The University of Akron Athletics
Football Faces Miami (Ohio) on Thursday Night ESPNU Telecast
November 02 | Football
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Akron at Miami (Ohio) Game Notes in PDF Format
MAC Digital Network – Week 10 Video Preview
Rob Ianello – Miami (Ohio) Week Press Conference Video
Rob Ianello – MAC Weekly Media Teleconference Audio
Game Day Coverage:
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GAME 9
Akron (1-7, 0-4 MAC) at Miami (Ohio) (3-5, 2-2 MAC)
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011
7:30 p.m. ET Oxford, Ohio
Yager Stadium (24,286)
Television: ESPNU – Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst).
Webcast/Live Statistics: Webcast not available. Live statistics free of charge via MURedHawks.com.
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), 1420 WHK in Cleveland, 1440 WHKZ in Warren/Youngstown. Steve French (play-by-play), Brad Detwiler (analyst) and Joe Dunn (sideline) (6:30 p.m. ET airtime). Free audio stream via SportsRadio1350.com.
Akron Coach Rob Ianello (Catholic, 1987): Is in his second season at the helm for the Zips and as a collegiate head coach, owning a 2-18 (1-11 MAC) 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. Ianello is one of 59 FBS coaches voting in this season's USA Today Top-25 poll. He is 0-1 all-time versus Miami.
The Series: Thursday marks the 21st all-time meeting between the Zips and RedHawks on the gridiron. Miami leads the series 14-5-1 and has won back-to-back and seven of the last eight matchups. Akron makes its first trip to Oxford since Nov. 14, 2007 (7-0 MU win) and is 1-9-1 in the series when playing on the road (14-0 win in 1939, 13-13 tie in 1923) (lost eight-straight meetings, dating to 1994). The Zips lost 19-14 to the RedHawks last season in Akron (Nov. 17, 2010).
Up Next: UA closes out its home schedule on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. ET versus rival Kent State. The game, part of the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge, will be televised regionally by SportsTime Ohio.
Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars
• Akron (1-7, 0-4 MAC) faces Mid-American Conference East Division partner Miami (Ohio) (3-5, 2-2 MAC) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Yager Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
• Thursday marks the Zips' first away contest in over a month as they last competed on the road on Oct. 1 at Eastern Michigan. Three of Akron's remaining four games are on the road, with the lone home match in that stretch coming against neighborhood rival Kent State on Nov. 12.
• Akron makes its first trip to Oxford since Nov. 14, 2007 (7-0 Miami win). The Zips have given up the last eight meetings on the road in the all-time series with the RedHawks (dating to the 1994 season).
• The Zips look for their first road win since a 42-35 victory at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 18, 2008 (stretch of 17-straight away losses).
• Including junior college transfer sophomore QB Clayton Moore, Akron's Week 10 depth chart features 24 underclassmen (11 offense, 9 defense, 4 specialists).
News, Notes, Trends
• Akron has called on the services of 13 true freshmen this season, a number that ranks tied for the eighth most nationally.
• Last Saturday versus Central Michigan, the Zips started six true freshman (three on each side of the ball), while rookie A.J. Fox handled both kickoff and placekicking responsibilities for the squad (third-straight game doing so).
• Of the 75 scholarship players on the Zips' roster, 46 are listed as freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores.
• UA has had to overcome numerous injuries on its offensive line this season, and through eight games has started eight different lineups. C Adam Bice (hand) and OG Zac Kasparek (knee) returned to the starting unit against CMU.
• The Akron defense has forced a turnover in all but one game this season (versus Central Michigan last Saturday). The Zips made two interceptions in the last three games (did not have an INT in the first five outings) and have forced 13 fumbles and recovered nine for the season.
Wagner on Bronko Nagurski Watch List
• All-MAC candidate and Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List member LB Brian Wagner ranks second nationally and first in the league in tackles (14.5 tpg). He's the only MAC player averaging double digits in that category. The Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the nation's best defensive player.
• Wagner has recorded 378 career tackles (team high 116 this season; 42 solo, 74 assisted) in 32 consecutive career starts. Those 378 stops rank him sixth on the NCAA's active career leaders list. He had 18 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss last Saturday against Central Michigan.
• Wagner recorded a career-best 22 tackles versus FIU on Oct. 8, which is the most by a MAC player in a game this season and is tied for fourth best by a player nationally in 2011 (Mike Taylor, Wisconsin, Oct. 29 at Ohio State).
• Wagner led Akron in tackles each of the last two seasons (130 in 2010, 132 in 2009) and was an All-American as a redshirt freshman in 2009.
• He's a team captain and member of the program's 12-player leadership council.
Akron Player Notables
• With four 100-yard rushing performances this year, RB Jawon Chisholm is on pace for a 1,000-yard season (94.1 yards per game). He tallied 130 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown last Saturday against Central Michigan. His other 100-yard games include: 122 on 25 carries at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 1; 188 on 27 carries versus VMI on Sept. 24; 133 on 25 carries at Cincinnati on Sept. 17.
• Chisholm's 94.1 rushing yards per game ranks 34th nationally and third in the MAC. That number also ranks as the third best by a freshman nationally. For the season, Chisholm has rushed 154 times for 753 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. He also completed a TD pass to QB Clayton Moore on a trick play at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 1).
• After missing three games due to injury, WR Marquelo Suel returned to the Zips' lineup against Ohio (Oct. 22) – 17 of his 25 catches this season have come in the last two games.
• Suel had a season-high 11 catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns against Central Michigan last Saturday. Eight of his receptions and both TDs came during Akron's fourth-quarter comeback (down 23-9 with 8:57 remaining). Three of his catches came in the Zips' final drive of the game, including a touchdown grab on fourth and one as time expired that pulled the team within the final margin.
• WR Keith Sconiers has a team-high 34 receptions for 536 yards and team-best five touchdowns. His 67.0 receiving yards per game rank tied for 66th nationally and eighth in the MAC. He had six catches for 61 yards last Saturday versus Central Michigan. He has two 100-yard receiving games this season and for his career (137 on seven catches at Cincinnati on Sept. 17; 154 on eight catches on Sept. 24).
• QB Clayton Moore has completed 50.9 percent of his passes, throwing 110-for-216 for 1,347 yards and nine touchdowns. He completed 25 of 40 passes for a season-high 228 yards last Saturday against Central Michigan (had 223 yards passing versus VMI on Sept. 24). Moore had a streak of 119 pass attempts without an interception end versus FIU (Oct. 8) (third-longest in program history).
• Moore is one of five players nationally who has scored at least one touchdown passing, rushing and receiving in 2011. He is the first UA player to do so since Brett Biggs during the 2005 season.
• Antoine Russell made the switch from WR to CB during the bye week (Oct. 15), debuting with the defense against Ohio (Oct. 22). He had six tackles (three solo) against the Bobcats and another three versus Central Michigan last Saturday. In six games as a WR this season he had nine catches for 153 yards. He had 13 catches for 221 yards in 2010.
• C Adam Bice returned to the lineup last Saturday against Central Michigan, after sitting out the previous two games with a broken right hand (suffered at Eastern Michigan on Oct. 1). Bice snapped with his left during the CMU contest.
• Freshman A.J. Fox is handling both the Zips kickoff and placekicking duties. He is 4-for-4 on field goals this season, having converted a 43-, 42-, 40- and 23-yarder, and 6-for-6 on extra points. He took over as the Zips' PAT kicker during the Eastern Michigan game (Oct. 1).
Central Michigan Postgame Notes
• Down 23-9, Akron scored two touchdowns in the final 2:57, but was unable to complete a two-point conversion with no time on the clock and fell 23-22 to visiting Central Michigan.
• UA topped CMU in yardage (407-383) and first downs (22-18).
• QB Clayton Moore and WR Marquelo Suel led the comeback for the Zips, connecting on touchdown passes of 21 and four yards.
• Moore finished 25-of-40 passing for 228 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Suel had 11 catches for 112 yards and two TDs. Ten of Suel's receptions came after halftime, including eight during the fourth quarter.
• RB Jawon Chisholm put the Zips on the board for the first time in the third quarter. He had 130 yards rushing and one touchdown on 19 carries – his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season.
• LB Brian Wagner led the UA defense with a game-high 18 tackles (eight solo), while DT Oren Wilson had five tackles and two sacks.
On this Date in Akron Football
1990: Akron and Northern Illinois battled in a classic at the Rubber Bowl, trading scores before the Huskies drove down the field for a 31-28 victory. Akron had a shot to win as time expired, but a hail mary attempt come up short.
1984: Scoring was hard to come by in this clash of northeast Ohio squads. Akron kicker Russ Klaus misses a 45-yard field goal with 1:05 left as Akron fell to Youngstown State, 3-2. The game was the last for the Zips in which neither team scored a touchdown and was just the fourth time in program history that a game ended with five total points.
1979: In a game that pitted the Zips against the No. 10 team and top-ranked scoring defense in Division I-AA, Akron won its first game at Jayne Stadium 32-17 against Morehead State. Roosevelt Jewells blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown and picked off a pass in the endzone as MSU drove for the game-tying score in the fourth quarter.
1973: During Akron's last season before its jump to Division II, the Zips defeated Indiana State 31-14 at the Rubber Bowl. The victory jump-started a three-game winning streak to end the season as UA left Division III with a 6-5 record on the year.
1956: Following a 20-17 loss to Wooster at home the previous week, the Zips hit the road to post a 40-14 victory over Oberlin in Ohio Athletic Conference play.
Zips Live Coaches Show
Every Monday throughout the season from 7-8 p.m. ET Akron head coach Rob Ianello can be heard on the weekly radio program Zips Live. The show airs locally on 1350 AM (WARF) and is streamed online at SportsRadio1350.com.The show originates from the Winking Lizard Tavern in nearby Fairlawn (25 Ghent Road).
