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What a great atmosphere to be among the Zips fans at Xavier supporting our team on the road. Significant contingents of Matt Dreas', Ashton Kamdem's, and Jack Roman's family and friends and Zips Men's Soccer alumni players and/or family.

QB: Finley found his rhythm in the second half, getting the ball out quicker and settling into the flow of the game. The first half was more of a roller coaster. Ultimately, he did enough to get the job done and lead a few scoring drives. Finley’s 38-yard touchdown run should’ve been a loss, but instead turned into the best run of his career. RB: There wasn’t a ton of running room for the backs, but Gant made some nice cuts to squeeze out yards where there wasn’t much to work with. Gant and Patrick combined for 104 yards on the ground. WR: The negative: there were four drops in the game, most of which came in the first half. Outside of that, it was mostly positives — Mason hauled in another outstanding touchdown grab, while Polk and Ma. Williams came through with some timely catches. Hopefully Walker is okay, though I’m not sure Mason even gets that opportunity if Walker doesn’t go down, as he’s been backing him up. True freshman Luke Sivon also saw some action, and the kid can absolutely fly. He didn’t record a catch but did draw two pass interference calls. Ideally the staff keeps working Sivon in and doesn’t worry about the redshirt. TE: Newell returned after missing the last few games and was underwhelming. Cravaack played well again and PFF finally graded him as such. OL: The OL was solid in pass protection throughout, but looked noticeably better in the second half when the ball was coming out quicker and the backs held up a bit longer. They were credited with just seven pressures allowed all game. Not to take anything away from the OL, but I still stand by saying Buffalo isn’t great at generating pressure — and we saw that play out today. Of note is that backup center Delvin Morris started and played every snap at left tackle. DL: Dall was an absolute nightmare for Buffalo. The stats might not show it, but he blew up a bunch of plays that let others rack up the numbers. It may not have been his best game statistically, but it was probably his most disruptive in terms of wrecking the opponent’s offense. Hull and Laventure were also very active on the inside and gave the Bulls’ offensive line all kinds of trouble. Mixon even got in on the action, picking up his first career sack. LB: How about Melvin Spriggs?! Honestly, up until this game, he hadn’t quite played to the level I expected from him this year. Usually, it’s Cooper, Summers, and Boswell leading the charge, but against Buffalo, Spriggs had the game of his life — a reminder of the potential he showed on his high school film. I’m happy for the kid; he’s come a long way in his development, and hopefully this is just the start, not the peak. And not to be outdone, Summers had a whale of a game himself. Buffalo might have the best linebacker corps in the MAC, but Spriggs and Summers made a strong case otherwise — at least for one game. DB: Despite the secondary coming away with two interceptions, it wasn’t their best day. We played a lot of man coverage and got torched by Snow in the first half and McMillan in the second. Still, the defense as a whole forced five turnovers and made sure this one didn’t slip away. One guy who did play really well was Somerville, who saw his most snaps at safety and also played on special teams. ST: Outside of the botched punt that led to a safety, special teams did a nice job of keeping Buffalo’s units from making an impact. Smart strategy to make sure the ball consistently stayed out of Snow’s hands. Coaching: I don’t think anyone can argue much with the second-half game plan. Sure, it’s fair to say the offense got a bit too conservative too early in the 4th quarter, but the defense was holding their own. My biggest gripe came at the end of the 2nd quarter, which led to a fumble and an eight-point swing. There was no reason to rush to the line and try to run extra plays. Just run out the clock and head to the locker room. In no world was Finley or Gant breaking off a 60+ yard run. Just a boneheaded move that thankfully didn’t cost the game. Defensively, it was a very impressive performance. Buffalo’s offense was going to get their yards, so it was all about preventing points. Holding the Bulls to their season low, minus Minnesota, while forcing five turnovers was remarkable. Next week is our “bye” week, and we’re back in action the following Tuesday night for another very winnable contest against UMass on 11/4. QB: Finley HB: Gant Patrick WR: Ma. Williams Gear WR: Walker Mason Louis WR: Polk Monteiro Sivon TE: Newell Cravaack Whisner LT: Morris LG: Archer McManus C Lyons RG: K. Davis RT: King A. Jones DE: Dall D. Frazier DE: Durham J. Frazier Cheatom DT: Hull Murphy Musika DT: Laventure Mixon Madden LB: Summers Boswell LB: Spriggs Boswell NB: Aa. Branch CB: DeWalt Kamara CB: Reed T. Thomas S: Flowers Hunter S: D. Johnson Somerville Offense (20 snap min.) C - Lyons RT - M. King LG - McManus TE - Cravaack RG -K. Davis Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Spriggs S - Somerville DE - Dall LB - Summers DT - Hull

For future reference, I can highly recommend the Zip Burger at Zip's Cafe, ~3.5 miles from Xavier's soccer field. Tasted great, especially following a 3-1 Zips WIN!!! https://www.zipscafe.com/menu/

I will say this is also with the league practice restrictions in place because of our grades. I fully blame the full administration for that but the fact we are still performing this well with that stipulation as well is something to make note of

As I recall, our Zips missed the MAC Tournament in 2022, but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

really was an up and down game. first half was all defense and didn't get anything from the offense but somehow pulled it together in the second half. Really is there to go 6-6. if I was the head coach. i would focus on UMASS like it was a playoff game and a must win. it is the only game that matters. they cannot overlook them and think they are an easy win. they took buffalo all the way to the end and should have won. They have an edge rusher, #16 white, that is one of the top in the country and he plays all over. Whartman is there now and this will be a special game for him. I am sure there will be a lot of incentive for his guys to play hard for him. One game at a time, UMASS is the most important game of the season. AN ABSOLUTE MUST WIN FOR JOE MO AND THE ZIPS !

Guys we just beat the best record in the mac before this result. Lets party 🎉

Very thoughtful of Coach Embick to do post game interviews after road games. It is much appreciated.

I suspect some of us with make the short trip to Youngstown for this one and the rest will want to know what happened, so I figured this scrimmage was worthy of its own thread. Here's a preview for YSU- https://ysusports.com/news/2025/9/23/mens-basketball-faulkner-meets-media-to-preview-2025-26-campaign.aspx

Perfect name too!

Even 5-7 would be our best season since 2017 and it’s objectively still taking the program upward even with all of our all conference players transferring/graduating from last year.

it's going to be the season that should have been: as of today: miami 4-0 should have won buffalo 3-1 won central michigan 3-1 won ball state 2-2 should have won toledo 2-2 dominated us Zips SHOULD be 4-1 right now and at the top of the MAC. Oh the woulda shoulda coulda If Joe Moe can win the last three despite the shouldas i'd say it was still a good season. 6-6 is probably more than what most on here would have realistically thought they would have achieved although they could have gone much higher. id consider 6-6 a win and wouldn't chase Joe out

Kobe Mitchell plays for Walsh. He was the leading scorer last year.

This forum? Never /s

I have and it's great. However I think that is misleading and the club is "courtside" but the tickets aren't

If they get to 6 wins, they can apply for a waiver to get a bowl game. No guarantees they get it though if their APR can show improvement this season, they might get it granted.

I heard mention of a voluntary redshirt due to reaggravating an injury. Can’t remember where, maybe radio? Anyways, hope he uses his last year somewhere else next year.

Former Zips Still Playing Nate Johnson - Kansas State James Okonkwo - Utah Josiah Harris - Cleveland State Ryan Prather Jr. - Robert Morris Darrion Baker - SIU Edwardsville Am I missing anyone?

I went to the Big East site. I could only find a tiebreaker that related to basketball. If you go to the Link below..... and use your scenario.....I think that the zips would be in good shape... Assumes that Georgetown finishes first Seton Hall would have 15 ...if they beat Creighton next week (their last game is UConn) if Seton Hall finishes 2nd in the league, Akron would win that tiebreaker ....as Akron tied Seton Hall and UConn lost to them if UConn wins out against Butler and Seton Hall, they would finish 2nd with 16 points Seton Hall would end with 15 UConn has wins over Creighton and Akron so tiebreaker would then move to how the teams did against Seton Hall Providence could reach 16 points...with wins against DePaul and Georgetown neither Akron or Creighton played Providence....so again, it would come down to how the teams did against Seton Hall... unrelated to the tiebreakers, Marquette destroyed DePaul 4-1 tonight. https://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/4092617/tiebreaker-procedure_1_.pdf Each team’s record vs. the team or tied teams occupying the highest position in the standings. • If an advantage is not determined, proceed to the next team or group of tied teams in the standings for comparison. Continue down through the standings until one team gains an advantage

Chapter 1 of the prophecy is fulfilled. if the Zips go 4-0 to close out 2025 and ruin it, I’ll be pissed. 😀

UConn and Providence tie - probably the best result for the Zips. Zips now tied with both of them for fourth place with 10 points.

I'm planning on it. I'll try to post updates/recaps.

I know we probably disagree on Moorhead (I’ve been back and forth on my overall opinion), but I think that your statement is pretty telling. Only needing one side of the ball to be more consistent and you’re a conference contender. I wonder how much 25% more practice time, having a reasonable sized staff, and being able to keep 1-2 All-MAC players players annually would help that. One will work itself out in time. The other two can be fixed by just a reasonable level of additional financial commitment.

Anyone going. I need a scouting report injected into my veins! lol

I Saw Nate scored 14 in K-state scrimmage vs Missouri looked like he was the 2nd leading scorer for the wildcats. I am definitely cheering for him this season.

wonderful picture. Tremendous credit to the zips fans..that traveled down I-71 and I-70 to support the Zips

I never thought after the ending in the first half we would win this game. One of the best games I have watched. We beat an undefeated team on the road. When is the last time a Zips fan has said that.

Buffalo imploding like they're the Zips. This is a wild change.

3-1 Zips. Remi A. from in front of goal.

horrible PK call against the Zips. Xavier player was clearly outside the box and it was a very questionable foul call.

EMU and CMU with dueling scandals in recent years. No better time than now to boot them both from the MAC. From the article: "... sportsbooks saw unusual betting interest against Eastern Michigan in the first half. The Eagles trailed at the end of the first half in each game." "The NCAA said that, due to the lack of cooperation, the enforcement staff was unable to determine whether sports betting violations occurred." What a joke. 1) Any bettor worth their snuff could tell that EMU doesn't play defense and just sucks in general. 2) The NCAA is the equivalent of the Abominable Snowman at the end of Rudolph - toothless.

Akron currently sits at #14 in the RPI, the highest RPI in the Big East. We're seemingly in no danger of missing out on an at-large bid if needed (unless we lose the last three matches 😬). However, it would be interesting to see how the committee would handle a team not making their conference tournament, as we're currently outside of the top 4 in the conference standings. Anyways, today's only game that would directly affect Akron's RPI is Ohio State (RPI #94) at Washington (RPI #25) at 10 pm EST.

And Bassitt has an excellent inning of relief in the 8th in game 7 of the ALCS.

NFL teams aren't this stupid. The amateurism that is athletic department administration is going to begin to really shine through moving forward.

Good post. I find mid season firings silly as well. They mostly just satisfy blood lust but loud alumni, boosters or members of the press. It doesn't give a school a head start in any search. It's just dumb.

So Billy Napier was just fired after a WIN over Mississippi State, which considering I don't have any fandom or feelings for Florida (except slightly negative ones), has me pretty angry. First of all, while I'm sure UF fans and brass feel you need to blowout teams like Mississippi State, they are in fact pretty significantly improved, with a win over #24 Arizona State and taking #17 Tennessee to OT. Second of all, Florida's results, while disappointing, aren't DISASTROUS. Every team they lost to is in the top 20. They beat Texas worse than the consensus #1. Because no one can think for themselves, everyone is now following the lead of Penn State (and I mildly disagree with Franklin's firing too, but will absolutely concede their season had turned disastrous) and now there's been this whole slew of mid-season firings. Maybe they see what happened at UCLA (which is dumb; the plural of anecdote is not data) and think they too might be world-beaters after firing their coach mid-season. Mid-season firings IMO should be reserved for on-field disasters or off-field inexcusable stuff. I don't want to hear a single Florida mucky-muck complain about it being too easy for kids to transfer. The one bulwark you have against that is coaching stability. You CANNOT have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to firing coaches.

Gotta admit I'm rooting for the Mariners but it was nice to see Bassitt have a good outing tonight.

The courtside club is nothing new.

The longest first half I've seen, thanks to the multiple VAR checks. 70 minutes to play 45 minutes of game clock.