The University of Akron Athletics
Football Faces Miami (Ohio) Wednesday on ESPNU
November 17 | Football
GAME 11
Miami (Ohio) (6-4, 5-1 MAC) at Akron (0-10, 0-6
MAC)
Wed., Nov. 17, 2010
6 p.m. ET
Akron, Ohio
InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field (30,000)
Television: ESPNU - Dari Nowkhah (play-by-play)
and Matt Stinchcomb (analyst).
Webcast/Audio Stream/Live Statistics: No webcast
due to ESPNU telecast. Audio stream through ZipsZone subscription. Live statistics free of charge.
Radio: Akron-ISP Sports Network - SportsRadio 1350
AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), 1420 WHK in Cleveland, 1440 WHKZ in
Warren/Youngstown, and through the ZipsZone subscription package on GoZips.com.
Steve French (play-by-play), Andy Alleman (analyst) and Joe Dunn
(sideline) (5:30 p.m. ET airtime).
Akron Coach Rob
Ianello (Catholic University of America, 1987):
Is in his first season at the helm for the Zips and as a collegiate
head coach, owning an 0-10 record in that time. He was introduced
as the program's 26th all-time coach on Dec. 10, 2009, but is just
the sixth person to hold the position since 1960.
The Series: The RedHawks own a 13-5-1 all-time
record versus the Zips on the gridiron, but the two programs are
tied 4-all when meeting in Akron. The schools are facing off for
the first time since Nov. 14, 2007, when MU scored a 7-0 win in
Oxford. Miami has won two of the last three and six of the last
seven matchups. The last meeting in Akron was on Oct. 21, 2006 - a
24-13 UA victory.
Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• Coming off of its bye week, Akron (0-10, 0-6
Mid-American Conference) opens a two-game homestand to close out
the regular season by playing host to MAC East Division co-leader
Miami (Ohio) (6-4, 5-1) on Wednesday.
• The Akron-Miami matchup will be the first-ever mid-week
football game to be held on the UA campus.
• Wednesday has been designated "Support the Zips Day" by
University President Dr. Luis M. Proenza. Faculty and staff are
encouraged to show their school spirit by wearing Zips gear to work
that day, and the University will host a campus-wide tailgate party
beginning at 4 p.m. in Coleman Common, located adjacent to the
stadium.
• Wednesday marks UA's first home game since an Oct. 23
meeting with Western Michigan, and the Zips will be playing in
front of their hometown fans for just the third time since an Oct.
2 matchup with MAC West Division leader Northern Illinois.
• This is the first time since 2005 that the Zips have
finished the regular season with consecutive home contests, winning
both that year (27-3 versus Ohio on Nov. 15 and 35-3 versus Kent
State on Nov. 24).
• UA posted a 3-3 record at home last season, and is now
3-7 all-time in one-year-old InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field. The
program closed out the 2009 season with a 28-21 home victory over
league foe Eastern Michigan (Nov. 27).
• UA coach Rob
Ianello and MU coach Michael Haywood were on Charlie Weis's
staff at Notre Dame from 2005-08.
• 2010 marks the 110th season of Akron football.
Ball State Recap...
• Akron forced overtime when QB Patrick
Nicely hit WR Jeremy
LaFrance with an 11-yard touchdown strike with 1:36 left in
regulation, tying the score at 23-all.
• BSU's Keith Wenning completed a 19-yard touchdown pass
to David Schneider in the second overtime and Joshua Howard picked
off a Nicely pass on third-and-10 to end the game.
• Nicely completed 18-of-39 passes, had four TDs and three
INTs, while LaFrance had two TDs off of three catches. RB Alex
Allen rushed for a career-best 165 yards on 25 carries.
• LB Mike
Thomas led all players with 13 tackles, while LB Brian
Wagner posted nine stops and also had one INT.
• After turning the ball over on its first three
possessions, Ball State led 13-7 at the half.
• Akron trailed 16-7 with 5:22 left in the third quarter,
and tied things up at 16-all with 47 seconds to play in the
third.
News, Notes, Trends...
• After sitting out the Western Michigan (Oct. 23) and
Temple (Oct. 30) game due to a knee injury, senior WR Jeremy
LaFrance returned to the lineup at Ball State. Against the
Cardinals, he had two TDs off of three catches and leads the team
with 31 receptions for 410 yards this season. LaFrance accounts for
five of UA's nine receiving touchdowns and one of its eight rushing
scores (the rushing TD was on a fake FG goal at Kent State on Oct.
9).
• Sophomore LB Brian
Wagner leads the team with 102 tackles (53 unassisted). His
10.2 tackles per game rank fourth in the MAC and 17th nationally.
He returned a fumble recovery 57 yards for a touchdown against
Western Michigan (Oct. 23) (his second career TD). He also has two
interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble and four pass break-ups
this season.
• Wagner has tallied double-figure tackles five times this
season and 11 times in his career (had nine at Ball State). He was
a freshman (redshirt) All-American in 2009, tallying a team-high
132 stops.
• Senior DE Shawn
Lemon leads Akron, ranks third in the MAC and 30th nationally
in sacks, with seven (0.70 sacks per game). He also leads the squad
in tackles for loss (10 for 52 yards). Lemon has forced three
fumbles and has three fumble recoveries in 2010 (tied for most by a
MAC player this season). He had one fumble recovery in each of the
last two games.
• Ten true freshmen have played for the Zips thus far this
year and UA has called upon the services of 14 first-year players,
with five redshirt freshmen also seeing the field.
• Six of Akron's eight rushing touchdowns this season have
come courtesy of senior RB Alex
Allen. Allen has two multiple touchdown games in 2010 (two TDs
versus Northern Illinois on Oct. 2; three TDs against Gardner-Webb
on Sept. 11) and four in his career. His 64.5 yards per carry leads
the team and ranks 10th in the MAC, after running for a career-high
165 yards on 25 carries at Ball State (did not score a touchdown at
BSU).
• Allen was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the
NCAA. He suffered a season-ending hip injury in 2008, after already
taking a medical redshirt in 2006 due to a knee injury. He earned a
bachelor's degree in business and organizational communication in
August 2010 and is working toward a master's degree.
• Senior offensive linemen Mike Ward
(C/OG) and Corey
Woods (LT) have started in all 46 games of their career.
• Senior PK Igor
Iveljic's 210 career points (42 this season) rank him sixth
all-time at UA (226 is fifth). He has converted 9-of-14 field goals
and 15-of-17 point-after attempts this year.
