Akron can't keep up in loss to Falcons

Akron Zips 2009 ... Head Coach: J.D. Brookhart

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 5-7
2009 Record: 2-8

9/5 at Penn State L 31-7
9/12 Morgan St W 41-0
9/19 Indiana L 38-21
9/26 at Central Mich L 48-21
10/3 OPEN DATE
10/10 Ohio L 19-7
10/17 at Buffalo L 21-17
10/24 at Syracuse L 28-14
10/31 at No. Illinois L 27-10
11/7 Kent W 28-20
11/13 Temple L 56-17
11/20 at BGSU L 36-20
11/27 Eastern Mich

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 4-8
2008 Record: 5-7

8/30 at Wisconsin L 38-17
9/6 at Syracuse W 42-28
9/13 Ball St L 41-24
9/20 at Army W 22-3
9/27 Cincinnati L 17-15
10/4 at Kent St W 30-27 2OT
10/11 Bo Green L 37-33
10/18 at East Mich W 42-35
10/25 OPEN DATE
11/1 OPEN DATE
11/5 Toledo W 47-30
11/13 Buffalo L 43-40 4OT
11/22 at Ohio L 49-42
11/28 at Temple L 27-6

Akron Zips

Nov. 20
at Bowling Green 36 … Akron 20
Tyler Sheehan became the Bowling Green record-setter for completions and threw for 338 yards with two third quarter touchdown passes to Freddie Barnes on the way to a 30-13 lead. Akron got two touchdown passes from Patrick Nicely including a 34-yarder to Andre Jones early in the fourth to pull the Zips within ten, but Keith Morgan put the game away on the ensuing kickoff taking it 41 yards for a score.
Player of the Game: Bowling Green WR Freddie Barnes caught 12 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran four times for 15 yards.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 22-32, 259 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Broderick Alexander, 13-46, Receiving: Andre Jones, 8-114, 1 TD
Bowling Green: Passing: Tyler Sheehan, 23-32, 338 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Chris Bullock, 8-90, 1 TD, Receiving: Freddie Barnes, 12-197, 2 TD 
What It All Means: Akron played relatively well in the loss. The 2-9 record might not be all that great, and the wheels appeared to be coming off after the 56-17 loss to Temple, but the offense moved the ball through the air and the team fought back to make it interesting in the fourth quarter. But it was still a double-digit loss and the season continues to be a disaster. Fortunately, Eastern Michigan is up next at home to close things out on a high note.

Nov. 13
Temple 56 … at Akron 17
Temple overcame an early 17-7 deficit with 49 unanswered points starting with a 22-yard James Nixon touchdown run before Delano Green came up with what would be the winning score on a 66-yard punt return. Temple started off the scoring with a 63-yard Michael Campbell touchdown catch on the first drive, and Stewart ended up throwing a second touchdown pass, a 24-yarder to Joe Jones, and ran for two short scores. Akron managed just 247 yards of total offense and got in the end zone on a nine-yard Andre Jones catch and a two-yard Sean Fobbs fumble return for a score.
Player of the Game: Temple QB Chester Stewart completed 6-of-11 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and he ran nine times for 39 yards and two scores.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 15-29, 99 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joe Tuzze, 8-35, Receiving: Andre Jones, 5-41, 1 TD
Temple: Passing: Chester Stewart, 6-11, 145 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bernard Pierce, 19-97, 1 TD, Receiving: Michael Campbell, 3-97, 1 TD
What It All Means: Just when it seemed like Akron was pulling up out of the nosedive after pulling off a huge win over Kent State, all but ruining the Golden Flashes’ MAC title hopes, there was this performance. After a strong first quarter when the Zips were able to get up early and looked like they were ready to make a huge statement for the last few weeks of the season, nothing worked. The special teams had a breakdown, the offense sputtered and gave up a score, and the Temple floodgates opened. The string will be closed out at Bowling Green and against Eastern Michigan; there’s no reason to not at least split.

Nov. 13
Temple 56 … at Akron 17
Temple overcame an early 17-7 deficit with 49 unanswered points starting with a 22-yard James Nixon touchdown run before Delano Green came up with what would be the winning score on a 66-yard punt return. Temple started off the scoring with a 63-yard Michael Campbell touchdown catch on the first drive, and Stewart ended up throwing a second touchdown pass, a 24-yarder to Joe Jones, and ran for two short scores. Akron managed just 247 yards of total offense and got in the end zone on a nine-yard Andre Jones catch and a two-yard Sean Fobbs fumble return for a score.
Player of the Game: Temple QB Chester Stewart completed 6-of-11 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and he ran nine times for 39 yards and two scores.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 15-29, 99 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joe Tuzze, 8-35, Receiving: Andre Jones, 5-41, 1 TD
Temple: Passing: Chester Stewart, 6-11, 145 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bernard Pierce, 19-97, 1 TD, Receiving: Michael Campbell, 3-97, 1 TD
What It All Means: Just when it seemed like Akron was pulling up out of the nosedive after pulling off a huge win over Kent State, all but ruining the Golden Flashes’ MAC title hopes, there was this performance. After a strong first quarter when the Zips were able to get up early and looked like they were ready to make a huge statement for the last few weeks of the season, nothing worked. The special teams had a breakdown, the offense sputtered and gave up a score, and the Temple floodgates opened. The string will be closed out at Bowling Green and against Eastern Michigan; there’s no reason to not at least split.
What It All Means: With this win, now Temple might get a bowl bid even if there’s a loss to Kent State or at Ohio. With the Bobcats continuing to win, the MAC East title will come down to the showdown in Oxford, but if the Owls keep dominating on defense and if Chester Stewart can provide some semblance of a passing game, even if there’s just a threat, then Bernard Pierce and the running game should be able to do even more. The defensive line is dominating at the moment while the running game continues to produce. Outside of the mediocre passing game, Temple has a nice mix.

Nov. 7
at Akron 28 … Kent State 20
Akron stunned the Golden Flashes with two touchdown passes from Patrick Nicely to Jeremy LaFrance, coming from 59 and six yards out, and Alex Allen and Andre Jones ran for short scores on the way to a 28-13 lead. Kent State bombed away and pulled within eight on a none-yard Kendrick Pressley touchdown catch, but couldn’t get any closer in the final minutes.
Player of the Game: Akron LB Brian Wagner made 15 tackles and two tackles for loss, and S Miguel Graham made six tackles and broke up six passes.
Kent State: Passing: Spencer Keith, 30-59, 377 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Jacquise Terry, 7-18, Receiving: Tyshon Goode, 8-132
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 19-34, 261 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Broderick Alexander, 13-42 & Joe Tuzze, 8-42, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 8-126, 2 TD
What It All Means: Akron needed something, anything to get excited about after an ugly six-game losing streak, and now there’s something to build on for the final few games. The Zips screwed up Kent State’s title hopes, and it can be a spoiler for Temple next week. To get the upset, Patrick Nicely has to keep throwing like he did this week and has to keep moving the chains, and the defense has to make even more big plays. Brian Wagner was brilliant and Miguel Graham came up with a special performance in the secondary. 

Oct. 31
at Northern Illinois 27 … Akron 10
Chad Spann ran for two fourth quarter touchdowns, scoring from 28 and two yards out, and Nathan Palmer ran for a seven-yard score as NIU finally pulled away after a sluggish first 45 minutes. Mike Salerno gave the Huskies a 6-0 halftime lead on two field goals, but Akron came back highlighted by a 80-yard Andre Jones touchdown catch from running back Alex Allen. Akron went 0-of-10 on third down conversions.
Player of the Game: Northern Illinois QB DeMarcus Grady completed 10-of-18 passes for 62 yards and ran 20 times for 109 yards.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 11-27, 124 yds
Rushing: Broderick Alexander, 19-48, Receiving: Andre Jones, 6-154, 1 TD
Northern Illinois: Passing: DeMarcus Grady, 10-18, 62 yds
Rushing: Chad Spann, 21-125, 2 TD, Receiving: Perez Ashford, 4-30
What It All Means: Seven penalties, 0-of-10 third down conversions, and 80 of the 235 yards of total offense coming on one play, and that was a gimmick. The Zips are getting worse instead of better. The ground game is non-existent partly because NIU was able to tee off into the backfield with no fear of Patrick Nicely making anything happen through the air. On a six-game losing streak, there isn’t much hope to turn things around right away with Kent State and Temple, arguably the two best teams in the East, coming up next. 

Oct. 24
at Syracuse 28 … Akron 14
Syracuse got three touchdown runs from Delone Carter from seven, two, and four yards out, while the defense held Akron out of the end zone for just over 55 minutes. The Zips scored first on an 11-yard Andre Jones catch, and then it was all Carter on offense and the SU defense, that held Akron to no net yards rushing. The Zips scored on the opening kickoff of the second half on a 98-yard return from Dashan Miller, but SU responded later in the third quarter with n 11-yard Marcus Sales touchdown catch.
Player of the Game: Syracuse RB Delone Carter ran 30 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 16-25, 191 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: DeVoe Torrence, 8-17, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 5-46
Syracuse: Passing: Greg Paulus, 12-17, 105 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Delone Carter, 30-170, 3 TD, Receiving: Marcus Sales, 6-61, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Akron’s offense went in the tank over the final three quarters against Syracuse. The O has sputtered all season long, and while Patrick Nicely did a decent job throwing the ball, there wasn’t any running game, failing to net a yard. The defense wasn’t awful, but the front line that has been struggling all season long got shoved around by the Orange running game. There might be more problems next week against a NIU offense that’s trying to get more physical.

Oct. 17
at Buffalo 21 … Akron 17
Mario Henry ran for a one-yard touchdown in the final six minutes to give Buffalo the lead for good. Naaman Roosevelt caught touchdown passes from seven and eight yards out, and became UB’s all-time reception leader, but Akron came back in the fourth quarter with a one-yard Alex Allen scoring run and a 30-yard field goal to take the lead until the Henry score.
Player of the Game: Buffalo WR Naaman Roosevelt caught 12 passes for 100 yards and two scores
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 17-34, 200 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: DeVoe Torrence, 13-90, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 5-62
Buffalo: Passing: Zach Maynard, 20-35, 205 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Mario Henry, 20-62, 1 TD, Receiving: Naaman Roosevelt, 12-100, 2 TD  with a win, there will need to be more overall firepower. To beat WMU, the turnover margin has to be in UB’s favor, and that’s been a problem all year.
What It All Means: This isn’t the way things were supposed to go. The offense can’t find anything that works, QB Patrick Nicely is just trying to survive, and while DeVoe Torrence had a nice game against UB, it wasn’t enough to carry the offense. With road games at Syracuse and Northern Illinois, things are going to get worse before they get better, and to have any chance of winning, the defense has to take more chances to force turnovers and the offense has to take advantage of every opportunity.

Oct. 10
at Ohio 19 … Akron 7
Melvin Payne blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone, Matt Weller hit two field goals, and Terrence McCrae caught a seven-yard touchdown pass as Ohio had few problems with Akron. The Zips pulled within three in the third quarter on a Joe Tuzze run, but turned the ball over five times and struggled after losing starting quarterback Matt Rodgers to injury.
Player of the Game: Ohio DB Lee Renfro made nine tackles with a sack and a broken up pass.
Akron: Passing: Patrick Nicely, 9-23, 98 yds
Rushing: Matt Rodgers, 11-80, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 5-65
Ohio: Passing: Theo Scott, 11-21, 132 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Vince Davidson, 12-69, Receiving: Riley Dunlop, 3-29
What It All Means: Akron’s offense wasn’t exactly humming, and now it’s without QB Matt Rodgers who suffered a knee injury. Rodgers threw two interceptions and lost a fumble against Ohio, but he wasn’t playing poorly before getting hurt, and Patrick Nicely struggled completing just 9-of-23 passes for 98 yards. The defense had one of its better games, but with five turnovers, it didn’t matter. With the only win so far against Morgan State, and with three road games in a row up next, things aren’t looking up.

Sept. 26
at Central Michigan 48 … Akron 21
Dan LeFevour ran for 140 yards with two short second quarter touchdown runs, and he threw four touchdown passes with two to Antonio Brown as the Chippewas cruised to the win. CMU was up 20-0 before Matt Rodgers ran for a ten-yard score for the Zips. Rodgers would later add a one-yard scoring run, but Akron couldn’t keep up the pace. CMU outgained Akron 523 to 196.
Player of the Game: Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour completed 23-of-31 passes for 197 yards and four touchdowns with an interception, and he ran 19 times for 140 yards and two scores.
Akron: Passing: Matt Rodgers, 12-19, 127 yds
Rushing: Joe Tuzze, 12-62, 1 TD, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 3-54
Central Michigan: Passing: Dan LeFevour, 23-31, 197 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dan LeFevour, 19-140, 2 TD, Receiving: Antonio Brown, 9-89, 2 TD
What It All Means: Brian Wagner made 16 stops with an interception, but the defense didn’t do much to stop CMU and now it gets a suddenly hot Ohio passing game. The Zips have to find some sort of spark for the offense early on. The passing game is coming up with a few big plays here and there, but there’s no running game to provide any stability and the defense is having a hard time getting off the field. The biggest issue is ball control. Matt Rodgers completed 12-of-19 passes, but he couldn’t keep the chains moving as Akron sputtered on third downs.

Sept. 19
at Indiana 38 … Akron 21
Ray Fisher took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown on the way to an early 10-0 Indiana lead, but Akron fought back with a 49-yard Deryn Bowser touchdown catch and a blocked punt for a score. And then, helped by four interceptions, IU went on a 28-pound run with two short touchdown runs from Trea Burgess and Darius Williams and two Ben Chappell touchdown passes. Matt Rodgers made the final score closer than the game was with a nine-yard touchdown run in the final seconds.
Player of the Game: Indiana’s Austin Thomas made two interceptions and a tackle
Akron: Passing: Matt Rodgers, 14-23, 165 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: DeVoe Torrence, 2-32, Receiving: Deryn Bowser, 3-86, 1 TD
Indiana: Passing: Ben Chappell, 18-28, 163 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Willis, 15-66, 1 TD, Receiving: Tandon Doss, 7-60
What It All Means: With starting quarterback Chris Jacquermain suspended, Matt Rodgers struggled with four interceptions and just one touchdown pass. His inability to hang on to the ball lead to easy Hoosier points, while the running game didn’t do enough to pick him up. Against Central Michigan next week, the Zips will have to get ready for a shootout. However, the team hasn’t shown any firepower yet and will have to be ready to air it out a bit more to keep up with the Chippewas.

Sept. 12
at Akron 41 ... Morgan State 0
Chris Jacquemain threw three touchdowns passes to Deryn Bowser from nine, 16, and three yards out, and Brian Wagner returned an interception 32 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown in the easy win. Morgan State gained just 127 yards and gained three first downs.
Player of the Game: Akron WR Deryn Bowser caught eight passes for 86 yards and three touchdowns
Morgan State: Passing: Carlton Jackson, 10-19, 87 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Devan James, 10-24, Receiving: Winfred Diggs, 6-47
Akron: Passing: Chris Jacquemain, 13-22, 162 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Dale Martin, 6-64, Receiving: Deryn Bowser, 8-86, 3 TD
What It All Means: The Zips had their tune-up game to get the offense working and to let the defense destroy a bad team. Morgan State never had a chance, coming up with just three first downs and never threatening, but it was the combination of Chris Jacquiemain to Deryn Bowser that was the key. The passing game got some good work in, while the ground game finally got working a bit with 250 yards. Against Indiana, a winnable game, everything has to work offensively.

Sept. 5
at Penn State 31 … Akron 7
Penn State had few problems with the Zips getting out to a 31-0 halftime lead before calling off the dogs. Daryll Clark threw for 353 yards and three scores highlighted by a 22-yarder to Derek Moye late in the first half and a 19-yarder to Graham Zug 1:03 later. Akron got on the board on a 40-yard touchdown catch from Deryn Bowser, but the offense only managed eight first downs and 186 yards.
Player of the Game: Penn State QB Daryll Clark completed 29-of-40 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Penn State: Passing: Daryll Clark, 29-40, 353 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Evan Royster, 14-61, 1 TD, Receiving: Chaz Powell, 7-65, 1 TD
Akron: Passing: Chris Jacquemain, 13-22, 158 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joe Tuzze, 2-19, Receiving: Jeremy LaFrance, 5-54
What It All Means: Penn State is loaded and might really be one of the top ten teams in America, if not top five, so getting blasted in the opener isn’t anything to get too upset about. The running game went nowhere, and when the offense needed to get moving through the air, it couldn’t do it. In next week’s game against Morgan State, the Zips have to work on being far better on third downs or else there will be more problems against Indiana and its good pass rush in two weeks.