Akron Travels to Central Michigan for First Road #MACtion Game

Saturday, October 14

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

3:30 PM

University of Akron

Central Michigan

Akron vs. Northern Illinois FB - 10/7/23

Akron Travels to Central Michigan for First Road #MACtion Game

October 13 | Football

WHAT'S AHEAD
After opening the first two weeks of Mid-American Conference play at home, the Akron Zips travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for a league game against Central Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game is slated to be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Dan Gutowsky (PxP) and Ryan Cavanaugh (Analyst) calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

Television: ESPN+ - Dan Gutowsky (PxP), Ryan Cavanaugh (Analyst)
Radio: Akron Sports Network - David Skoczen (pxp), Joe Dunn (analyst)
WHLO 640 AM (flagship), WHK 1420 AM/102.5 FM
iHeart Radio, TheVarsityNetwork.com
Video Link: www.GoZips.com -
Live Stats Link: www.GoZips.com -

HEAD COACHES
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Jim McElwain (Eastern Washington, 1984)
Overall Record: 71-51 (5th Season)
Record at CMU: 27-24 (5th Season)

AKRON
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996)
Overall Record: 55-40 (8th Season)
Record at Akron: 3-15 (2nd Season)

SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: Central Michigan def. Akron, 28-21 (Akron, Ohio - Oct. 15, 2022)
Last Meeting at CMU: Central Michigan def. Akron, 45-24 (Mount Pleasant, Mich. - Sept. 14, 2019)
Last Win for Akron: Akron def. Central Michigan, 17-10 (Akron, Ohio - Oct. 27, 2018)

Akron is meeting Central Michigan for the 30th time in program history with the Chippewas owning a 18-10-1 series advantage. The Chippewas claimed the last two meetings over the Zips with a 45-24 (Sept. 14, 2019) in Mount Pleasant, Mich. and 28-21 (Oct. 15, 2022) in Akron. The Zips posted a 17-10 victory at InfoCision Stadium on Oct. 27, 2018. The series between the two schools dates back to the 1969 campaign when Akron earned a 9-7 road victory over Central Michigan.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan enters action this week against Akron at 3-3 on the campaign, including 1-1 marki in the MAC, following a 37-13 setback versus Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Chippewas QB Daniel Richardson directs the passing game for 879 yards, including throwing for four touchdowns, while the four players haul in most of the passes. CMU WR Jesse Prewitt III pulled down a team-best 21 catches for 306 yards and three touchdowns, while WR Chris Parker follows with 255 yards on 14 catches with two touchdowns. Also, with a pair of scores is WR Tyson Davis with 186 yards on 14 catches and WR Marion Lukes has caught 17 passes for 174 yards. CMU RB Myles Bailey has rushed for 332 yards and 4.4 yards per carry on 75 attempts, while running for two touchdowns.

Defensively, the trio of LB Kyle Moretti (54), CB Donte Kent (41) and SS Trey Jones (39) have combined to record 134 of the Chippewas 375 tackles. Moretti owns 4.5 tackles for loss with a pair of sacks, while DE Jacques Bristol owns the team-best five sacks. Central Michigan has tallied 10 sacks and 29 tackles for a loss.

As a team, the Chippewas average 23.7points per game, while their opponents net 34.0 points per outing. Central Michigan has thrown for 194.2 yards and rushed for 148.0 yards per tilt.

AKRON NOTES
• The Zips had four players with more than eight tackles against UB led by sophomore LB Bryan McCoy (Chicago, Ill.), who had 14.
• Irons completed 73.1 percent of his passes, going 19-for-26.
•Th Zips limited UB QB Cole Snyder to his lowest passing totals in two seasons with 142 yards and one touchdown on 19 of 34.
• Against IU DJ Irons and Lorenzo Lingard each rushed for over 100 yards for the Zips with 141 and 113 yards, respectively.
• Akron outgained Indiana, 474-282, including a 263-92 advantage on the ground.
• Sophomore LB Bryan McCoy (Chicago, Ill.) led the Zips with 12 tackles.
• Akron won the time of possession battle 34:24 to 25:36.
• Akron won the turnover battle 3-1 after intercepting one pass and recovering two fumbles.
• Akron tallied 3 points in the third quarter, accounting for 100% of their total score.
• Akron converted 6 of 15 third downs while Kentucky was successful on 5 of 8.
• Akron won the time of possession battle 34:47 to 25:13.
• Irons completed 67.6% of his passes on the day, going 23-for-34
•CJ Nunnally opened the game with back-to-back sacks for the Zips.
•Noel Roach blocked punt to setup Akron field goal, made by Noah Perez 22 yards
•Alex Adams caught his first TD pass of the season 29 yards from Jeff Undercuffler 5-5 on the 67-yard drive.
•Devonte Golden-Nelson recorded the Zips first interception of the season and first Pick-6, taking the 50 yards for his first-career touchdown.
• Akron outgained Morgan State 262-231, including a 254-152 advantage through the air.
• Akron converted 4 of 11 third downs while Morgan State was successful on 2 of 16.
• The Zips had three players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Bryan McCoy, who had 14.
• The Zips racked up nine tackles for loss and added four sacks.
• Akron posted 279 yards of total offense in the season opener vs Temple
• DJ Irons accounted for 205 yards of offense with two TDs on 17-of-29 throwing.
• Lorenzo Lingard caught a career-high 77 yard TD reception from Irons on the second play of the game to give Akron a 7-0 lead.
• Daniel George caught a 50-yard long pass from Irons to setup the Zips second TD
• Myles Walker hauled in the second TD pass from Irons, a 14 yard reception and his first career touchdown
• Drake Anderson led the ground attack with 40 of the Zips 74 yards.
• Akron's defense registered three tackles for loss with eight total yards.Bryan McCoy (1), Shammond Cooper (0.5), Terray Jones (1) and CJ Nunnally (0.5) recorded the takedowns.
• Darrian Lewis, Antavious Fish and McCoy recorded seven tackles each to lead the Zips. Judson Tallendier, Cooper and KJ Martin followed with five each.

MAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
(Sept. 25) - QB DJ Irons was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced. Irons generated 335 of 474 yards of total offense for the Zips in a four-overtime setback to Indiana on Saturday night, 29-27. Irons paced the Zips rushing attack by accumulating 141 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 7.8 yards per carry and a 34-yard long rushing attempt. He also threw for 194 yards, completing 22-of-35 passes and a 28-yard long toss to sophomore WR Jasaiah Gathings. Irons gave Akron a 10-7 advantage on a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter after returning to the game. He found paydirt in the first overtime period with a 10-yard TD rush.

(Sept. 11) - CJ Nunnally was named Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Nunnally provided a spark for Akron, helping them to a 24-21 win over Morgan State in their home opener at InfoCision Stadium on Saturday. With less than a minute to play, Nunnally forced a fumble to setup the game-winning touchdown. He forced the fumble at the Morgan State 13-yardline, stripping the Bears QB J.J. Davis of the ball, allowing teammate LB Bryan McCoy to recover the loose ball and score the game-winning touchdown.In addition, Nunnally opened the game with back-to-back sacks, recording two of the Zips four sacks on the game. His sacks totaled 10-yards of loss and posted a third tackle for an eight-yard loss. In all, Nunnally registered four tackles, three solo and one assisted, with three tackles for losses.

AKRON NAMES CAPTAINS FOR THE 2023 CAMPAIGN
The Zips elected QB DJ Irons, WR Daniel George, DB KJ Martin and LB Bryan McCoy as captains for Akron for the 2023 campaign.

UP NEXT
The Zips visit Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.