Predict the 2024 Win/Loss Record

[catdaddyp]

My take below is assuming we have a healthy and productive QB.
 

5-7 Overall, 4-4 in MAC

 

At Ohio State - Loss. Ohio State is loaded with talent and predicted to be in contention for not only a conference title, but also a national title. My hope is the game is competitive for a while and we escape with minimal injuries.

 

At Rutgers - Loss. Rutgers is expected to be a better team than last season’s 7 win squad. That said, if I had to pick one upset potential out of our power matchups, this would be it.

 

Vs Colgate - Win. This is a must win game, sandwiched in-between the power schools, against a squad that won 6 games last year.

 

At South Carolina - Loss. South Carolina will have a physical defensive front and should have one of the better defenses in the SEC this year. This is another matchup where I hope injuries are limited.

 

At Ohio - Loss. I want to say this will be a win with all the roster turnover Ohio has experienced, but four road trips in the first five games makes for a difficult scenario. 

 

Vs Bowling Green - Win. Many pundits predict Bowling Green to make the conference championship game due to their veteran laden roster. To me, this seems like a prime spot for Moorhead to pull off an “upset.”

 

At Western Michigan - Loss. 50/50 game with the Broncos. WMU should have a strong ground game and a decent enough passing game. However, I’m not sold on their defense. Could easily be a win for Zips.

 

Vs Eastern Michigan - Win. In the past two matchups the score was 30-27 (2OT) and 34-28, both in favor of EMU. I know Creighton is talking conference champion with his program, yet his teams have struggled against Moorhead’s no matter who was or wasn’t playing. 

 

Vs Buffalo - Win. Buffalo may be the worst team in the MAC.

 

At Northern Illinois - Loss. Although, if NIU still hasn’t found a QB by this point in the season, we may see a repeat of 2022 (Akron win).

 

At Kent State - Win. Kent is still in rebuild mode. They will likely struggle to win more than 2 games this year.

 

Vs Toledo - Loss. This could be a win if the season does not go as expected for the Rockets. Questions along the OL and at QB could make Toledo just an above average team. On the flip side, if everything goes as Toledo expects, they could be the best in the MAC.

 

 

I really hope I’m wrong and this team wins at least 6 games. That is a possible scenario with all the question marks at QB for many of the teams we face. We have a talented roster that should be able to compete with anyone in the conference. My biggest concern is the 3 power games early in the schedule that may physically take their toll. I expect this team to be much better than last year’s squad, but the schedule is substantially more difficult. 
 

Curious as to what everyone else thinks.
 

Edited August 28 by catdaddyp

[Let'sGoZips94]

6-6 realistic. 7-5 if we pull off a Rutgers upset. 

 

The difference for me is Ohio. I think we win that. WMU and NIU could also be wins as you mentioned, but I'll leave those as losses for the sake of a realistic prediction and not homer prediction. 

[Zipmeister]

Although I hope for much better, I think 4-8 is most likely given the Zips penchant to blow a couple of games they should have won.

[zipsrule]

I'd love to be bowl eligible, but I think 5-7.

[GP1]

3-9, 4-8 tops. 

 

Until I see signs of life in the program, that's what I'm going with. 

[Ham]

'23 had 3 OT games---3 one score losses in the MAC

 

'24. 1-3. OOC --- 5-3 MAC

 

Everyone in the MAC will have many new faces this year.

[ClevelandZip]

My guess is 4-8 but I am definitely hoping for the team to prove me wrong (in the positive direction)!

[lance99]

22 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

My take below is assuming we have a healthy and productive QB.
 

5-7 Overall, 4-4 in MAC

 

At Ohio State - Loss. Ohio State is loaded with talent and predicted to be in contention for not only a conference title, but also a national title. My hope is the game is competitive for a while and we escape with minimal injuries.

 

At Rutgers - Loss. Rutgers is expected to be a better team than last season’s 7 win squad. That said, if I had to pick one upset potential out of our power matchups, this would be it.

 

Vs Colgate - Win. This is a must win game, sandwiched in-between the power schools, against a squad that was 7-3 last year.

 

At South Carolina - Loss. South Carolina will have a physical defensive front and should have one of the better defenses in the SEC this year. This is another matchup where I hope injuries are limited.

 

At Ohio - Loss. I want to say this will be a win with all the roster turnover Ohio has experienced, but four road trips in the first five games makes for a difficult scenario. 

 

Vs Bowling Green - Win. Many pundits predict Bowling Green to make the conference championship game due to their veteran laden roster. To me, this seems like a prime spot for Moorhead to pull off an “upset.”

 

At Western Michigan - Loss. 50/50 game with the Broncos. WMU should have a strong ground game and a decent enough passing game. However, I’m not sold on their defense. Could easily be a win for Zips.

 

Vs Eastern Michigan - Win. In the past two matchups the score was 30-27 (2OT) and 34-28, both in favor of EMU. I know Creighton is talking conference champion with his program, yet his teams have struggled against Moorhead’s no matter who was or wasn’t playing. 

 

Vs Buffalo - Win. Buffalo may be the worst team in the MAC.

 

At Northern Illinois - Loss. Although, if NIU still hasn’t found a QB by this point in the season, we may see a repeat of 2022 (Akron win).

 

At Kent State - Win. Kent is still in rebuild mode. They will likely struggle to win more than 2 games this year.

 

Vs Toledo - Loss. This could be a win if the season does not go as expected for the Rockets. Questions along the OL and at QB could make Toledo just an above average team. On the flip side, if everything goes as Toledo expects, they could be the best in the MAC.

 

 

I really hope I’m wrong and this team wins at least 6 games. That is a possible scenario with all the question marks at QB for many of the teams we face. We have a talented roster that should be able to compete with anyone in the conference. My biggest concern is the 3 power games early in the schedule that may physically take their toll. I expect this team to be much better than last year’s squad, but the schedule is substantially more difficult. 
 

Curious as to what everyone else thinks.
 

 

I will go with this, but the two games that actually scare me is Buffalo and Kent. The odds are good that they might be two of the worst teams in the Country at that point and they got nothing to lose, especially Kent....

[ZipCat]

L  @Ohio State

L  @Rutgers 

W vs. Colgate 

L   @ South Carolina 

W vs. Ohio 

W vs.Bowling Green

L   @ Western Michigan 

W vs. Eastern Michigan

W vs. Buffalo

W @ Northern Illinois

W @ Kent State 

L   vs Toledo

 

7-5. (6-2 MAC).

[72 Roo]

Good Lord I hope you are right! Reality I think supports my 4-8 prediction. We have yet to solve our OL problems. Behind it we have only one true D1 QB. Our DB's had turnover again. Our RB's need rebuilt. We lost WR's and our kicking game is questionable. If all those areas pan out we can go 7-5 or better. Reality and Akron history strongly say otherwise. The bottom line is that we, the public and fans, have no idea what we have. The flow of information and preparation of this team is non-existent and that is a flaw in the sports information dept and athletics marketing. 

 

Yet to end with some hope, I pray you are right. The last 5 years seem to indicate differently.

[LZIp]

8 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

Good Lord I hope you are right! Reality I think supports my 4-8 prediction. We have yet to solve our OL problems. Behind it we have only one true D1 QB. Our DB's had turnover again. Our RB's need rebuilt. We lost WR's and our kicking game is questionable. If all those areas pan out we can go 7-5 or better. Reality and Akron history strongly say otherwise. The bottom line is that we, the public and fans, have no idea what we have. The flow of information and preparation of this team is non-existent and that is a flaw in the sports information dept and athletics marketing. 

 

Yet to end with some hope, I pray you are right. The last 5 years seem to indicate differently.

I’ll throw my hat in the ring and say I think we have our OL fixed. Another offseason of development for the young guys, brought in numerous guys with P5 talent and good JUCO/FCS accolades.

 

My prediction with probably a bit of homerism: 6-6. But going 4-8 worst case. Would feel better if OOC wasn’t such a gauntlet. Not only win wise, but also in terms of staying healthy. I personally think the program really hits its stride next year.
 

 

Edited August 5 by LZIp

[zippy5]

It might be a 6-7 win talent level, but it's hard to rattle off 5 or 6 out of 8 after starting 1-3. They need better opportunities to create momentum early in the season 

[Kangaroo Craig]

3-9. Wins over Colgate, Kent, and Buffalo

[AkronAlumnus]

1 hour ago, Kangaroo Craig said:

3-9. Wins over Colgate, Kent, and Buffalo

Ditto

[ZippyRulz]

I think we will be improved enough that we won't lose to all of OU, BG, WMU, EMU and NIU. Glad we don't play the RedBricks.

 

Rockets at Infocision Nov. 26 for an ESPN Maction matchup with a chance for the Zips to go bowling.

 

[UA1996MAENG]

I was too optimistic in 2022 and 2023 ( I thought 6 wins in each year), so I have to pull back a bit.  I think UA wins 4 games this fall.  That's an improvement, but it does not give me much hope for 2025 considering that the landscape of college football in general and the circumstances and challenges of the Group of 5 in particular has changed dramatically.  Once a coach could build off of a progression of increased success (something to sell to new and higher ranked recruits, etc.).  Now, you have to rebuild the team each year because whatever player success reveals itself during the season means those players will leave through the portal.  

[Blue & Gold]

If Finley stays healthy? 5-7

@ OSU - L (0-1)  Ugh. I just pray we compete well & don't become a state laughingstock. 😡

@ Rutgers - L (0-2)

Colgate - W (1-2)

@ South Carolina - L (1-3)

@ Ohio - L (1-4)

BUGS - W (2-4)

@ WMU - L (2-5)

EMU - W (3-5)

Buffalo - W (4-5)

@ NIU - L (4-6)  With a near certain L vs. Toledo, in my scenario this becomes the pivotal game for potential bowl eligibility.

@ KSUcks - W (5-6) All that really matters.

UT - L (5-7)

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

I just noticed my prediction 👆 is a photocopy of @catdaddyp's picks. I wasn't cheating, I swear! 😂

[Captain Kangaroo]

I think 6 regular season wins is as good as we can realistically hope for, considering 3 of our initial 4 games are P5 road contests. Our offense will put up points as long as Finley is healthy. Our defense is solid. 6 wins is possible. 

 

5 regular season wins is probably expected. I like this team. These are "Joe's Guys" now, and it's Joe's system. Year #3 needs to be a marked step up in the results column. 5 wins = .500 in the MAC, and I'll take that.

 

4 regular season wins is the bottom acceptable level. We haven't won 4 or more games since 2019 so as lame as a 4-win season seems, it would double our best effort since Bowden was here.

 

The toughest thing to evaluate n August is - when our offense does something great, was the defense terrible, or is our offense actually good. Bowden's later teams fooled me on more than one occasion when his offense looked acceptable...but it was only because they were going up against a terrible Zips defense. In the regular season, guys that were August All Stars did nothing when the real season began.

 

My gut feeling is - Finley is the real deal. He's fast, elusive, great pocket presence, and a strong arm. Joe has given him Carte Blanc to throw the ball downfield with abandon, and he's really good on those throws. Our WR's are really good. Kellom and Simmons are solid, tough backs. The OL opened some nice holes for them. We have TE depth. My only hesitation is our OL. They looked fine on Saturday, but the QB's wore a green "you can't hit me" jerseys. All OL's look great when the QB can't be sacked. 

 

Defensively, I can't tell if our CB's struggled on Saturday, or if our WR's are just that good. I think it's a bit of both. I like our safeties. LB is the strength of the team. Our DL had nice size and athleticism. 

 

I think we are a solid MAC team. Not Toledo...but definitely in the middle of the pack. The days of being #12 or #13 in the MAC should officially be over.

[Zipmeister]

I am confident the Zips will outscore the competition in a least 7 quarters this season.

Maybe even at least 8.

[LZIp]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I think 6 regular season wins is as good as we can realistically hope for, considering 3 of our initial 4 games are P5 road contests. Our offense will put up points as long as Finley is healthy. Our defense is solid. 6 wins is possible. 

 

5 regular season wins is probably expected. I like this team. These are "Joe's Guys" now, and it's Joe's system. Year #3 needs to be a marked step up in the results column. 5 wins = .500 in the MAC, and I'll take that.

 

4 regular season wins is the bottom acceptable level. We haven't won 4 or more games since 2019 so as lame as a 4-win season seems, it would double our best effort since Bowden was here.

 

The toughest thing to evaluate n August is - when our offense does something great, was the defense terrible, or is our offense actually good. Bowden's later teams fooled me on more than one occasion when his offense looked acceptable...but it was only because they were going up against a terrible Zips defense. In the regular season, guys that were August All Stars did nothing when the real season began.

 

My gut feeling is - Finley is the real deal. He's fast, elusive, great pocket presence, and a strong arm. Joe has given him Carte Blanc to throw the ball downfield with abandon, and he's really good on those throws. Our WR's are really good. Kellom and Simmons are solid, tough backs. The OL opened some nice holes for them. We have TE depth. My only hesitation is our OL. They looked fine on Saturday, but the QB's wore a green "you can't hit me" jerseys. All OL's look great when the QB can't be sacked. 

 

Defensively, I can't tell if our CB's struggled on Saturday, or if our WR's are just that good. I think it's a bit of both. I like our safeties. LB is the strength of the team. Our DL had nice size and athleticism. 

 

I think we are a solid MAC team. Not Toledo...but definitely in the middle of the pack. The days of being #12 or #13 in the MAC should officially be over.

I completely agree. Hate to already look at next season before this one even starts, but with schedule and returning players, 2025 is really when the program should start hitting its stride. 4 wins min should be the baseline this season assuming Finley is mostly healthy. Its time for progress to be made in the win column, though it may not be substantial.

[exit322]

2-10 tops.  Maybe.  Absolutely no progress to show there should be any hope for more than this.

Colgate and one MAC upset win.  And neither is a guarantee; Colgate was 6-5 in FCS last year, so that's probably a coin flip game.

[LZIp]

7 minutes ago, exit322 said:

2-10 tops.  Maybe.  Absolutely no progress to show there should be any hope for more than this.

What progress would you have been looking for to be more positive? General consensus is that at minimum, we have a better QB than last year, and that alone would've probably would've let to multiple more wins. Biggest loss might've been Lingard, but I think we have a solid replacement and Lingard was gross underutilized as is. Plus, Joe is back calling the plays.

[72 Roo]

Your observation about Joe calling  the plays is not to be overlooked. Fesler did a horrible job last year. We had the best back in the MAC and Fesler refused to increase his carries when everyone in the stadium wanted to see Lingard pounding the ball more.  When you are a Zip football fan you cling to the smallest sign of hope!

[egregiousbob]

The best back in the MAC? You sound like Bud Wentz. At least 8 other backs had better yards-per-carry stats. Peny Boone of Toledo averaged 7.2 yards per carry vs. Lingard at 4.1 or so.