The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Head to Ohio Saturday; Kickoff is 3:30
November 20 | Football
Akron vs. Ohio
Akron and Ohio have met on 24 previous occasions. With a 48-37
UA win last season in the Rubber Bowl, the Zips own a slight
12-11-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1912. While
the series is tight overall, it has been dominated by the home
team. Akron is 9-3-1 versus the Bobcats at home, while Ohio is an
impressive 8-3 versus the Zips in Athens. Akron's last win at Peden
Stadium was a 31-19 decision on Nov. 13, 2004. Dwayne LeFall
returned an interception 60 yards for a score and set up another UA
TD with a fumble recovery at the Ohio one. That win gave the Zips
win number six on the season. The Bobcats held a 13-0 lead, but
Akron scored 24 unanswered en route to the victory. Like UA's win
at Ohio in 2002, the Zips' defense forced five turnovers to secure
the win and had seven sacks.
Last season, before a national ESPN2 audience, Akron won 48-37.
Ohio scored first on a 34-yard field goal, but Bryan
Williams answered with a 95 yard kickoff return for a TD. Two
plays later, Kevin McRae ripped a 54-yard run with UA's Igor
Iveljic hitting a field goal for a 10-10 score through one. The
Bobcats started the second quarter with a field goal, but the Zips
scored 17 unanswered and held on the for the win.
Williams would be named MAC Special Teams Player of the Week,
returning four kicks for 151 yards. He and Alex
Allen teamed up to rush for 176 yards, thanks to Allen's 96 on
14 carries to be MAC East Offensive Player of the Week. (Williams
finished with 80 rushing yards on 16 carries.)
MAC Title Hopes Still Alive; Bowl Too
Akron is currently 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the MAC East. However,
there is still hope of either winning a Division title outright of
sharing the title is still a possibility. In order to win the title
outright and play in the MAC Championship game:
- Akron must win its last two (at Ohio and at Temple) to finish
5-3 in the league
- Buffalo must lose at Bowling Green and at home to Kent State to
finish 4-4 in the league
- Bowling Green must beat Buffalo and lose at Toledo to finish 4-4
in the league
Akron can claim a share of the MAC East crown, but the BG-Buffalo
winner would play in the MAC Championship game if:
- Akron must win its last two (at Ohio and at Temple) to finish
5-3 in the league
- Buffalo splits its final two games with Bowling Green and Kent
State to finish 5-3
- Bowling Green must win its last two versus Buffalo and Toledo to
finish 5-3
—OR—
- Akron splits its last two to finish 4-4 in the league
- Buffalo losses its last two to finish 4-4 in the league
- Bowling Green splits its last to finish 4-4 in the league
With one win, Akron would become bowl eligible. Two wins, would
put the Zips at 7-5 overall and in prime position to snag an
opening with bowls needing to fill slots due to not having enough
bowl-eligible teams.
Akron Only MAC East Team to Beat a MAC West
Team
In back-to-back games, Akron defeated MAC West schools Eastern
Michigan and Toledo. The Zips are the only MAC East team to have a
victory over the West division this season. Akron is 2-1 versus the
MAC West this season, falling to Ball State, 41-24. This season,
the MAC East is just 2-12 versus the West.
East vs. West: Akron 2-1; Bowling Green 0-2; Buffalo 0-2; Kent
State 0-2; Miami 0-2; Ohio 0-2; Temple 0-2
West vs. East: Ball St. 3-0; Central Mich. 3-0; Eastern Mich. 1-1;
N. Illinois 3-0; Toledo 0-1; Western Mich. 3-0
Who Were the Two?
Nearly every preseason publication picked Akron to finish dead
last in the MAC this season. In fact several publications predicted
the Zips would only win one or two games. Even the preseason MAC
News Media Association had the Zips last in the East and was a near
pick to be last overall (Akron only received 78 points in the poll
while Northern Illinois received the low of 60 points).
The difference? Two members of the MAC News Media Association gave
the Zips a first place vote. Each team in the East Division
received at least two first place votes with the preseason order of
finish being: Bowling Green, Miami, Buffalo, Kent State, Temple,
Ohio and Akron.
Dennis Kennedy Should be First Team
All-MAC
Dennis Kennedy shared the running back load with
both Alex Allen and Andrew
Johnson over the first three games and with just Johnson for an
additional two.
Kennedy now ranks 21st in the NCAA and fourth in the MAC, rushing
for 104.5 yards per game. With his fourth-straight, 100-yard plus
game this past contest, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier for the
first time in his career and just the 12th time in UA history. He
has rushed for 1,045 yards this season. However, in just six MAC
games, he has rushed for MAC-best 807 yards, averaging 134.5 yards
per game. (That includes getting just 30 yards versus Ball State
and 23 versus Kent State).
Kennedy has scored 14 TDs (13 rushing and one receiving) this
season with a two-point conversion to score 86 points. His 8.6
points per game is third in the MAC and 23rd in the NCAA.
Dennis Kennedy's Four-Game Dominance; 754 Rushing
Yards
University of Akron senior running back Dennis
Kennedy made a run at MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
honors, thanks to his numerous good runs in a 37-33 loss to Bowling
Green. Kennedy rushed for a then career-high 182 yards and scored
two touchdowns. His effort was bolstered by a then career-long,
52-yard run on 3rd-and-1 in the first quarter — leading to his
three-yard TD — and a 19-yard TD run in the second
quarter.
The following week, her shattered those marks by rushing for 277
yards at Eastern Michigan, including a career-long run of 73 yards,
with three TDs to earn MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
honors.
The string continued in a win over Toledo as he rushed for 153
yards on 30 attempts with a TD.
Versus Buffalo, he rushed for 142 yards on 25 attempts, an average
of 5.7 per carry, while catching five passes for 121 yards. He
scored a career-high four TDs, including three rushing and one
receiving — a UA season-long 57 yard TD.
Over the four-game span, he has rushed for 754 yards with 10 TDs,
averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
Bryan Williams 7th in NCAA in KOR; Nears UA
Record
Akron native and senior Bryan Williams moved from running back to
strong safety this season. He made an immediate impact at his new
home, intercepting a pass at #12 Wisconsin and returning it 62
yards to set up a UA field goal as the Zips trailed just 17-10 at
the break. He also stopped Cincinnati on a fourth-and-goal from the
one, giving the Zips the ball. Overall, he ranks fifth on the team
with 60 tackles adding his pick, three PBU, a fumble recovery and
two forced fumbles.
However, the All-American candidate has kept his spot as the
team's kick returner. Since he ranked second in the NCAA in the
category last season, the Badgers kicked away from Williams in the
season opener. However, Syracuse was not as savvy, kicking to
Williams three times. The Buchtel product made the Orange pay. He
returned the opening kick a mere 27 yards, giving the Zips good
field position and setting a UA score for a 7-0 lead. His next
return was for 36 yards, again putting the Zips in position to
score with two minutes left prior to halftime for a 28-14 lead. His
last return went for 50 yards. Versus Ball State, he had five
returns for 148 yards, crossing the 50 twice and the UA 40 once. He
did not have a kick return at Army. Cincinnati elected to kick away
from Williams the entire game. Kent State tested Williams once and
he responded with a 49-yard return, allowing the Zips to take a
10-7 lead in the first quarter. Versus Bowling Green, Williams had
a 50-yard return. Eastern Michigan kicked away from Williams.
Williams now ranks seventh nationally in kick returns (29.82). He
also averages a UA record 31.0 yards per return for his two-year
career to date, second among NCAA active players (Fresno's A.J.
Jefferson averages 32.88 per return). Williams has returned 38
kicks for a 1,177 yards in his career, ranking third all time for
UA and 196 yards from the UA career mark.
Kennedy in the UA Record Book
Dennis Kennedy became the 12th Zip to rush for
1,000 yards in a single season, getting 142 versus Buffalo this
past week. He has 1,045 for 2008. (Kennedy rushed for 914 yards in
11 games, missing one to injury, in 2006 to earn second team
All-MAC honors.)
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has 2,246 career rushing yards
to rank ninth on the UA all-time list. Kennedy also ranks ninth on
the UA career list for rushing attempts (497) and 14th on the UA
career scoring list with 152 points.
Jacquemain Four TDs from UA Record
Chris Jacquemain has thrown 19 touchdowns this
season to rank third on the school's single-season list. Charlie
Frye is second on the list with 22 (in 2003) and current UA
graduate assistant threw a UA record 23 TDs in 2005, leading the
Zips to the MAC title.
Jacquemain Moving Up; Top Third in NCAA, but just Middle
of MAC
For his career, Chris Jacquemain has completed 344-of-599 passes
(57.4) for 3,970 yards with 30 TDs and 21 picks. His 3,970 passing
yards in just 21 career games ranks fifth on the UA all-time list.
His 344 career completions already ranks fourth on the UA all-time
list and his 30 career TDs is fourth all-time as well.
For the 2008 season, Jacquemain, who threw for over 200 yards in
each of his first six games and in nine of 10 this year, has
completed 190-of-324 passes (58.6) for 2,347 yards with 19 TDs and
11 picks. On the UA seasonal lists, Jacquemain's 2,347 yards is
ninth. His 190 completions is fifth on the UA single-season list,
while his 19 TDs are third. He has been right around the 60 percent
completion range all season. Currently, Charlie Frye is the only UA
quarterback to complete over 60 percent of his passes in a season,
a feat he accomplished in 2002 (65,8), 2003 (64.8) and 2004
(63.6).
While he ranks among the NCAA top 40 in five categories, he only
ranks between fourth and sixth in the MAC in those categories. He
ranks 25th in the NCAA in passing yards per game (234.7), but ranks
fourth in the MAC. He has 2,347 total passing yards to date to rank
30th in the NCAA, but that is only good for fourth in the MAC. He
ranks 34th in the NCAA in completing 19.0 passes per game, but that
is only good for sixth in the MAC. Also, he is 33rd in the NCAA and
fifth in the MAC in total offense (238.20 ypg).
