for years. Last year 15,000 free tickets distributed to various organizations. Around 150 redeemed. Joe Akron just doesn't give a crap about UA football. We would draw the same if we were competing against Mount Union and other D3 programs at 1/10th the cost. Figure out how to let soccer and basketball compete at a higher level without pretending we can compete in football.

Knowing how Akron operates they will just likely keep throwing more good money after bad. We give Kent sh*t for obvious reasons, but at least their board saw the changes coming to football and had the foresight to give up trying to compete altogether. Instead focusing their attention on other sports like basketball and baseball. Fortunately for us we have Bud heavily involved with basketball. Otherwise our basketball program would likely be decaying from its former glory leaving us with nothing. Akron isn't in a position financially to try to compete in football. A situation that's likely not going to improve considering Cuyahoga, Summit, and Stark County are all projected to lose 15%+ of their population by 2050. Football is where everyone is throwing their money. Basketball provides more bang for the buck and has lower overhead costs.

In today's age of the "haves and have nots" and the continued misery brought on by this program, I think I've heard enough of the "we can't be in the MAC if we don't play FBS football" explanation. Maybe it's time to just blow this damn thing up and figure it out, with an emphasis on concentrating what we're good at (basketball; soccer).

Crazy how quickly people forgot about losing to a 4-7 FCS school. This wasn't even in the bottom 20 worst loses since I've been a fan. At least this was still a game late in the 4th qtr. I've seen countless Akron games in the past against other G5s that were over by half-time.

I'm willing to say it's early with the new AD. But it's going to get late early, too.

Game day experience: 1) One ticket window open and I ask how much is it to sit in lower bowl-all we have is upper level seating...what? 2) infocision is in need of repair, ponding water in upper deck with water leaking below in a lot of spots 3) how do we not have an led ribbon board on both sides, only between the 35 yd lines showing towards the home side. It would make the stadium pop with a full led ribbon on both sides 4) Hey team shop, can we get maybe some mini speed helmets? I was among 3 people that asked. (Why do I want one, I ask that same question as to why I fly the A flag on game day) 5) Why are the speakers so loud? 6) Final rant, hey band knock it off for maybe one play? The game, horrible per usual as this is a poorly coached offense. I give the D some credit.

Football program doesn’t deserve a dime from anyone. Nobody should go to their games. Go watch some soccer and basketball. Ridiculous

There won't be many MAC teams that score zero points this week. In 2025, it's almost impossible to get shut out. It's a level of malpractice ranking right up there with a doctor amputating the wrong leg. Wyoming isn't even a very good team. Joe is finished. They can fire him tomorrow or they can wait until the end of the season. I really don't care when. If they fire him now, it makes the type of fan who always wants to fire the coach happy, but they will probably want to fire two replacements by the end of the season. That level of Nihilism is insatiable. I don't think it matters either way, but I don't care at this point. The program isn't dead, but it's close.

At least we have soccer tomorrow night to take the sting off this one.

Look at the positives here. for one they’re saving a lot of money on fireworks.

I get it. He's underfunded. How about giving the school and the Akron sports fans some reason to provide you with more funding? Awful football and making zero effort to engage the community, while alienating donors, won't bring you more money. John Groce is 53 years old. Joe Morehead is 51. I see a hell of a lot more energy and efforts at engagement out of Groce. As a result, his program gets my money, not the losing program that acts like it couldn't care less about my fandom.

Dear god the ESPN+ experience was awful. Reghi needs to retire, and the ESPN+ crew couldn't even put the proper down and distance. It would just sit there blank. And why are there so many commercial breaks for ESPN+? It makes no freaking sense, and the game was so boring anyways so it's all just insane. Dear god watching the grainy GoZips.com feed of the games back in the 2010s was better than this crap.

I know right now it's too early. But when is the "right" time to start looking at RPI? Currently we're at 91, but it isn't based on much right now with such a small sample.

Just remember, every coach looks better when their entire roster is 5 star recruits. That has a lot to do with his past success.

I always say the athletic department should benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron. Regardless of outcome, did the athletic department do all it could last night to benefit these five groups?

No, in my opinion, this was the most embarrassing for me. We're in year 4 of a highly paid, highly touted offensive minded HC. We're banned from postseason play because an archaic and apparently subjective NCAA academic standard. We have a very, VERY favorable schedule that should('ve) allowed us a chance to push the NCAA to drop the punishment, and we come out against a really bad Wyoming team and put up 0 points. 0. We scored vs Ohio State last year and can't score vs Wyoming this year. Unbelievably pathetic and embarrassing.

The problem is we are a cupcake in the FBS and have been one for much of the past 10 years. Saying a mid MAC team could win 7 games with this schedule is irrelevant as we haven't proven ourselves to be one. Outside of Kent and Duquesne I wouldn't feel comfortable penciling in any "for sure" wins. That's not me saying we will only win two games, but those are the only ones I'm confident in us winning. Getting to 7 wins when you're an underdog (many of which 10+ points) in all but 3 or 4 games is a challenge.

Crisis averted, it appears

Will Viking basketball teams be playing in the "open air stadium"?? 🤭

They should give away thousands of tickets. Seems to be the right price for the product.

I certainly wasn't as high on the Zips as some on this board, but I bought into the idea that we should at least match our 2024 win total and maybe fight for bowl eligibility (even though that doesn't actually matter this year). For me, it was mostly because I was excited to see what Finley could do in a second year in the system with what I believed were some quality (for the MAC) playmakers. I can't believe how bad the offense looked tonight. It is incredibly obvious that there is no trust in anyone except for Sean Patrick to make plays, with how much they were trying to force the ball to him, and he got hurt and was out of uniform for the whole second half. I'm also incredibly frustrated that the Zips brought in a new guy to pretend to be Tahj Bullock, which just means come in for a single play, an obvious QB run for 3 yards, and then leave again.

It's a 6-7 win schedule for even a bad football program. The regression tonight on offense wasn't on my bingo card. This was the most embarrassing loss I've ever witnessed as an Akron football fan.

Best of luck to the folks who have to try to sell tickets to this garbage.

2 straight plays where Finley panicked and ran into the defenders instead of stepping into the pocket

Hiring him wasn't a bad decision given his offensive background elsewhere. Not firing him if they lose tonight is a bad decision. But this program isn't serious, so I don't see any chance of that.

Offensive Genius they say. I want to kick Joe Morehead's tired looking ass and everyone responsible for bringing that overrated thief to Akron. We can't score on goddamn Wyoming on our own lawn and I bet some of you down by the river homers will still defend him to the hilarious end. End Rant

Fire JoeMo. Make Tibesar the interim coach. Go find a homeless guy to coach the offense.

Well Finley is going back out there it looks, so don't count on it.

Yes, $2 Long Island night. Back when handing the bartender $5 was enough for 2 drinks plus tip.

If Finley isn't benched, the AD that's been very visible in the stadium needs to fire Moorhead before the game ends.

Here we go! First and goal!

INTERCEPTION!

I'm ready to see the next QB. Thank goodness the defense is playing really well so far.

I agree. Summers and Cooper have seemed to have really stepped up to cover our losses in the lb corp.

This is the reason why Bill Belichick benched Drew Bledsoe for Tom Brady. A shell shocked QB is a good reason to bench one. Findley has been under siege his entire time at Akron like Bledsoe was. It just happens.

Wyoming 3-0. Good stand by the defense after the facemask. Hopefully the offense can get untracked

Feeling old today. Officially not even a young alumni anymore