2025 Football Season

[GP1]

27 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Makes you wonder if he’s good enough to go to Jacksonville State, why wouldn’t he want to play under his dad?

Why would he want to play for his dad? My father was an awesome person, but I'd never want to play sports for a team coached by him. I always wanted to chart my own course. Kids who grow up and work in their family business are weaklings. I think his son shows a lot of guts. 

[kreed5120]

12 hours ago, LZIp said:

Makes you wonder if he’s good enough to go to Jacksonville State, why wouldn’t he want to play under his dad?

Maybe he wants an opportunity to actually play in a bowl game

[UA1996MAENG]

I renewed and upgarded season tickets today.  I'm frustrated about the post-season ban and the academic failure that led to it, but I love my alma mater and want to continue my support. I hope to see you all at InfoCision for the Wyoming game. 

[72 Roo]

The excitement for the coming football season is at an all-time low. This is due to many, many factors the greatest of which is our losing record for way too many seasons. Despite this there is a core of support, of which you are one, that knows this can be turned around. I believe that too. UA football is not destined to be the poster child for a weak program. It has issues that were caused by coaching, conference, administration, AD's and the malaise of college football as a G-5. Many won't agree with me, but I believe these are all issues to be dealt with and overcome. Perhaps not all at one time, but over time all of them can be corrected or mitigated. This season can continue the improvement and that's how I see playing out. I don't see better than a five win record, yet that is another step back to respectability.  

[Sergeant Zip]

 

[ZippyDoo]

3 hours ago, Sergeant Zip said:

 

I'll save you the 39 minutes of misery of listening to the podcast. One picks 3 wins one picks 4 wins.  Doom and gloom like A LOT of people on here. It's simple if you don't want to cheer the team on then. The team won more games last year and has improved. We have a lot of transfers and a good group of freshman coming in. Give them a chance before you start hating on them. I am pretty sure none of you applied for any of the coaching positions and none of you were offered any of the scholarship positions to get on the field and sacrifice your time and your body. Of course you all have answers from your couches and you all could do better, but how about trying something different and supporting them when nobody else is. 

[catdaddyp]

On 6/27/2025 at 12:54 PM, ZippyDoo said:

I'll save you the 39 minutes of misery of listening to the podcast. One picks 3 wins one picks 4 wins.  Doom and gloom like A LOT of people on here. It's simple if you don't want to cheer the team on then. The team won more games last year and has improved. We have a lot of transfers and a good group of freshman coming in. Give them a chance before you start hating on them. I am pretty sure none of you applied for any of the coaching positions and none of you were offered any of the scholarship positions to get on the field and sacrifice your time and your body. Of course you all have answers from your couches and you all could do better, but how about trying something different and supporting them when nobody else is. 

I appreciate their dedication to covering the MAC, but at the end of the day, those guys are really just fans who happened to graduate from MAC schools—so take their opinions with a grain of salt.

 

We should’ve won more under Moorhead. Just too many close losses. If we don’t come out of this year’s OOC slate at 3-1, I’m going to be disappointed.

 

The MAC is wide open, and we’re one of the few teams returning a starting quarterback. I don’t see us winning at Toledo or pulling off a home win over Miami—those programs look like they’ve reloaded pretty well—but outside of that, every conference game feels winnable.

 

I agree the freshman class is legit, and the portal additions seem to be solid. The 2023 and 2024 recruits should be ready to contribute now too. If Tibesar’s defense overachieves like it usually does when expectations are low and we can piece together a competent offensive line, it could be a fun ride this season.

[72 Roo]

The lines will determine where we go this season. Our first and foremost need is to build a competent OL. We have yet to achieve that. At best we have sen glimmers of hope, but no performance. Next to that we need to rebuild our DL. If they can bring pressure on the opposing QB the rest of the D will be formidable. I hope this will be a fun ride this fall, but I'm not optimistic that we can go over 5 wins. Too many question marks. 

[ZippyRulz]

21 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

 

I don’t see us winning at Toledo or pulling off a home win over Miami—those programs look like they’ve reloaded pretty well

 

 

Good news: they can't take us lightly. Bad news: they won't take us lightly. Especially Toledo after last year. Would love to pluck the Redsquawks.

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:50 PM by ZippyRulz

[Lee Adams]

Speaking of the schedule. Wyoming is a 9.5 point fave coming in here in August. Projections around 5 wins. May not be the best way for the Zips to start an already strangely developing season.

[MangoZip]

Wow, surprised that the Zips are that big of an underdog at home against a team that was 3-9 last year. Not saying it should be an easy win, but that seems like alot of points. 

[GP1]

55 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

Wow, surprised that the Zips are that big of an underdog at home against a team that was 3-9 last year. Not saying it should be an easy win, but that seems like alot of points. 

I don't know about an easy win, but it's a game Akron should win. Moreover, it's a game Akron needs to win. I don't know how many games are "must win" games in week one, but this is one for Akron. 

 

Wyoming is a known college football brand and they even have a helmet everyone in the country recognizes. Heck, it's the name of a beautiful state. Akron has beaten better teams in the history of the program. Marshall, Northwestern, Syracuse and NIU in the MAC come to mind. 

[egregiousbob]

22 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

Good news: they can't take us lightly. Bad news: they won't take us lightly. Especially Toledo after last year. Would love to pluck the Redsquawks.

 

 

 

Is this the first time since Akron has been in the MAC that Ohio is not on the schedule? Weird.

[catdaddyp]

Not sure if anyone else has posted this, but here are a few nuggets from Phil Steele:

 

He’s projecting our most wins since 2017 despite the portal and graduation losses. That said, he has us ranked 10th in the MAC—an improvement from being tied for dead last in 2024. (For reference, we finished 8th last season with 3 MAC wins and 4 total.)

 

Coaching staff got a bump—he ranks them 5th in the conference, up from 8th a year ago.

 

He’s not buying into our OL, DL, DB, or ST units though. He’s pretty down across the board on those groups.

 

Preseason All-MAC selections:

QB: Ben Finley (4th Team)

WR: Alex Adams (2nd Team)

TE: Jake Newell (3rd Team)

LB: Gage Summers (3rd Team)

CB: Elijah Reed (4th Team)

 

 

 

My take:

As far as preseason All-MAC goes, I think it’s wishful thinking for Adams after what I saw in the spring game. He didn’t have the explosiveness he had a few years ago. Hopefully he will get some of it back by the time 2025 kicks off. I think it’s more likely Mason lands as an all conference WR. 

 

I also think we’ll be fine at DB and on ST. I’m more concerned with our quality depth on the OL and DL. Hopefully we’ve done enough in the portal and through JUCO to shore up those groups so that injuries don’t drastically alter our performance when the backups have to step in.

[kreed5120]

42 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I don't know about an easy win, but it's a game Akron should win. Moreover, it's a game Akron needs to win. I don't know how many games are "must win" games in week one, but this is one for Akron. 

 

Other than Kent, I'm not sure there is an opponent that's in the should win category (excluding FCS). There are certainly teams we can contend with and beat, but nobody I can say with confidence that's a win.

 

In the grand scheme of things until we prove otherwise Akron is just above Kent in the food chain and below ~120 other teams. We are the cupcake that other fans pencil in wins against when they're projecting their teams win totals.

[ewbrooman1]

ICYMY - I'm not sure of the best place to put this, but since football season is closest, ESPN+ is now available for no extra charge on Spectrum with the right subscription package. I have Silver which is an older named package. I think newer versions are called Select. You have to log onto your account and manage TV/Streaming. If you qualify I think it will say Start Streaming. There are a few other Streaming services available also. I heard Hulu is to come. It says I am saving 11.99. 

[LZIp]

1 hour ago, catdaddyp said:

Not sure if anyone else has posted this, but here are a few nuggets from Phil Steele:

 

He’s projecting our most wins since 2017 despite the portal and graduation losses. That said, he has us ranked 10th in the MAC—an improvement from being tied for dead last in 2024. (For reference, we finished 8th last season with 3 MAC wins and 4 total.)

 

Coaching staff got a bump—he ranks them 5th in the conference, up from 8th a year ago.

 

He’s not buying into our OL, DL, DB, or ST units though. He’s pretty down across the board on those groups.

 

Preseason All-MAC selections:

QB: Ben Finley (4th Team)

WR: Alex Adams (2nd Team)

TE: Jake Newell (3rd Team)

LB: Gage Summers (3rd Team)

CB: Elijah Reed (4th Team)

 

 

 

My take:

As far as preseason All-MAC goes, I think it’s wishful thinking for Adams after what I saw in the spring game. He didn’t have the explosiveness he had a few years ago. Hopefully he will get some of it back by the time 2025 kicks off. I think it’s more likely Mason lands as an all conference WR. 

 

I also think we’ll be fine at DB and on ST. I’m more concerned with our quality depth on the OL and DL. Hopefully we’ve done enough in the portal and through JUCO to shore up those groups so that injuries don’t drastically alter our performance when the backups have to step in.

Pretty much agree here. OL and DL are definitely the biggest question marks. I think we did a good job filling the OL holes. Not so sure about DL. I’m not too excited about the JUCO guys, but who knows - could be another CJ Nunnally in there. Hope more of the young guys are ready to contribute.

[MarkWiley]

2 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Not sure if anyone else has posted this, but here are a few nuggets from Phil Steele:

 

He’s projecting our most wins since 2017 despite the portal and graduation losses. That said, he has us ranked 10th in the MAC—an improvement from being tied for dead last in 2024. (For reference, we finished 8th last season with 3 MAC wins and 4 total.)

 

Coaching staff got a bump—he ranks them 5th in the conference, up from 8th a year ago.

 

He’s not buying into our OL, DL, DB, or ST units though. He’s pretty down across the board on those groups.

 

Preseason All-MAC selections:

QB: Ben Finley (4th Team)

WR: Alex Adams (2nd Team)

TE: Jake Newell (3rd Team)

LB: Gage Summers (3rd Team)

CB: Elijah Reed (4th Team)

 

 

 

My take:

As far as preseason All-MAC goes, I think it’s wishful thinking for Adams after what I saw in the spring game. He didn’t have the explosiveness he had a few years ago. Hopefully he will get some of it back by the time 2025 kicks off. I think it’s more likely Mason lands as an all conference WR. 

 

I also think we’ll be fine at DB and on ST. I’m more concerned with our quality depth on the OL and DL. Hopefully we’ve done enough in the portal and through JUCO to shore up those groups so that injuries don’t drastically alter our performance when the backups have to step in.

Where can we read this?

[MangoZip]

7 minutes ago, MarkWiley said:

Where can we read this?

It’s the annual bible of college football information. It lists every team’s depth chart, stats, and other info. I’d post a screenshot but the type is so small and packed with info that it would be hard to read. You can buy it online or some bookstores carry it. 

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, MarkWiley said:

Where can we read this?

https://philsteele.com
 

Site is a little janky and there are always typos, but it’s usually an entertaining read. The magazine comes with online access.

[ZippyRulz]

On 6/30/2025 at 10:54 AM, egregiousbob said:

Is this the first time since Akron has been in the MAC that Ohio is not on the schedule? Weird.

 

As far as I can remember we have played every year as members of the same MAC division. 

[catdaddyp]

Football roster has been updated. Looks like everyone is accounted for except the incoming freshmen and JUCO DT Nehemiah Musika, who may just be enrolling later.

 

Also, it seems former UNC LB CJ Murphy has filled the open LB spot.

Edited Wednesday at 01:32 AM by catdaddyp

[Blue & Gold]

On 6/30/2025 at 10:54 AM, egregiousbob said:

Is this the first time since Akron has been in the MAC that Ohio is not on the schedule? Weird.

The MAC should make sure we play both KSUcks and Ohio every year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

9 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Also, it seems former UNC LB CJ Murphy has filled the open LB spot.

Looks like he was at unc for three seasons and never saw the field? Should have 2 years of eligibility remaining. 6’3” 235 lbs. Can’t complain about that.

[LZIp]

50 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Looks like he was at unc for three seasons and never saw the field? Should have 2 years of eligibility remaining. 6’3” 235 lbs. Can’t complain about that.

Also looks like he was a walk on there.