Akron Visits Liberty in Non-Conference Finale

Akron (1-2) at Liberty (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 24
Williams Stadium
Lynchburg, Va. • 6 p.m.

Series History: Akron leads 1-0
Live Stats: www.GoZips.com
Live Stream: www.GoZips.com (subscription may be required) and ESPN App
Television: www.GoZips.com (subscription may be required) and ESPN App
Radio: 640 WHLO AM (Dave Skoczen - pxp and Joe Dunn - color)

WHAT'S AHEAD
The University of Akron football team travels to Lynchburg, Va., for a showdown with Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 24. The 6 p.m. tilt will be broadcast on the ESPN+ with Matt Warner and Joe Jauch calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

HEAD COACHES
Liberty: Hugh Freeze (Southern Miss), overall record: 69-44 (12th Season)/record at Liberty: 28-12 (Fourth Season)
Akron: Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996), overall record - 53-27 (Seventh Season)/record at Akron - 1-2 (First Season)

SERIES HISTORY
Akron is meeting Liberty for the second time in program history and first since the 2002 campaign. The two teams last met on Oct. 22, 2002 where the Zips posted a 49-21 victory in Akron.

SCOUTING LIBERTY
Liberty comes into action versus Akron at 2-1 on the campaign following a 37-36 setback at Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Redshirt freshman QB Kaldon Salter paces the Flames' attack passing for 608 yards, including throwing four touchdowns. Salter and redshirt sophomore RB Dae Dae Hunter have rushed for 221 and 219 yards, respectively, while running for a pair of touchdowns each. Redshirt sophomore WR Demario Douglas has hauled in a team-high 15 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensively, the trio of redshirt junior LB Mike Smith, Jr., sophomore LB Ahmad Walker and junior S Robert Rahimi have combined to record 23, 19 and 15 tackles, including posting 13, nine and 10 solo stops, respectively. Liberty has tallied eight sacks and 26 tackles for a loss.

As a team, the Flames average 28.7 points per game, while holding their opponents to 26.0 per outing. Liberty has thrown for 221.0 yards and rushed for 204.3 yards per tilt.

As a team, the Flames rank second in the NCAA in fumble recoveries (6), 11th in blocked punts (1), 12th in interceptions (6) and tackles for a loss (8.7), 14th in red zone defense (.643), 18th in blocked kicks (1), 23rd in turnover margin (1.00), 25th in punt returns (13.00), 27th in sacks (2.67), 36th in winning percentage (.667), 37th in passing yards per completion (13.26) and 38th in first down defense (50).

Individually, Salter is ranked 12th in the NCAA in passing yards per completion (15.20), 35th in total offense (275.0), 36th in yards per pass attempt (8.44) and 47th in rushing yards per carry (5.71). Additionally, Douglas is rated ninth in receiving touchdowns (4), 26th in all-purpose yards (131.00), 28th in receiving yards per game (90.7), 32nd in receiving yards (272), 33rd in total touchdowns (4), 40th in combined kick returns (118) and 43rd in kickoff returns (19.8).

ZIP TIDBITS
• Twenty-three different Zips recorded a tackle at Tennessee, including nine newcomers.
• Three different Zips posted five or more tackles against the Volunteers, led by a team-high 12 tackles (10 solo and two assists) from LB Bubba Arslanian.
• WR Shocky Jacques-Louis pulled in a team-high nine catches for 103 yards against Tennessee, while RB Cam Wiley added a career-best eight catches for 23 yards.
• Six Zips established career-high marks in tackles against the Volunteers on Sept. 17.
• WR Shocky Jacques-Louis has registered a pair of 100-yard receiving games this season pulling in eight catches for 122 yards against Saint Francis (Sept. 1) and nine receptions for 103 yards at Tennessee (Sept. 17).
• QB DJ Irons' 32 completions versus Saint Francis are the most for a Zip since Thomas Woodson completed 30 passes against Ball State on Oct. 7, 2017. The 32 completions also rated as the seventh-best single-game effort for Akron in program history.
• QB DJ Irons' 32 completions and 53 total offensive plays at Tennessee stand as the second- and fourth-best single-game efforts in the Mid-American Conference this season.
• Akron is rated 30th in the NCAA in fourth down conversions (.667) and 43rd in kickoff return defense (18.17).
• Individually, QB DJ Irons is rated 34th in completions per tilt (21.33) and 36th in completion percentage (.674), while WR Shocky Jacques-Louis is ranked 18th in receptions per game (6.7) 35th in all-purpose yards (124.33), 36th in receiving yards per game (85.3), 41st in receiving yards (256), 43rd in combined kick returns (117) and 45th in kickoff returns (19.5). LB Bubba Arslanian is rated eighth in solo tackles (6.0) and 34th in total tackles (9.0), while sophomore CB Tyson Durant (Copley, Ohio), CB Jalen Hooks and DL Zach Morton are ranked 39th in interceptions (3) and 46th in interceptions per game (.333). Additionally, senior punter Noah Gettman (Daytona Beach, Fla.) is 45th in the country in punting (42.8).
• LB Bubba Arslanian has sparked Akron's defensive efforts over the course of his decorated career having recorded 145 solo tackles, including 18 this season, and 137 career assisted tackles. He is ranked 28th among active career leaders across all divisions in total tackles (282), 35th in assisted tackles (137), 48th in solo tackles (145) and 61st in total tackles per game (7.62). Additionally, he is rated 10th in Division I in total tackles per contest (7.62) and in total tackles (282), 13th in assisted tackles (137), 21st in solo tackles per tilt (3.92) and 22nd in solo tackles (145). Arslanian has had 10 or more total tackles in 18 of the last 25 games he has played in overall. Arslanian surpassed the 250-tackle plateau for his career against Ohio State on Sept. 25, 2021.
• QB Jeff Undercuffler, Jr., is rated 20th among active career D1 leaders in touchdown passes (59), 23rd in passing yards per attempt (6.86), 28th in passes per game (28.64), 29th in total touchdowns responsible for (60), 32nd in passing yards (6,483) and in total plays (6,099), 37th in passing yards per game (196.5), 38th in total offense (6,099) and 48th in completion percentage (.548).
• P Noah Gettman is ranked third among active career leaders in punting yards (8,994) and ninth in punts per game (5.26).
• Arslanian has paced the Zips in tackles over 15 of Akron's last 18 contests he has appeared in dating back to the 2019 campaign.

UP NEXT
Akron welcomes Bowling Green to InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 1. The 3:30 p.m. showdown will be televised on ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bubba Arslanian

Tyson Durant

Noah Gettman

Jalen Hooks

DJ Irons

Shocky Jacques-Louis

Zach Morton

Jeff Undercuffler, Jr.

Cam Wiley

The University of Akron Athletics