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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.

https://youtu.be/MEd-6pb6Z94?feature=shared Sorry @Captain Kangaroo the drums and chants are still as loud as ever.

The last paragraph: “Join us, as we “MAKE THE CLIMB” and help us as we work to as hard as possible over the next eight weeks to get to eight victories next season.” Maybe eight isn’t the hard line, but it sounds like that’s the aim.

Thanks. I’m 99% sure he was a walk-on, but I’ll add him to the list and note it.

So if I’m understanding this right, eight wins is the expectation next year. That essentially means going somewhere between 7-1 and 5-3 in conference play and hoping to steal one — or maybe even two — from Wake, Minnesota, and UNLV. That’s a tough ask, especially considering the schedule was about as favorable as it’ll ever be this past year. I had us pegged for 5–3 in conference against five new head coaches and winning both Wyoming and UAB. We all know how those turned out, so no need to revisit it. If eight wins is truly the expectation, then Goodrich has to find a way to get Moorhead the money he needs to retain most of our top players and expand the coaching staff. I’ve never questioned this staff’s ability to evaluate and bring in talent. An increased recruiting budget would also help, but I don’t see it as the biggest hurdle when so many of these coaches have years of experience and deep recruiting networks already built. If the expectations have been raised — which I’m all for — then the resources need to rise proportionally. If Goodrich can get this done for Moorhead, 2026 suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. I’m curious to see how it unfolds.

I agree about Finley. If he’s in form, we’ve got a shot to take one of—if not both—Wyoming and UAB. Instead, we wrapped up non-con play with the same record we always seem to have against P4 opponents. We’ve been waiting on Murphy for a while now. If the portal hits us the way I’m expecting, 2026 may be the perfect window for him to finally come into his own. I haven’t heard anything about White either. I’m assuming it was a season-ender since he never came back. He’s already used a redshirt, but he should be able to get a medical one if he chooses. Getting him back healthy would be huge, especially if we’re operating under the assumption that DeWalt is out of eligibility.

QB: It wasn’t Finley’s best outing by any stretch, but he made enough plays to keep the offense in position to score. In an unusual twist, he ran for 58 yards and was far more willing to pull it and go than we’ve seen from him in the past. I’m guessing a part of that was knowing it was his last college game and deciding to leave it all on the field. I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating — Finley never made the jump I hoped he would this year, but we don’t get to five wins without him. RB: Gant is incredibly good at making people miss. He may not have the breakaway speed some other backs have, but his cuts, vision, and angles are almost as good as anyone I’ve seen. And congrats to him for going over 1,000 yards on the season — well deserved. WR: Drops were an issue at times, but the receiving corps still came through with some big plays. It’s a shame the season is over because Marcel Williams is playing as well as anyone in the MAC right now. He’s absolutely deserving of a First Team selection with the way he closed out the year. Polk and Mason should be in the mix for Second or Third Team All-MAC as well. TE: Newell returned but didn’t look like himself, and Cravaack didn’t have his best game either. OL: I thought the OL got better as the game went on. Ironman K. Davis finally missed some time, and Morris showed his versatility by sliding over from left tackle to fill in at right guard. Lyons logged every snap again at center and played well to close out the season. DL: This group got after it, and the starters played an insanely high number of snaps this year. Congrats to Dall on sealing the game, and I hope it’s not the last time we see him in a Zips uniform. Murphy probably played his best game to date — I noticed him blast the center into the backfield multiple times. Ideally, that’s a jumping-off point for him heading into 2026. Laventure and Hull were really good, as usual. LB: Summers played well, and Spriggs flashed his athleticism and physicality multiple times. It wasn’t an overwhelmingly great night for the linebackers, but they were solid and made the plays needed to slow down BG’s run game. DB: Reed and DeWalt played every snap at corner. I believe both Anderson and Hunter went down during the game, which left Somerville, Flowers, and Di. Johnson to handle most of the snaps at safety. I was impressed with how they came downhill and helped in the run game. The Branches — if that’s the right way to refer to them — split snaps at nickelback. ST: I was disappointed Hills never broke one for a touchdown this season. He had multiple chances throughout the year and just couldn’t shake free for that final bit. Schramm was excellent on field goals, Castle did well punting, and Wiley once again placed his kickoffs where they needed to be. Coaching: I thought the staff put together a strong gameplan and did a great job keeping the team focused and ready to play despite there not really being anything on the table anymore. Could things have gone better? Sure, but I’m not going to dwell on the negatives after wrapping up the season with a win. Now we head into an offseason full of uncertainty and a long wait until the 2026 kickoff. We’ll see what happens. QB: Finley RB: Gant Patrick WR: Ma. Williams Monteiro WR: Polk WR: Louis Mason TE: Cravaack Newell LT: Morris D. Johnson LG: Archer McManus C Lyons RG: K. Davis Morris RT: A. Jones King DE: Dall D. Frazier DE: Durham J. Frazier DT: Hull Murphy DT: Laventure Mixon LB: Summers Hocker LB: Cooper Spriggs NB: Aa. Branch Al. Branch CB: Reed CB: DeWalt S: Anderson Somerville Flowers S: Hunter D. Johnson Offense: WR - Ma. Williams RT - A. Jones RB - Gant LG - McManus C - Lyons Defense: CB - Reed DT - Murphy DE - Dall CB - DeWalt DT - Laventure

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: Adams Grear Walker 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: (17) Laventure (R. Sr.) Murphy (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 LB: (7) Spriggs (R. Jr.) Benenge (Jr.) Hocker (R. So.) Boswell (R. Fr.) James (R. Fr.) Reeves (R. Fr.) Curtis (Fr.) * Portal / Out of Eligibility: Cooper Summers 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.) Wiley (R. Jr.) Schramm (R. So.) Portal / Out of Eligibility: Denis B. Johnson

Game Day Notes: Bowling Green is down to its fourth quarterback of the season in Washington State transfer Hunter Najm. He wasn’t asked to do much in his last outing, and when the game shifted to the fourth quarter, things started to unravel for him. Still, with ten days to prepare, the Falcons have had ample time to craft a game plan and try to get Najm settled for this matchup. The running back room remains the strength of the offense. They have multiple backs capable of producing chunk plays, and BG would love nothing more than to ride that group all evening. Mizzou transfer Austyn Dendy has taken the lead role of late and brings explosiveness every time he touches the ball. Cameron Pettaway and Chris McMillan rotate in and give the Falcons solid depth. The receiving corps, however, has been all over the place. Tight end Jyrin Johnson — more of a tweener than a traditional inline tight end — is the lone true playmaker. The wideouts have shown they can catch the ball, but outside of that, they rarely offer much in terms of creating after the catch or winning consistently. Up front, the offensive line is built to run the ball. Pass protection has been another story, as they’ve struggled with the rotation of quarterbacks and have surrendered 18 sacks in conference play alone. Defensively, the Falcons are fairly similar to Akron in points allowed and rush yards given up. The biggest gap comes in the pass game. Bowling Green’s secondary has been stingy, but the defensive front hasn’t consistently generated pressure. Akron, on the other hand, has given up plenty of passing yards but is one of the better teams in the MAC at creating pressure. The turnover battle also favors the Zips, as BG has struggled to force them while Akron has been one of the conference’s best in that department. Linebacker Gideon Lampron is one of the best defenders in the MAC, and edge rusher David Afogho provides a real threat off the edge. Defensive backs MJ Cannon and Kal-El Pascal round out a defensive core that can make things difficult for opponents. MAC Stats Only: Finley heads into his final game as the current MAC leader in passing yards and touchdowns. He’s also tied for second in interceptions. Gant leads the conference in rushing yards and needs 54 more to hit 1,000 on the year. Marcel Williams now leads the team in receiving yards and is second in conference action. Mason is ninth in receiving yards and tied for third in touchdowns. Polk is fifteenth in receiving yards and tied for second in touchdowns. Laventure is fourth in tackles for loss and tied for eighth in sacks.

Bump

Regarding Durham — PFF graded him as the best defender on the field against Kent State, giving him a mark above 80. I thought he played fairly well too, even though the stat sheet doesn’t show much. I’d disagree with PFF — as I often do — about the rating being that high, but compared to his other performances, I think it was one of his better games. Players don’t always need stats to be disruptive, and even those who haven’t played at a consistently high level can have a solid outing every now and then. Take it for what it’s worth, but a few opposing coaches have mentioned him in pregame pressers as someone they needed to account for. I do think he has the potential to develop into a much better player, but I also agree he hasn’t given us as much as we’ve needed this year — nor have our backup linemen, so the options have been limited. The potential is there; whether he reaches it remains to be seen. I’m not trying to turn this or any thread into something about one player — just clarifying the comment.

It was a record-setting day for the offense, yet we still managed to find a way to lose. We put up 530 yards of offense compared to Kent’s 374 and held them to just 57 yards on the ground. The only team stat we actually lost was turnover margin — and that was only by one. If you count the onside recovery, then it was even. Yes, the refs were unusually awful — and that’s saying a lot for MAC officials — but we didn’t do ourselves many favors either. The defense, particularly the secondary, looked completely lost on far too many plays. QB: Finley may have had the better stat line — and maybe even played the best game of his career — but in my opinion, he wasn’t the best quarterback on the field. I can only hope that by 2026, Roggow develops into the same type of player DeShields has become with a few college seasons under his belt. As usual, Finley made some beautiful throws but also some head-scratchers. At this point, he is who he is — and to be fair, without him, we probably don’t even have four wins. It’s just frustrating that he never took the leap I thought he would in this system to became one of the elite quarterbacks in the MAC. RB: The running game became an afterthought once we fell behind, but Gant still managed to rack up 96 yards, keeping him on pace for a thousand on the season. WR: Marcel Williams was phenomenal. Mason made his presence felt but appeared to leave the game with a shoulder issue — which would explain why Louis got his opportunity. Polk added a few more catches and another touchdown to his résumé. Our receivers torched Kent all night, and there were plenty of times when guys were wide open underneath on some of those incomplete deep shots and sacks. I also noticed a few excellent crack blocks throughout the game that really stood out. TE: Both Cravaack and Whisner saw action and did some good things. I’ve been giving Cravaack some praise the past few weeks, and he just keeps getting better with more opportunities. OL: The offensive line was an enigma. They struggled in short-yardage situations but absolutely mauled Kent’s defensive front at other times. And to be fair, I don’t put all six sacks on the O-line — some of those are on Finley. Lyons and K. Davis were ironmen up front, playing every snap at center and right guard, respectively. DL: The defense was stout against the run but struggled to get to the quarterback. DeShields showed excellent pocket awareness and got the ball out quickly when he needed to, which really neutralized our pass rush. Durham probably had his best game of the year — which might be little consolation at this point. LB: It was a quiet game from the linebackers. My biggest issue with the defense is that there were too many plays where we just didn’t seem ready. I’m not sure if the signals weren’t getting relayed correctly or what was going on, but there were far too many moments where we looked confused both before and after the snap. DB: I thought DeWalt and Reed played fairly well, and Hunter had his moments. Outside of those three, though, it was a horrendous night for this group. There were far too many explosive plays allowed in the passing game, and too often our guys got caught trying to jump a route or were looking in the backfield and completely lost track of their man. ST: The missed field goal ended up hurting us. The short kickoffs gave Kent great field position all night, and the turnover on punt return was unfortunate. On the flip side, the onside kick recovery was an absolute thing of beauty. Coaching: Hard to complain about 530 yards of offense, but I’m going to do it anyway — it felt like there was more left out there. One major issue I keep coming back to: why wasn’t Johnson inserted in the short-yardage situations? The defense left a lot to be desired. We were flat-out outcoached by a Kent team that had no business creating that many explosive plays or points. Final Take: There’s no way around it — we shouldn’t have lost this game. Even if we beat BG next week, there were so many wasted opportunities this season. The frustrating part is that this has been an ongoing theme since 2022. I’m not sure where things go this offseason, as all parties involved are going to have some tough decisions to make. If I’m not mistaken, Moorhead’s contract runs through 2027. He’s been working with an insanely limited set of resources compared to other FBS programs, so you have to wonder if he even wants to keep banging his head against the wall for a fifth year. I also imagine the new athletic director may want to make his mark with a fresh coaching hire — as new ADs often do. To top it off, I suspect we’ll get hit hard by the portal again since there are no NIL funds to retain some of our better players. So once again, there will likely be a lot of new faces — certainly talented ones, as talent hasn’t been the issue — but players with little FBS experience. Little to no experience means it will take time for those players to develop over the course of the season. None of this is meant to sound negative; it’s just the reality of where the program currently stands. QB: Finley RB: Gant Patrick WR: Ma. Williams Monteiro WR: Mason Louis Broughton WR: Polk Grear Hills TE: Cravaack Whisner LT: D. Johnson Morris LG: Archer McManus C Lyons RG: K. Davis RT: King A. Jones DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall Cheatom J. Frazier DT: Laventure Mixon DT: Hull Murphy LB: Summers Boswell LB: Cooper Spriggs NB: Aa. Branch CB: DeWalt Kamara CB: Reed Kamara S: Somerville Flowers S: Hunter Anderson Top Players on Offense: WR - Ma. Williams QB - Finley RB - Gant LT - Morris RT - A. Jones Top Players on Defense: DE - Durham S - Hunter LB - Summers CB - DeWalt CB - Reed

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.

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BG’s offense might be the worst in the conference right now. They’re down to their fourth-string quarterback and are struggling to move the ball against an EMU defense that’s been one of the weakest units in the MAC. If the Zips take care of business Tuesday night, there’s a very real chance of achieving six wins.

I caught that too. Thought it was an interesting response.

Thank you, glad to do them! I’m not sure the last FBS team we played was as bad as this 2025 UMass squad. We beat NIU 44-12 in Moorhead’s first season, but that NIU team was better than its record indicated and a lot of things broke our way that day. The UMass team we faced Tuesday night was both talent-deficient and injury-riddled. I agree—the Burns-led Kent teams probably would’ve beaten the Tuesday night version of UMass, although it might’ve been close. All that said, there’s a scenario where UMass leapfrogs us in the near future. They’re set to be one of the highest NIL bidders in the MAC, and their coaching staff will be among the best-compensated in the conference. If they use those resources wisely, NIL will help them retain their top players, while we’ll keep losing ours until something changes financially.

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

Game Day Notes: Redshirt freshman AJ Hairston remains the starter at quarterback, throwing for 812 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. He drew significant P4 attention early in his prep career before it became evident the G5 level would be his path. UMass has struggled to find consistent production from the backfield, partly due to injuries that have limited their key players. Colorado transfer Brandon Hood and UTSA transfer Rocko Griffin have combined for 519 yards and four touchdowns. At receiver, Jacquon Gibson has been the most reliable option throughout the year with 358 yards, though it was redshirt freshmen Kenyon Massey — a player we once offered — and Kezion Dia-Johnson who saw the bulk of the targets last game. Dia-Johnson, like Hairston, also had plenty of P4 interest coming out of high school. Up front, the offensive line has been a major problem, giving up 16 sacks in MAC play — the most in the conference. They’ve also surrendered 127 pressures on the year. For comparison, Akron’s allowed 83. Defensively, UMass has held up reasonably well against the run in conference play, but the overall picture hasn’t been nearly as encouraging. The Zips offense should have a chance to put together its best passing performance of the season against a struggling UMass secondary. The Minutemen have surrendered the most total yards and points in the MAC and sit second-to-last in passing yards allowed. To make matters worse, they’re tied for forcing the fewest turnovers in league play. Injuries have taken a major toll on what was supposed to be a revamped defense, though one bright spot has been Dartmouth transfer edge rusher Marques White, who’s been a steady presence up front with five sacks on the year. On the other side, Akron’s defense has quietly become one of the better pass-rushing groups in the MAC, second in the conference in sacks — and honestly, I’m not sure when the last time that could be said. On paper, Akron is a bad matchup for UMass, as the Zips’ strengths line up directly with the Minutemen’s weaknesses. Akron should win this one comfortably. Then again, things rarely come easy for this program, so we’ll see how it all shakes out. Notable MAC only Stats: Finley is third in passing yards and second in touchdowns thrown. Gant is second in rushing yards. Mason is eighth in receiving yards and tied for third in touchdown receptions. Laventure is tied for sixth in tackles for loss and tied for seventh in sacks. DeWalt is tied for fourth in passes defended. Summers is tied for first in interceptions.

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Bump. Went ahead and included weeks 10 and 11 for conference play due to all the mini-byes for MACtion.

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