Akron Hosts Ohio Bobcats on Senior Day #MACtion

WHAT'S AHEAD
It's Senior Day and the final game of the 2023 campaign for the Akron football program as the Zips host the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, Nov. 24 at InfoCision Stadium. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game is slated to be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network with Carter Blackburn (PxP) and Adam Breneman (Analyst) calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

Television:       CBSSN - Carter Blackburn (PxP) and Adam Breneman (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 - https://bit.ly/3u7z9cZ
Live Stats Link: www.GoZips.com - https://bit.ly/485p7sw

THE SENIORS
Prior to the game, Akron will recognize 14 seniors in 0 QB D.J. Irons, Jr., 1 WR Daniel George, 1 DB K.J. Martin, 5 TE T.J. Banks, 8 DT Terray Jones, 9 DB Judson Tallandier, II, 13 QB Jeff Undercuffler, Jr., 16 DB Nate Thompson, 21 RB Drake Anderson, 21 DB Cameron Threatt, 27 RB Lorenzo Lingard, Jr., 60 OL Ben Frank, 92 DL Tyler Carter and 99 DL Devon Robinson.

HEAD COACHES
OHIO BOBCATS
Tim Albin (Northwestern Oklahoma, 1989)
Overall Record: 46-24 (6th Season)
Record at Ohio: 21-16 (3rd Season)

AKRON
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996)
Overall Record: 56-44 (8th Season)
Record at Akron: 4-19 (2nd Season)

SERIES HISTORY
Series: Ohio leads 25-13-1
Last Meeting: Ohio def. Akron, 55-34 (Athens, Ohio - Oct. 8, 2022)
Last Meeting in Akron: Ohio def. Akron, 34-17 (Akron, Ohio - Oct. 2, 2021)

Akron is meeting Ohio for the 40th time in program history with the Bobcats owning a 25-13-1 series advantage. In the last meeting between the two schools, Ohio registered a 55-34 triumph past the Zips on Oct. 8, 2022 in Athens. Akron and Ohio last met at InfoCison Stadium on Oct. 2, 2021 as the Bobcats posted a 34-17 victory.The series between the two schools dates back to the 1912 campaign when Akron earned a 27-0 home victory over Ohio. The Zips and Bobcats have met every season since 1992.

SCOUTING OHIO BOBCATS
Ohio enters the final regular season game with an 8-3 overall record and 5-2 league mark. As a team, the Bobcats average 22.7 points per game, while their opponents net 15.5 points per outing. Ohio has thrown for 210.8 yards and rushed for 132.6 yards per tilt.

Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke directs the Bobcats' attack passing for 1,999 yards, including throwing for 10 touchdowns. RB Sieh Bangura has rushed for 700 yards and 4.5 yards per carry en route to six touchdowns. The WR quartet of Sam Wiglusz, Miles Cross, Tyler Walton and Will Kacmarek have hauled in a combined 143 passes for 570, 514, 331 and 241 yards, respectively, and 11 of 14 touchdowns.

Defensively, the trio of Bryce Houston, Keye Thompson and Walter registered 113, 89 and 60 tackles, including posting 51, 40 and 21 solo stops, respectively. Ohio has tallied 27 sacks for 142 yards of loss and 82 tackles for a loss of 287 yards. Rayyan Buell owns a team-best 4.5 sacks, while Houston and Buell recorded 11.5 TFL each.

MAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
(Nov. 3) – QB QB Jeff Undercuffler, Jr. (Burlington, N.J.) was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week. Undercuffler led Akron to a 31-27 win over rival Kent State as the Zips claimed the coveted Wagon Wheel trophy for the first time since 2018 on Wednesday night at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field. Undercuffler guided Akron's passing attack with 298 yards, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception while completing 23-of-39 passes. The signal caller also added a touchdown on the ground with a five-yard run with 26-seconds left in the game to secure the rivalry win. The Zips scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the win as Undercuffler led three scoring drives, starting with a 16-play, 87-yard drive lasting 6:32 and ending with a 22-yard pass to WR Jasaiah Gathings for a touchdown to make it 27-17. Next, the Zips used a 3:32 drive consisting of six plays for 74 yards as RB Lorenzo Lingard broke free with a 37-yard run to bring Akron within three points (27-24). After a three-and-out defensive stop by the Zips, Undercuffler gave the Zips a 31-27 advantage while leaving only 26-seconds remaining on the game clock with an eight-play, 57-yard that lasted 2:57. On the final drive, Undercuffler completed 3-of-4 passes, finding Gathings twice and Lingard once to take the offense to the Kent State five-yard line. He kept the ball on the final run-pass-option play and scampered five yards for the touchdown.

(Sept. 25) - QB DJ Irons was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week. 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.

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Players Mentioned

Drake Anderson

Tyler Carter

Ben Frank

Jasaiah Gathings

Daniel George

DJ Irons

Terray Jones

Lorenzo Lingard

KJ Martin

Bryan McCoy

Devon Robinson

Judson Tallandier

Nate Thompson

Jeff Undercuffler, Jr.

The University of Akron Athletics