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Sometimes you just gotta be the tallest midget. Clutch play by Bruno! 🇩🇪💪🏽 5-wins despite the smallest staff, smallest budget, no NIL, can’t even afford grad assistants, no travel allowed for recruiting, going stretches without a meal plan, limited to 25% fewer practices than his competition…the Zips should have been UMass this season but instead won 5. As much as my eyes burn from watching the game tonight I give the staff and players mad props for going .500 in the MAC and winning 5 games for the first time in 8 years while being blindfolded, with two cinder blocks tied to each coach’s legs. We’ll see what the future holds for the 2026 Zips. The ball is in Goodrich's hands to objectively determine how much the restrictions placed on this staff contributed to the close losses to Wyoming, UAB, Kent etc. And to figure out a plan to break free from the crippling financial shackles imposed on this year’s team. UA needs to invest in football within reasonable and responsible limits. Completely handcuffed, the Zips were within an eyelash of bowl eligibility. By providing the team with just the basics…the ability to travel to recruit talent, practices like everyone else, a couple grad assistants, a few bucks to keep some key players…it is the difference between winning 5 games and winning 8.

This is another reason I'm very hesitant to knock JoeMo. This year was Year 4 but... it was really more like Year 1 than Year 4. Next year will be Year 1 all over again. Every year is Year 1. I hate it.

Most wins since 2017 and people on here choosing to be miserable. Sheesh! Go Zips!

I love our OOC schedule this year. Overall our opponents are 16-5 with two of those loses being to Akron. None of our opponents have a "bad" loss yet outside of Milwaukee losing to Wofford. Obviously a small sample size, but off to a great start. JMU 2-1 (Akron) Princeton 1-1 (Akron) Purdue 2-0 Iona 2-0 Milwaukee 2-1(Wofford) Bucknell 2-1 (Princeton) Tulane 3-0 Murray St 2-1 (SMU) Potential Paradise Jam opponents: Evansville 2-1 (Purdue) Oregon St 2-0

Every Zip coach and every Zip player should be very proud. Phenomenal effort....especially with the injury of Stefan Dobrijevic ...early in the game Thinking good thoughts for Stefan Duke did not have a single shot on goal. Zips were the much more skilled soccer team and the much classier, professional soccer team. I don't slight any zip by mentioning names......as all of the starters were outstanding..... and every single sub....starting with Ignacio Alem and Jack Sullivan....ending with Jamai Royer, Nathan Ferguson and Braxton Hayes.....played outstanding fundament soccer. Thorough beat down of an ACC Powerhouse...... For the zips fans living far from Akron, I also want to compliment Chad Welker and womens asst soccer Josh Kay. Josh and Chad were outstanding on commentary.

Chatgpt is going to leave @clarkwgriswold jobless with his game preview write-ups.

After UVA parked the bus on us in the final in 2009 and "won" on PKs after holding it 0-0 despite having very little possession or opportunities themselves, any day they lose on PKs is a holiday to me!

After calming down I still want offer a few thoughts on the Kent game so bear with me. Our biggest problem Tuesday night wasn't JoMo, player stupidity, the refs, or the cold. It was Kent State. They came believing they could win. They didn't have the talent, but they had a plan and they stuck to it. The game was exciting. The rivalry is renewed and heightened. The public wants a good game between these two schools and they will show if they believe it is going be a good game. Zip football can recover. It will be slow and it will be a series of addressing issues one at a time. Nemer wants a good team. Goodrich has been told to build up the program. He believes he can, but only over time. He is building up NIL now. It will not be great, but it's a start. Jo will not be fired or bought out. If he leaves no one in administration will talk him out of it. Jo told his team he didn't believe in them when he kicked a FG on 4th and one. They were on the 11 and all they needed was one f**king yard. It was the first series of the game and they had nothing to lose. Why? The Zips weren't prepared. On the first series of each half a TO called to straighten out the team. What a waste! What team uses TO's tat early in the game. That's an indictment on the staff, not the players. Also how can DeWalt be running to the ball on a punt when the receiver ran away from it thus exposing DeWalt to a bounce that goes his way, hits him and gives the recovery to Kent. That's stupidity and poor coaching. High school kids know not to do that. Speaking of coaching, I watched Kamara after giving up an 89 yard TD to Clark. He went to the bench, threw his helmet down and no one talked to him. Not fellow players, not captains , not a coach. He sat alone for several plays until a coach told him to get up and join the DB's. No coaching was given and guess what? He blew it again for another Kent TD. We were the better team, but we lost. Jo coached teams do that every year he has coached. Not once, but two or three times each season he has been here. After four seasons why would we expect it to stop. Jo has yet to show he can correct it. He may feel he hasn't gotten a fair deal here and he would be right. Sill he has compounded the problems and for that he can't blame anyone else but himself.

QB: Finley made some really nice throws and generally had plenty of time in the pocket. Some of the longer developing routes were open against a UMass defense that struggled to generate pressure. Outside of the fumble at the goal line, Finley protected the football all evening. That hit on the fumble seemed to rattle him a bit, and honestly, I was surprised he came back in the game. He could’ve easily finished with more passing yards, but it wasn’t necessary with how well the run game was rolling. RB: Gant is tracking toward a first-team All-MAC selection. His patience and timing when hitting the hole are excellent, and he has that rare knack for moving in a way that makes it tough for defenders to square him up cleanly. Patrick is certainly the more explosive back, but Gant has settled into his rhythm and is playing at a high level. He finished with 153 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him exactly 150 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. WR: The receivers spent most of the night blocking, as the offense ran the ball 46 times compared to just 22 pass attempts. Mason made another highlight-reel touchdown grab, while Ma. Williams has clearly become Finley’s go-to target of late. TE: Another week, another solid showing from Cravaack. He did have one drop, but aside from that, he threw some crushing blocks in the run game and added a nifty 15-yard reception with solid yards after the catch. Whisner, backing him up, had his best game to date as well. OL: The offensive line dominated UMass’ front. They consistently opened up run lanes and gave Finley plenty of time to throw. They were credited with allowing only six pressures the entire game — easily one of their best collective performances of the year. DL: You have to feel for Laventure, who had back-to-back sacks wiped out — one by a teammate’s unnecessary penalty and another due to the staff accepting a holding call instead. Regardless, he absolutely mauled his matchup all game. Dall came close to a few sacks himself but just couldn’t finish. The defense as a whole held UMass to only 169 total yards, which says it all. LB: I’m a Shammond Cooper fan, but at this point Melvin Spriggs needs to be starting and taking the majority of snaps. Spriggs has really turned it on the past two games and has become a dynamic player. Summers may not have the same athletic upside, but he’s been in the right spot at the right time lately and continues to make key plays. DB: DeWalt, Reed, and Kamara may have taken all the corner snaps, and all three played well. The nickel backs didn’t see as much playing time as they usually do because the defense often went to a five man defensive front. Hunter and Somerville got the starts at safety and played well enough for a night, but they’ll need to elevate their play moving forward. ST: The only blemish came on the missed extra point. Otherwise, Wiley placed his kickoffs well, Schramm hit a 42-yarder, and Castle had a solid day punting. The return units didn’t generate much, but there were no major miscues either. Coaching: It was clear the team was locked in across all three phases. Outside of one big play allowed by the defense, they controlled things start to finish. The offense piled up 467 yards — an impressive total. Credit to the staff for having the group ready to handle business against a UMass team that simply shouldn’t be able to compete with the Zips in 2025. Next Tuesday night is another winnable matchup for the Wagon Wheel. * Some of the walk-ons that got in on the last play or two are not listed below. QB: Finley Roggow Johnson RB: Gant Patrick Curry WR: Ma. Williams Grear WR: Mason Louis Broughton WR: Polk Monteiro Hills TE: Cravaack Whisner LT: Morris D. Johnson Motley-Simmons Ndaiga LG: Archer McManus Stopiak C Lyons Mobley RG: K. Davis Fox RT: King Jones Mann DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall J. Frazier Cheatom DT: Hull Murphy DT: Laventure Mixon LB: Cooper Spriggs Benenge LB: Summers Boswell NB: Aa. Branch T. Thomas CB: DeWalt Kamara CB: Reed Kamara S: Somerville Flowers S: Hunter Di. Johnson Top Rated Offense (20 snap min.): QB - Finley RB - Gant WR - Ma. Williams RG - K. Davis C - Lyons Top Rated Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Spriggs LB - Summers DT - Laventure DE - Dall CB - Kamara

https://gozips.com/calendar Just take a look at this past calendar week's results. Starting last wednesday, Zips womens soccer wins 3-0 Last friday, volleyball and swim both beat EMU Last saturday, Mens soccer, volleyball, and rifle all win Monday, mens basketball wins (WBB takes a tough loss) And yesterday, Football wins LETS GO ZIPS

I'm still cold two hours later but it was worth it!

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL! 1-0 Zips.

TJ McConnell rocking an Akron Soccer sweatshirt

That's fine, all the good analytical people who could offer insight and breakdown match-ups have long been chased off. It's mainly just now loud mouth clowns who think whoever screams louder has the better argument.

As we head into a long offseason, I figured I’d look back at the players we lost, give a brief synopsis of how 2025 played out, see how the departed transfers fared at their new programs, and take an early look at what 2025 could be. Keep in mind, the portal will surely change some of these takes. QB: Departed Players: Bullock (Colorado State) Added Players: Johnson (FAU), Broughton (Freshman) I came into the season with high hopes that Finley would make a major leap in year two of Moorhead’s system — the same kind of jump I’d hoped to see from Irons in 2023. Neither scenario played out. Irons couldn’t ever seem to get or stay healthy, and while Finley may have shown slight improvement in a few areas, it wasn’t by much and his statistical output was similar to 2024. That said, it was obvious how much the offense struggled to move the ball without him. Bullock transferred to Colorado State and ended up seeing even less action for the Rams than he did here, and Johnson was brought in as his replacement. Early on, Johnson had a situational role much like Bullock’s, but his snap count fell off a cliff after the Toledo game. Looking Forward: Roggow (R-So.) and Broughton (R-Fr.) look poised to battle it out for the starting job, with highly touted freshman Semaj Beals joining the competition. I’d still expect coach Moorhead to bring in another strong-armed transfer to push that group. My hope is that regardless of who wins the job, we finally have an adequate backup who can keep the offense moving if pressed into action. RB: Departed Players: Simmons (Georgia State), Kellom (Eastern Illinois) Added Players: Gant (Tennessee Tech), Curry (Louisiana-Monroe), Gee (Colgate) The portal favored the Zips this offseason at running back. Gant ended up being a major pickup and became Akron’s first 1,000-yard rusher in years. Patrick split snaps with Gant early in the season, but an injury opened the door for Gant to take over as the main man. Patrick still appeared in most games, just in a reduced role. Williams was a distant No. 3 on the depth chart. Transfers Curry and Gee both dealt with injuries. Curry saw limited action in three games, while Gee missed the entire season. Portal departure Simmons had a reduced role in Georgia State’s offense and started only a handful of games. Kellom transferred down to the FCS level and ended up leading EIU in rushing. Looking Forward: Assuming no one leaves, this room is set for 2026. Gant and Patrick would immediately form one of the best backfields in the MAC, and if Curry and Gee are healthy, the offense would have two bigger-bodied backs capable of thriving in short-yardage situations. WR: Departed Players: Golden (Louisville), Norton (Marshall), Rush (Alcorn State), Wilson (Tennessee-Martin), Campbell (?), Granger (?) Added Players: Grear (Fresno State), Hills (Washington State), Monteiro (Pittsburgh), Williams (Marshall), Sivon (Freshman) Talent-wise, I wouldn’t say the portal hurt us here. However, I’m willing to concede that having basically a new group of receivers played a part in the losses to Wyoming and UAB. We had far too many drops early in the year and finished with 34 total, per PFF — the most in a season under the current regime. Williams, Polk, and Mason developed into a three-headed monster, and each has a legitimate chance to land on an All-Conference team. Hills held down the kick return duties, Monteiro served as a key backup, and Grear played a solid role before going down with an injury. Golden transferred to Louisville and hardly saw the field. Norton became a starter for Marshall a few games in, but he’s nearly 600 yards short of what he put up last season for the Zips. Rush and Wilson transferred down to FCS Alcorn State and Tennessee-Martin, respectively, and are having the best seasons of their careers as starters. I have no idea what happened to Campbell or Granger. Looking Forward: I believe Walker, Adams, and Grear are out of eligibility. If Adams is granted another year, the question becomes whether he returns — and if so, what his role would even be. I mentioned back in the spring that he didn’t look like the same player, and that was confirmed in the first game of the season. Williams was playing as well as anyone in the MAC to close out the year and has a real chance to be the best receiver in the conference if he returns. Mason proved to be as dynamic as expected and should only get better with added mass and reps. Sivon has speed to burn and could make a name for himself next year with a strong offseason of development. Polk has already declared for the portal, so we know we’ll need to replace at least one productive wideout. TE: Departed Players: N/A Added Players: N/A Injuries slowed down Newell this season, which led to Cravaack logging more than double the snaps of any tight end on the roster. The tight ends weren’t used as much in the passing game this year as they have been in the past, but they were a key blocking part of the offense posting its highest rushing average of the Moorhead era at nearly 135 yards per game. Looking Forward: All three tight ends still have eligibility left. Witherspoon has been reclassified as a wide receiver on the roster, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see another player added to this position during the offseason. OL: Departed Players: Blanchard (Grad.), Thomas (Grad.), Burrell (Morgan State), James (Mississippi State), Seymore (Western Kentucky), Williams (Georgia State), Mitchell (?) Added Players: Archer (East Carolina), Johnson (Western Kentucky), Jones (West Alabama), King (JUCO), Moore (East Texas A&M), Motley-Simmons (North Alabama), Gould (Freshman), McManus (Freshman) Ten linemen rotated and played early in the season as offensive line coach JRod worked to narrow down his best group. In the end, the line settled in left to right as Johnson, McManus, Lyons, Davis, and King — with Archer, Jones, and Morris rotating regularly. Morris proved invaluable, playing nearly every position on the line this year. The OL still gave up too many sacks and will finish in the bottom third of the conference in that category, but the numbers were substantially better than in 2022 or 2023. Conversely, run blocking was tremendously improved compared to any other season in the Moorhead era. Burrell transferred down to FCS Morgan State and was the starting right guard. James was the starting left tackle for Mississippi State. Seymore was the starting right guard for Western Kentucky. Williams started at left guard and center for Georgia State. I’m not sure what happened to Mitchell. Looking Forward: King has already declared for the portal, which isn’t a surprise given his size, ability, and the success he had at offensive tackle this year. It’s always going to be hard for us to keep good tackles considering how high the demand is for that position in the portal. There’s a chance Jones, Davis, McManus, and Morris return, which would give the Zips a solid nucleus of experienced players heading into 2026. A handful of others may be ready to contribute more consistently as well. JRod has lived in the portal and JUCO ranks since his arrival, and it’d be great if this is finally the offseason where he only needs to add depth instead of hunting for multiple new starters. DL: Departed Players: Adler (Grad.), Kapongo (Grad.), Lavea (Grad.), Richards (Grad.), Graham (JUCO), Moore (Purdue), Nunnally (Purdue), Brockington (?), Proffitt (?) Added Players: Durham (Arizona), Laventure (Penn West), Duncan (JUCO), Musika (JUCO), Vega (JUCO), Brown-Demery (Freshman), Kavals (Freshman), Watkins (Freshman) The starting group of Durham, Laventure, Hull, and Dall played more collective snaps than any other starting defensive line in the MAC. In fact, only a handful of individual linemen across the league have more snaps — or even have a chance to surpass them in their final game — than Durham, Laventure, and Dall. The defense as a whole produced its highest sack total (27) and pressure total (178) of the Tibesar era, with 15 of those sacks coming from the defensive line. Former defensive line coach Wart deserves credit for most of the DL already in place, while new defensive line coach Leonard brought Laventure with him from his previous stop. From there, he aggressively attacked the JUCO ranks for depth, but outside of Laventure, production from the new additions was limited in 2025. Moore played in three games for Purdue. Nunnally has started for Purdue since Week 3 and has put up numbers similar to what he produced last year at Akron. Graham went the JUCO route, and I have no idea what happened with Proffitt or Brockington. Looking Forward: Even with some sort of NIL funds, it may be difficult to keep Dall from collecting a payday at a P4 program. If Laventure were bigger, I’d say the same about him, but his size likely limits his options to the G5 level. Hull also came into his own this year and could draw some interest as well. Outside of Murphy and Mixon, the backups gave us very little. We entered the season with question marks and could go into next season with many of the same concerns. There’s some unproven young talent, along with a few of the 2025 additions who barely saw the field, but again — it’s all unproven. With that being the case, there may be more portal and JUCO activity to bring in players with more mature bodies who are more likely to be plug-and-play options. LB: Departed Players: Fish (Sam Houston), McCoy (Oklahoma State) Added Players: Boswell (Freshman), James (Freshman), Reeves (Freshman) The trio of Cooper, Spriggs, and Summers were solid and reliable in 2025. Those terms might sound like I’m underselling the linebackers, but that’s not the intent — according to PFF, they were the most sure-tackling group of the Tibesar era. PFF also graded Summers as the highest-rated defensive player on the team, with Spriggs fifth and Cooper seventh. Fish and McCoy were starters for Sam Houston and Oklahoma State, respectively. Looking Forward: Cooper and Summers should be out of eligibility at this point, and Spriggs may choose to listen to other suitors. He has the athletic ability to play at a higher level, and the light seemed to finally come on for him this year. The defense has steadily improved since Tibesar’s arrival, in large part due to his ability to identify under-recruited players who fit his system and then develop them. There’s plenty of young talent on the roster, but the question is whether they’ll be ready by next season. If not, expect an upper-classman or two to be brought in to bridge the gap. DB: Departed Players: P. Lewis (Grad.), Golden-Nelson (West Virginia), Hunter (Memphis), D. Lewis (West Virginia), Owens (JUCO), Proby (Houston Christian), Greenwood (?) Added Players: Al. Branch (Kent State), Aa. Branch (JUCO), Flowers (Penn State), Kamara (Upper Iowa), Somerville (James Madison), Stepney (Marshall), Davis (Freshman) It was a mixed bag for the defensive backs this season. DeWalt and Reed were excellent at cornerback — PFF graded them as the second- and third-highest defensive players on the team — while safety and nickelback play left plenty to be desired at times. Johnson and Anderson were the most reliable safeties, but injuries and depth issues opened the door for Hunter, Flowers, and Somerville to get reps. At nickelback, the Branches handled most of the snaps. Darrian Lewis was a starter for West Virginia, while Golden-Nelson, Hunter, and Proby each played in a handful of games at their respective schools. Owens went the JUCO route, and I’m not sure what happened to Greenwood. Looking Forward: DeWalt should be out of eligibility. If Reed, White, and Kamara return, that’ll give coach Littlejohn a trio of long and athletic defensive backs to work with heading into 2025. I expected there would be a drop-off at safety after losing coach Renna and the departed players. Throw in a few injuries, and there was definitely a step back in consistency from the position. That said, there were positives — Hunter, Flowers, and Somerville all flashed as they settled in. I believe Anderson is out of eligibility, and David should be as well unless he receives a medical waiver. At nickelback, Alex Branch should be out of eligibility, and I thought Aamii Branch played fairly well over the last few games. This is still a position that could be addressed in the offseason. ST: Departed Players: Book (Grad.) Jackson (Grad.), Reardon (Northwestern) Smith (Florida Atlantic) Added Players: Dennis (Colorado State), Johnson (Bethel), Samaha (Michigan), Schramm (Freshman) If I recall correctly, Schramm took over field goal duties around the Ball State game. Wiley continued to handle kickoffs, and Castle did most of the punting, although Johnson handled some as well. Looking Forward: Outside of long snapper Dennis and punter Johnson, all the specialists should have eligibility to return if they choose to do so. It would be nice to go into 2026 with the kicking duties already sorted out. Reviewing the players who left for “greener pastures,” only James, Lewis, McCoy, and Nunnally truly made impacts at power programs and became full-time starters. Almost all of the others — excluding those who dropped to FCS but including the ones who made lateral moves within the G5 — would have been better off staying put from a purely statistical and playing-time standpoint. Hopefully the funds raised over the next eight weeks help turn the tide and keep the 2025 roster mostly intact heading into 2026.

The most criminal part is - they can steal your best players with zero restitution. In any professional sport you need to pay, or make a trade to land a coveted player from another team. In college football you just take them for free. We are a free minor league for the P5 programs...must be nice.

I know we’ve already got at least one thread going about the portal, but I’m going to try and streamline everything here. A few things I’m not completely sure about are which players are actually on scholarship, and which of the former JUCOs, redshirt seniors, or grad students still have any eligibility left. QB: (3) Roggow (R. So.) Broughton (R. Fr.) Beals (Fr.) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Finley M. Johnson RB: (5) Curry (R. Sr.) Gant (R. Sr.) Gee (R. Jr.) Williams (R. Jr.) Patrick (R. So.) Portal / Out of Eligibility: WR: (8) Davis (R. Jr.) Hills (R. Jr.) Louis (R. Jr.) Mason (R. So.) Monteiro (R. So.) Ma. Williams (R. So.) Witherspoon (R. So.) Sivon (R. Fr.) Portal / Out of Eligibility: Grear Walker Adams (R. Sr.) - Portal Polk (R. Jr.) - Portal TE: (3) Newell (R. Sr.) Whisner (R. Sr.) Cravaack (R. Jr.) Portal / Out of Eligibility: OL: (10) K. Davis (R. Sr.) Fox (R. Sr.) A. Jones (R. Sr.) Shor (R. Sr.) Mann (R. Jr.) Morris (R. Jr.) McManus (So.) Gould (R. Fr.) Barthelemy (Fr.) * Rollins (Fr.) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Archer George D. Johnson Lyons J. Moore Motley-Simmons King (R. Sr.) - Portal Ndaiga (R. So.) - Portal (Walk-on) DL: (18) Brown (R. Sr.) Duncan (R.Sr.) Laventure (R. Sr.) Musika (Sr.) Cheatom (R. Jr.) Dall (R. Jr.) Durham (R. Jr.) Mixon (R. Jr.) Vega (R. Jr.) Hull (Jr.) E. Davis (R. So.) D. Frazier (R. So.) J. Frazier (R. So.) Brown-Demery (R. Fr.) Kavals (R. Fr.) Watkins (R. Fr.) Collins (Fr.) * Smith-Ray (Fr) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Madden Murphy (R. Sr.) - Portal LB: (5) Hocker (R. So.) Boswell (R. Fr.) James (R. Fr.) Reeves (R. Fr.) Curtis (Fr.) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Cooper Summers Benenge (Jr.) - Portal Spriggs (R. Jr.) - Portal DB: (11) Flowers (R. Sr.) Reed (R. Sr.) Kamara (R. Sr.) Thomas (R. Sr.) Somerville (R. Jr.) White (R. Jr.) AA. Branch (Jr.) Hunter (R. So.) K. Johnson (R. So.) T. Davis (R. Fr.) Cobbold (Fr.) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Anderson AL. Branch David DeWalt Jarmon D. Johnson Stepney ST: (3 - Counting for K, P, LS) Miner (R. Sr.) Castle (Sr.) Samaha (R. Jr.) Schramm (R. So.) Portal / Out of Eligibility: Denis B. Johnson Wiley (R. Jr.) - Portal

Remember 1986!!! Current Duke coach John Kerr was the star of that team. I think he scored the lone goal in the final. Another prominent player on that 1986 Duke championship squad was Ken Lolla.

It's so ridiculous that we have to start a thread like this. You should be able to go into any area Walmart, JC Penney, Kohl's, Target, etc. and find a selection of merchandise. I don't get why the university keeps dropping the ball on this. Plus those posts about another new bland apparel piece are unexciting. Quit trying to maximize profit and sell most stuff through the bookstore. The idea is to get your name and logo out there in as many places as possible at reasonable prices then the money will come. Old man rant finished.

I've seen some posts online that the tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ... but that is Atlantic Standard Time. Tipoff for us is 5:30 EST. Don't complicate things for me, please. 😂

The Beacon Journal is doing a nice job of promoting Zips mens soccer this week. Malone Pioneer posted an excellent article from the Beacon(about zips seeding and possible opponents) .....under the ratings and RPI topic. This morning, The Beacon did a very good article on Stefan Dobrijevic. (attached below) I greatly admire Stefan for his tremendous improvement as a soccer player over the past 4 years. After reading this article, I also greatly admire Stefan as he is true definition of a "Student-Athlete". Congratulations to Stefan on his success on the soccer field and also for his succcesses in the class room. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2025/11/19/stefan-dobrijevic-akron-zips-soccer-ncaa-tournament/87320211007/ Dobrijevic grew up in Akron as an Akron Public Schools student, attending Salem Elementary School, STEM Middle School and Firestone High School. His family moved to Uniontown when he was 16, but he remained at Firestone, where he took engineering, college level and advanced placement classes, recorded a 4.7 GPA and graduated in December 2021. Dobrijevic played club soccer with Internationals Academy, which is based in Medina, and started taking classes at UA in January 2022. He has a 3.8 GPA, earned a degree in business administration with a minor in marketing in December 2024 and is working toward an MBA.

Here is the dilemma, neither party is happy. JoMo doesn't want to be here and powers that be don't want him to stay. If the optics weren't so bad, UA would just pay him off and send him on his way. JoMo holds all the cards. Hopefully he can find a job somewhere else and everyone will get what they want. I would rather take my chances on an up and coming guy who doesn't act like he is entitled to someone else doing all the heavy lifting required to engage the fans and community. That is the only way out of our football pit of Hell. JoMo will never be that guy.

Back when there were talks of Akron getting a new arena ~10 years ago I kind of spoke against the 7k-8k seat arenas for this purpose. Although it would have been taxpayer funded through the city so not much pull the school would have had. It took exactly 1 game at Infocision for the new smell to wear off. I'm not sure we've hit 80% occupancy in a game since. Basketball after a season or two would almost certainly be back to averaging ~3k fans. I always thought the game day experience is better with the arena 80%-100% full, which leads to more fans wanting to return. It kind of sounds counterproductive but fewer seats can actually help improve attendance averages as it creates a false sense of scarcity and makes it a more desirable ticket to have. Particularly in an age where those under 30 want to brag on social media. It also creates a sense of urgency for people to get season tickets or buy single game tickets in advance. Key example is I would never feel the need to buy a ticket to Akron football in advance because I know I could show up to the gate and there will be 10k+ remaining. I do buy tickets in advance for Akron-Kent basketball because I know the risk for selling out is very high.

Absolutely no problem with the Zips effort. Groce always gets the kids to play hard.

First game in a long time that I was really excited about. Wanted and expected us to win. Obviously did not like the results, but it was fun to be excited about ZIPS football for a change. Hope there is more of this!!! Let's win next week and then see where things go from there. I hope Joe wants to stay. Makes the right demands for the program and off we go.

That's an egregious missed pass interference

Hell, just protect the rivalry games. There is no reason for Akron-Kent to be played on a Tuesday evening at 7:30 in November. I'm fine with it against literally any other opponent, but this should have been a Saturday noon kickoff. I believe it would have been a decent crowd and generated at least some mild buzz for the program locally. Instead, we will probably get a bit more than last week, which was downright embarrassing.

Game Day Notes: Kent State has been fairly effective through the air in conference play, thanks in large part to redshirt sophomore Dru DeShields, who has brought stability to the offense and done a great job protecting the football. He’s thrown for 1,321 yards and 11 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. The run game has been inconsistent, with Gavin Garcia and Minnesota transfer Jordan Nubin splitting carries. The pair has combined for 590 yards and 2 touchdowns but hasn’t been much of a factor in the passing game. Former running back Cade Wolford has transitioned to the slot and provided a spark with several explosive plays from that spot. Da’Shawn Martin — a player we once offered out of high school — and Wayne Harris are DeShields’ primary targets in the passing game. The rebuilt offensive line has actually held up well in pass protection, but the group has struggled to generate much consistency in the run game. Kent State rotates plenty of bodies on defense and blitz often. While none of the defensive linemen truly stand out, Southern Illinois transfer edge rusher Jamond Mathis has been the top pass rusher on the roster. Linebacker CJ Young leads the team in tackles and has put together an all-conference caliber season. The Flashes have been fairly stout against the run in MAC play, ranking fourth in the conference, but they’ve been torched through the air and have allowed more passing yards than any other team in the league. Mark Carney has Kent State playing well above its talent level, but there are still holes on the roster that simply can’t be masked without more overall talented depth. This is a game Akron should win, even with the Flashes having battled competitively in most of their MAC matchups. Time to start looking at potential All-Conference contenders. Not everyone listed here will ultimately make it, but these are the guys with the best shot from the Zips based on MAC-only stats: Offense - Finley is fourth in the league in passing yards and first in touchdown passes. It’s a six-man race for the three All-MAC quarterback spots, with Roberson (Buffalo), Kim (EMU), Gleason (Toledo), Parker (Ohio), and Finn (Miami) also in the mix. - Gant leads the conference in rushing yards and is on pace to be First Team All-MAC, likely alongside Bangura from Ohio. - Mason and Polk rank tenth and eighteenth in receiving yards, respectively. Mason has a strong case for All-MAC consideration with his four touchdowns (tied for third-most in the conference), while Polk would need a strong finish in receiving yards to earn a spot on an All-Conference team. However, Polk is also tied for third in touchdown receptions, which helps his case. Ma. Williams could work himself into the conversation as well if he strings together a few more performances like this past one. - Up front, Lyons (center), K. Davis (right guard), and King (right tackle) all have a shot to land on an All-MAC team, depending on how the final few weeks play out. Defense - Laventure looks like a lock for First or Second Team All-MAC as he sits fourth in tackles for loss and tied for seventh in sacks. Dall would be in the conversation too, but judging purely by his stats, they’ve dipped a bit in MAC play — though his disruption has not. - Summers and Spriggs could both sneak into the discussion — Summers has been a turnover machine, while Spriggs has come on incredibly strong over the past two weeks. - In the secondary, DeWalt and Reed have both been playing at a high level, but if it came down to one, I’d give the nod to DeWalt.

Give @Hilltopper and @clarkwgriswold a 2 million dollar accordion and tell me how melodic the tunes are when they squeeze it. Getting 2 million dollars in NIL money can be easy. Finding players that are worth a damn is a different story. The Mets had a massive payroll and stink this year. The Browns threw a bajillon dollars at a QB who couldn’t possibly have had more red flags. The Zips have gone 0-11 when they were playing with the same budget as the other MAC programs. Today we’re actually better than some teams that are outspending us. Joe is looking at a very realistic 6-6 season, where he’s had an on/off trading table to feed his Division 1 athletes, he was not allowed to travel and recruit this spring, he lost his on-line recruiting subscriptions, has the smallest staff and budget in D-1, allowed 25% fewer practices than his competition…one could argue this season is as miraculous as any in Zips history. This staff is here because they believe in Akron. Brookhart’s kids were born here. Moorhead is from less than 2 hours away and really values being close to family over a fat contract. Ferri is a local guy who loves being back in NE Ohio. Tibesar is a wizard when in comes to scheming to outwit opposing offenses with a random assortment of mercenary talent. Hope the AD doesn’t blow this and tell Joe he needs to win 7 games or he’s out next year. Support this staff who’s worked miracles in 2025 and see how it plays out. If we lose to Kent this week I have no problems accepting ridicule. But we won’t. Football is interesting and fun again. Go Zips! 🦘💪🏽

I checked out Creighton's presser. They are focused on gaining some revenge tonight. Weather is great right now; should be no factor for the match. My wife and I are making the 2 hour drive to Omaha; hope to see a few other Zips there.

I believe I read somewhere - can't now remember where so I cannot reference it - that this was our largest margin of victory over an FBS opponent in 23 years? I know it's been a while but that stat still surprised me.

That's pretty cool, even more amazing you have to go back to Oct 23rd to find the last Zips single game loss (women's soccer lost to Western Michigan). Since then it's been wins from volleyball, rifle, football, men's soccer, volleyball, women's soccer (tie), volleyball and then the string you just rattled off. Heck of a couple of weeks.

THE AKRON ZIPS ARE PLAYING THE SECOND STRING IN A WIN THIS IS NOT A DRILL THE AKRON ZIPS ARE PLAYING THE SECOND STRING IN A WIN

We may need to relocate the Brass sign. 🤣

The promotion of soccer has been pathetic in recent years. I hoped it would change between Guthrie and Goodrich but it seems to be the same. It is disappointing and the team of the past 2 years, deserves much better. Borneo not playing is a question mark, but it looked like Zips only had 7 subs yesterday and he was in zips attire not dressed to play. My assumption would be injury. Zips miss his skill. It was a must win game, and this team got it done without a bunch of key pieces available. Credit where is due.

And the Billikens will come to Akron!

Tremendous article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (this is currently not a subscriber only article...hopefully, all can access?) I have not yet seen the press conferences....but this has quotes from several zips players, Coach Embick and the Duke coach https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2025/12/akron-zips-mens-soccer-gives-duke-the-cold-shoulder-moves-into-ncaa-elite-eight-with-2-0-victory.html “The crowd drove us through that game,” Daragh Reilly said. “You could see in the last 10-15 minutes, we were getting tired. We were trying to push each other, but every time we got a play, we made a tackle, the momentum kept swinging back to us. “Big shoutout to the fans tonight. I don’t think we could have been anywhere near without that tonight.” “Awesome performance not only from our team, but from the fans and community that packed this place in this weather and were behind us the whole game,” Coach Embick said. “We fed off that energy, and I think that really helped us through some moments where maybe we weren’t playing as well as we wanted.”

Great crowd for a pretty cold night tonight. Late in the game a large plastic bag blew down the field and ended up in the Zips goal. We remarked it was the best shot on goal Duke had in the match.

I've wondered this as well. I feel like he was pretty visible around the program for a few years and not so much anymore.

Fill the Hill

All of these posts from national guys happening the day after the season ended and Franklin gets hired

We have posted before about Kam Warnke... Kam had 20 goals and 10 assists this year for the state runner up Auroroa Greenmen. Nice to see all of the Akron logos in the signing announcement

Horrible QB. Leads the MAC in TDs. Second in the MAC in total yardage. Scholar athlete of the week in the MAC this week. Joe found a guy like this with essentially no NIL money and convinced him to stay for 2 seasons. Good luck finding better in 2026. I like Broughton a lot. I hope Zips fans get to see him at Infocision one day.

The University has never once publicly mentioned any of the crippling limits placed on the football program in the name of budget cuts. They’ve hung Joe out to dry with a historic lack of support, whistling through the graveyard, and by their silence painting Zips football as having the same resources as every other MAC program. It isn’t fair to Joe, and I expect that grates on him. And it should. Bobby Knight once famously said - "If you're getting raped, you might as well lay back and enjoy it." Joe has bit his tongue 95% of the time, but who can blame him if, when pressed, he vents on his lack of recruiting budget, training tables, staff, and on and on? UA isn’t holding any pressers stating “You gotta understand the situation we’ve placed Joe Moorhead in. I can’t believe the guy won 3 games, let alone 5.” It's Zips Football against the world. Maybe the same geniuses at UA who’ve blundered every football-related decision since Jim Dennison’s firing will identify a "unicorn" coach that only wants a $300,000/year salary, that flits about Summit and Stark counties with a wicker basket collecting NIL money from scores of donors happily willing to fill it up, while also coaching Akron to MAC Championships and bowl victories. Wish in one wicker basket and poop in the other...see which fills up first. I have no clue what Goodrich will do regarding football. Maybe he spends a year crafting a new logo, quits his job and moves on to the next rung on his AD ladder? Maybe he’s empowered, independent of thought, and implements a plan to elevate Zips football to respectability? That would be awesome. Historically new AD’s "check their box" and hire “their guy” to run either the football or basketball program. On paper, Joe is on the hot seat. It it were me, I would fix the budget BS, show Joe a little love, and see what transpires in 2026. Joe took over a 1-11 Fordham team and went 38-13 during his tenure, winning 11 and 12 games in successive seasons. The guy can win big at the FCS/G5 level. It’s proven. But not when he’s hamstrung and unsupported. No one can.

Top Drawer soccer did a preview on the regional that the zips are in. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=21&articleId=55371&articleTitle=mens-ncaa-tournament-region-3-preview 4. Akron(m) (11-4-3) - 1.56 goals per game (76th ranked), .667 goals allowed per game (12th ranked) Offensive Leader: Stefan Dobrijevic (8G, 10A) + Strong defense + Performed well against nationally ranked opposition - Offense can be inconsistent There is no doubt Akron has the defense for a playoff run; the question is if the offense can score enough in a region packed with high-powered attacks. Losing the Big East semifinal was not encouraging, but the team will be well-rested after receiving a first-round bye.

Iona beats Princeton by 20 at home. They are now 4-0 and a KenPom of 160. Game on!

The worst thing about BG’s collapse is - they’re going to beat us to Tim Tyrrell.