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QB: CB’s scrambling ability makes such a difference for this offense. Not only that, the majority of his passes were on point, and he looked more comfortable than he did last week, albeit this game was against much lesser competition. My one suggestion to him at this point would be to make the first defender miss and then slide down in the open field. He will not make it through the season taking those kinds of hits. Roggow once again came in and looked really good. Two of his passes in particular were absolute strikes, put right on the money. Regardless of who the opponent is, those throws were impressive. If something were to happen to CB, I feel good about Roggow’s ability to move the offense when needed. In my opinion, Roggow compares favorably to Finley. He may not be quite as physically gifted, but he seems to make better decisions with the ball. RB: Gant and Patrick looked healthy and explosive. The two combined for 148 rushing yards, with 90 of those yards coming after contact. They also added 85 yards through the air. Toss in CB’s rushing, and that’s 219 yards on the ground. If either Gant or Patrick had another top-end gear to hit in the open field, they’d both be playing for P4 schools right now. WR: While the receivers weren’t targeted as much this game, there were no drops. An unusual amount of passes went to the backs and tight ends. Overall, the perimeter blocking was good as well. Outside of the one fumble, this was a solid, workmanlike day for the wideouts. TE: JUCO addition Elijah Alexander played very well. He held up as a blocker and also took advantage of his opportunities in the passing game. We’ll need the tight ends to continue to develop as they are an important part of this offense. OL: For the most part, the offensive line bullied the RM defensive front, and there wasn’t much thrown at them that caused confusion. However, there are a few sticking points. I was very complementary of Hampton at RG last game, and while that holds true again in the run game, he was also the direct cause of two sacks. The first came as Asher Wilson beat him so badly off the snap, he was left standing flat-footed. The second came off a total whiff on a blitz (or maybe twist? I can’t recall for sure). The good news is those sequences can be cleaned up. The other concern I have is when Slay comes out the game at LT. Gould has looked overwhelmed, and Shor hasn’t played up to his potential since he arrived. I’m not sure what the answer is outside of hoping Gould improves quickly. Either that or leave Slay in for the entire game. DL: The good news is the defensive line manhandled the RM OL. Dahvon Frazier seemed to be in on everything and easily had his best game as a Zip. Perhaps the light is finally turning on and he’s ready to take the next step. We’re going to need more of that as the season progresses. Abor flashed what he can do on passing downs when matched up one-on-one as he exploded around the edge for the Zips only sack. Hull was a load for RM to handle on the interior, and I also noticed he was often one of the first ones to congratulate the offense and special teams on the sideline as they were coming off the field. Kavals and Waye had their moments again. I think Kavals is going to be really good. It’s too bad we only have Waye for a single season. Williams didn’t play as much this game, as he looked to have a cast on his hand. Now for the bad: Pass Rush. Yes, RM was focused on getting the ball out quickly, but on the times when Akron should have been reaching the quarterback, it happened far too little. This area must improve. LB: Johnson and Curtis were really good. I also noticed Nunoo flying around, though I think he slipped off a few tackles. In any case, this group is coming together nicely. DB: White is really coming along. I would not be surprised if he ends up All-MAC at this rate. Safety play was also solid. I think it was Tairan Davis who had the diving interception wiped off by what looked to be a questionable holding call on another defender. T. Thomas had a terrible day in coverage. He got beat on the long touchdown and also gave up a PI. It’s a safe bet future opponents are going to come after him until he improves his play. ST: Special teams were excellent in every area today. Final Thoughts: The Zips handled a RM squad that really doesn’t have the talent or depth to match up for four quarters. Hopefully, this win is a building block that will help with next weekend’s matchup against a far more difficult opponent. Depth Chart/Participation coming later today.

The Zips made good use of their bench tonight. On the offensive side, I want to salute FaFa (Farrell Ngongang) and Noa Testa. FaFa hustle and great pass resulted in a fine goal by Noa Testa. Noa Testa was very active and quick and he created a lot of offense for the Zips. However, my unsung hero for the night is freshman Cole Perez. He came in at center back and really stabilized the back line. Great clutch performance by a freshman. Freshman Austin Thum also came in and played some very good minutes in place of Matt Dreas. The coaching staff deserves credit for recognizing that some key veterans were not having effective nights.....and the coaching staff wisely brought in Cole, FaFa, Noa, Braxton , Leo , Austin and others. This win would not have been possible without great contributions from freshmen and sophomores.

What a save! What a win!

They did a great job with in game entertainment. Helped fill the gaps during media timeouts.

I stumbled upon Keith Kennedy's thoughts on the production level. For those who don't know, he was the in-stadium host back in the early days of the new stadium.

Minnesota and UNLV both getting spanked today.

I think we’re only going to be able to keep Elijah Alexander for one year.

Solid road win! Awesome to avenge last year's NCAAT loss and to claw another one back in the all-time series.

Especially when they undoubtedly had limited reps when Puffenbarger was still in the mix.

I'm shocked at CB's command and composure for a redshirt freshman... and then Roggow comes in and looks like a 10-year NFL veteran 🤯

I got the gist. Holy crap.

Akron's first TD came on Shark Wheel. Homage to Big Cat. https://x.com/ZipsFB/status/2098957505120407686

SAVED!!

CB is the real deal 👀👀

Beto Ydrach called up for CONCACAF Nations League duty with Puerto Rico 🇵🇷.