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Today's scrimmage was by invite only. All I can say is Groce has a big problem on his hands. Too many good players and not enough minutes per game. Perkins and Henderson both look like they could play this year. Head and Evan Mahaffey looked solid. The Serb is going to be a matchup nightmare for our opponents. Scott buried at least 6 NBA range 3's. Overall a good showcase.

QB: Finley had his best game of the season, and if he’d played like that against Wyoming, we’d probably be sitting here with another win. Granted, CMU’s defense wasn’t anything special — I thought the number of turnovers they’d created (or been gifted) coming in masked some of their flaws. Still, it was great to finally see the kind of performance we know Finley is capable of. Hopefully, that’s something he can build on moving forward. On the lone interception, it looked like there was some sort of miscommunication, with the receiver running a different route than what Finley expected. RB: I don’t have enough positive things to say about Gant. He was excellent and once again looked like the FCS All-American from a few years back. He seemed a little gassed in the fourth quarter — which is understandable given he carried the ball 32 times and was on the field for all but six offensive snaps. It would’ve been nice to have another playmaker like Patrick available to give him a breather, but that wasn’t an option. Curry saw his first action, and while he’s a bigger back, he didn’t have much of a chance to show what he can do in limited touches. WR: Mason finally had the breakout game I’ve been waiting for. His performance looked a lot like what he showed during the spring game — the flashes that had me raving about him during the offseason. Outside of one glaring drop that would’ve moved the chains, this group was solid, and that miscue didn’t end up costing us. We just need this unit to keep developing. If they do, we’ll be talking about one of the better wide receiver corps in the MAC by the end of the season. TE: All three tight ends caught passes today and chipped in with some key blocks as well. I’m not sure why PFF graded the group as low as they did — I actually thought they played a sound game all-around. OL: This was one of the offensive line’s best games of the season — especially in the run game. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they did enough to give the offense a chance to be effective in both phases. I believe K. Davis played every snap at right guard, which says a lot about his reliability and consistency up front. DL: I’m not sure when the last time our defense had five sacks, with four of them coming from the defensive line. Laventure was credited with six total pressures and two sacks, while Durham had two sacks, and Dall had three pressures. I also want to give credit to the DL for holding their ground and blowing up running lanes so often. LB: Summers played a whale of a game. I’m not sure what the refs thought they heard when he was flagged for mimicking calls again, but from my view, it looked like he was just trying to get everyone lined up correctly on a play where several defenders seemed unsure of their assignments. I’ll lump the secondary into this as well — it’s tough to always be in the right spot and still make open-field tackles against an offense like CMU’s, one that relies heavily on misdirection and gets its linemen to the second level. There were more busts than anyone would like to see, but overall the defense did enough to slow CMU down when it mattered most. DB: The secondary was asked to play the run more in this game than any other so far this season — as alluded to above. In coverage, they were generally solid, holding CMU to just 136 yards through the air. No individual stood out in a negative way, which is definitely a positive sign. ST: Special teams were very good overall, outside of the long missed field goal — which came from a tough angle — and Hills overestimating his ability by bringing out kicks several yards deep in the end zone. I like Hills and still think he’s going to break one this year, but there’s just no reason to bring those out from that deep. Coaching: Give credit where credit is due — great gameplans on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we were stubborn running the football while also taking timely shots downfield. The defense looked well prepared and didn’t hang their heads after giving up some explosive plays. Overall, I thought the staff came close to maximizing what they could in this game. The only downside was a handful of penalties that were 100% self-inflicted. QB: Finley Johnson RB: Gant Curry WR: Walker Masom WR: Mar. Williams Grear WR: Polk Monteiro TE: Newell Cravaack Whisner LT: Dar. Johnson Motley-Simmons LG: McManus Archer C Lyons Morris RG: K. Davis RT: King A. Jones DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall J. Frazier DT: Hull Murphy Musika DT: Laventure Mixon Madden LB: Summers Boswell LB: Cooper Spriggs NB: Al. Branch CB: Reed Kamara CB: DeWalt Thomas S: Flowers Hunter S: Di. Johnson Stepney Top Rated on Offense (20 snap min.) WR - Mason C - Lyons QB - Finley RG - K. Davis RB - Gant Top Rated on Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Summers S - Flowers LB - Spriggs CB - DeWalt CB - Reed

Amen. Wins like this on days like this makes me happy for those who can, and do, attend games. It's what college football should be. Today benefited the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron. This is what a public university should do.

On the spur of the moment I decided to attend the game since the weather was perfect. It is one of the best games by Akron in a long time. They had a nice balence of runs and passing and the receivers were open most of the afternoon. The defense made some great plays right before the half. Just wish we could have more games like today. I thought Finely was the best. On the interception it was a bad pass but the defender made a nice play on the ball. Makes me look forward to next week.

I don't know how to share it here because it was an IG story not a post, but I saw Enrique has the #25 jersey for the T-Wolves!

Zips win 1-0!

All these guesses at the starting lineup are fun. Just remember that Eric Mahaffey was penciled into the starting lineup last year until a knee injury sidelined him for the season. Under Groce, whoever plays the best during practice gets playing time. Every minute of every practice is graded by the coaching staff. Outside of the point guard we have a team full of multidimensional players. It's going to be a fun season.

I'm really starting to get excited about the upcoming season. I assume Tavari and Amani are locked into the starting lineup. I suspect we may see Stankovic in the starting lineup (just like I expected Taylor Currie!). I've also heard he's closer to 6'6" than 6'8." That leaves spots for 2 guards/wings. I could see either Mahaffey in one of those roles. Does Sharon move into the starting lineup or does Shammah? This is much more fun than trying to figure out who's going to play with Malcolm Duvivier and Jimond. How far we've come.

I've only lived in two states, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Naturally I have grown to DESPISE both OSU and PSU. Probably more excited about Penn State losing to both Oregon and UCLA, than I am about the Zips win today. All these cocky and arrogant people who have never attended those schools are insufferable. I always say I'd rather watch Akron lose every single game than be a bandwagon fan of a school I have no connection to.

Ben is back https://x.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1974504534606270629

I get that. I was referencing Joe's consistently good attitude and ability to forge forward regardless of the situation. Joe's the best.

35 days until Zips basketball!

Ya know what, good for Wyoming for beating us. Having to play in the snow in early October is asinine. Not sure their fans would've deserved this plus a loss to Akron.

This is how it should be. Hopefully the football team can keep this going. A competitive football season into a NCAA tourney run for soccer, into one of the most anticipated Zips basketball seasons could really be the momentum athletically the University needs to get back on track.

Akron needed a win at home in the MAC on a Saturday in the worst way. Nice job.

If Florida Atlantic, Syracuse, and Penn State couldn't prepare Johnson to be a starting QB, it's asking a lot for Joe to do it. 😁 Ruggow is a redshirt freshman, so one week of prep isn't going to give him a fighting chance of beating a team like Toledo. We ride or die with Finley. Assuming he's healthy I expect a win this weekend. If he isn't, we'll punt a lot and lose by 24.

Akron back into the coaches top 25 poll at #19 this week. Next week's opponent Cornell is essentially #27 as they're 2nd in the receiving votes section. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-men/

Extra credit to Zip_ME87 for the umlauts in Emil Jääskeläinen. That's the Finnish Product! 😄

I'll list those that I recall. Others, please feel free to add any I may have missed (or make other corrections as needed). These are current as of this post MLS Columbus Crew - Evan Bush, Darlington Nagbe Minnesota United - Wil Trapp Nashville - Teal Bunbury Real Salt Lake - DeAndre Yedlin St Louis City SC - Ben Lundt Toronto - Malik Henry, Richie Laryea MLS NEXT Pro Chicago Fire II - Jason Shokalook Orlando City B - Dyson Clapier St Louis City 2 - Emil Jääskeläinen USL Championship Pittsburgh Riverhounds - Beto Ydrach Colorado Springs Swicthbacks - Marco Micaletto Indy Eleven - Aodhan Quinn San Antonio FC - Diogo Pacheco Loudoun United FC - Robby Dambrot Detroit City - Shane Wiedt USL League One Union Omaha - Marco Milanese Europe Lech Poznań (Poland) - João Moutinho Oct 1 edit - Added Teal Bunbury, MLS, Nashville whom I forgot. 😑

Why would it have to be a consistent multi-bid conference that Akron would have to go to? I would think everyone would agree that the MVC is better than the MAC for hoops. The MVC teams are typically seeded better in the tournament, win more games in the tournament, and on occasion get a 2nd bid. That would probably be more Akron's level for hoops. MAC hoops have drastically declined since covid and there are no signs of it improving anytime soon. The other schools are too busy checking the couch cushions searching for every last nickel and dime to throw at FBS football.

A back heel goal on a corner from Remi!

That's usually how I decide to attend too since my buddies dropped out long ago. I didn't quite make the move though because of last week's debacle and the thoroughly unentertaining Wyoming game I did attend. Now that the Zips might possibly be on the precipice of respectability and not get hammered every week or play stupid, I may go go next week. 🙂

I know football has been up and down but I feel like the athletic program on the up and up. I’m loving the advertising and pre game festivities of the Nemer/Goodrich era. Crowds are not at pre covid level but I feel theres an optimism across most of the sports. Hell if we beat UMass and Kent I still think that’s successful. Maybe not exciting but it’s raising the floor.

Homecoming was fantastic. Great day throughout the University. The fall fest was an amazing setup.

John Heisman was the coach.

I'll always cherish those 4 minutes.

Speak for yourself. I'd still rather see what Roggow could do

It will be interesting to see if anyone makes a dramatic leap like Amani and Tavari did last year. I always thought Tavari had talent but I was in the minority on this board and took a lot of grief from people on this board until last year. However, I was unhappy that Amani stayed with the team last year since I just did not see the talent. Could not be happier to be dead wrong. Nobody can ever predict who will improve from one year to the next.

Jack Roman has to be on the National list for the 5 most improved players in college soccer. Tremendous work by Jack Roman......to create that goal. The work rate of Jack Roman is phenomenal.

I would be stunned if Evan wasn't starting. If he was good enough to start 38 games in the Big 10, surely he is good enough to start in the MAC. IMO he will start at the 4. Stankovic was kind of a late add and probably needs more time to develop and learn Groce system. I wouldn't be surprised if both him and Evan start by the start of MAC play.

I can't find an instagram post or a X(Twitter) post by this young man. Looks like the Zips have added another 2026 recruit Calan DeWalt , a defender https://www.facebook.com/ECNLBoys/photos/d41d8cd9/1478534030944179/

Dropping divisions doesn't automatically make you more competitive since talent level drops accordingly.

To summarize the positives from the presser: 1. They had only 3 penalties 2. The placekicking was good 3. They got peeled so badly that some young guys got game experience If Joe Dunn ever gives up this sports gig he has a real future as a funeral director.

Yeah, let's focus on finding a good starting QB first

You must be tired of winning as well. I'll list the conferences that had multiple bids last year and you tell me which one we can finish with a winning record. This list is from Wikipedia. BidsConferenceSchools 14 SEC: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt 8 Big Ten: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin 7 Big 12: Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech 5 Big East: Creighton, Marquette, St. John's, UConn, Xavier 4 ACC: Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina 4 Mountain West: Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah State 2 West Coast: Gonzaga, Saint Mary's The MWC and West Coast are not serious options because of travel. That leaves us with even less serious options in the Big Ten, SEC, Big East, Big 12 and ACC. All but the Big East require football membership. That leaves the Big East. Let's see, St. Johns plays in the most famous arena in the world. Marquette plays in an NBA arena. Xavier has their own palace. UCONN is a national power. I guess once every 10 years we could beat Creighton. Does leaving the MAC still sound like a good idea?

Seems like a smart decision as the University tries to right size its footprint.

Were the two saves stellar or routine though? Having a great defense that only allows two mediocre shots per game can make any keeper look amazing on a stat sheet. Budler is no doubt one of the best in the country, but let's not discount excellent defense as a strong contributor to his eight shutouts.

If we just wait a few more years, G5 may have it's own division below FBS. By doing so, we can save a good MBB program and very good soccer program.

Whoever runs this account has the easiest job in the world. Depressing... but easy.

Highlight from the Gozips.com writeup: "Redshirt senior GK Mitch Budler (Lincoln, Neb.) collected two saves for the Zips out of nine total Bulldogs shots to earn his NCAA-leading eighth shutout of the season." This guy is good!

Vermont 2 UMBC 0 St. Louis with a 2-1 home win over LaSalle Creighton gets a 2-0 road win at DePaul Cornell 3-1 home win over Yale N. KY and Cleveland State 1-1 Georgetown 2-0 home win over St. John's Seton Hall 2-0 road win at Marquette Big East Midwest Standings Creighton 2-0 Akron alone in 2nd at 1-1 Xavier and DePaul 0-1-1 Marquette and Butler both 02 Big East - East Georgetown and Seton Hall both 2-0 Villanova 1-0-1 UConn and Providence both 1-1 St. John's 0-1-1

W

This field makes for an absolutely horrendous viewing experience. But the Zips are on the front foot early!

Man I was almost hung at high noon for bringing that up a dozen years ago. I feel a bit safer now…

Followed up by the same thing on 3rd and 12 lol

Agreed. I hate to see an area kid like Chip end up at another MAC school.

Johnson with the start. May as well see though with the season basically lost already, may as well see Roggow instead of a backup senior.