Akron Back in #MACtion at InfoCision Stadium for Homecoming and Family Weekend versus Northern Illinois

Saturday, October 7

Akron, Ohio

3:30 PM

University of Akron

Northern Illinois

Akron Back in #MACtion at InfoCision Stadium for Homecoming and Family Weekend versus Northern Illinois

October 06 | Football

WHAT'S AHEAD
The University of Akron football team is back in #MACtion at InfoCision Stadium against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 7 for Homecoming and Family Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game is slated to be broadcasted on ESPN+ with Anthony Lima (PxP) and Forrest Conoly (Analyst) calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

Television: ESPN+ - Anthony Lima (PxP), Forrest Conoly (Analyst)
Radio: Akron Sports Network - David Skoczen (pxp), Joe Dunn (analyst)
WHLO 640 AM (flagship), WHK 1420 AM/102.5 FM
iHeart Radio, TheVarsityNetwork.com
Video Link: www.GoZips.com - https://es.pn/46p9vPv
Live Stats Link: www.GoZips.com - https://bit.ly/485p7sw

HEAD COACHES
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois, 2002)
Overall Record: 18-31 (5th Season)
Record at NIU: 18-31 (5th Season)

AKRON
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996)
Overall Record: 55-38 (8th Season)
Record at Akron: 3-13 (2nd Season)

SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: Akron def. Northern Illinois, 44-12 (DeKalb, Ill. - Nov. 26, 2022)
Last Meeting in Akron: Northern Illinois def. Akron, 36-26 (InfoCision Stadium – Nov. 1, 2018)

Akron is meeting Northern Illinois for the 18th time in program history with the Huskies owning a 11-6 series advantage. In the last meeting between the two schools, Akron defeated NIU 44-12 in DeKalb, Ill. (Nov. 26, 2022) at Huskie Stadium. Akron QB Jeff Undercuffler, Jr. (Burlington, N.J.) threw for a career-best 312 yards on 21-of-32 passing with three touchdowns. The road win marked the Zips first triumph over NIU since 2005 when in when it happened twice (48-42, Sept. 24) and in the MAC Title game (31-30, Dec. 1). It was the first win at Huskie Stadium since 1996 (34-17). On Oct. 26, 2019, Northern Illinois registered a 49-0 triumph past Akron at Huskie Stadium. The series between the two schools dates back to the 1966 campaign when Northern Illinois earned an 31-18 home victory over Akron.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois enters week two of #MACtion with a 1-4 overall record and 0-1 in league play. The Huskies lone win came in the season opener against Boston College (27-24 OT). NIU has dropped four straight games since against Southern Illinois (14-11), at Nebraska (35-11), Tulsa (22-14) and at Toledo (35-33).

NIU QB Rocky Lombardi directs the Huskies' attack passing for 824 yards, including throwing for three touchdowns and a 62-yard long connection. Senior WR Kacper Rutkiewicz pulled down a team-best 19 passes for 249 yards with one touchdown and the 62-yard long passing play. Trayvon Rudolph (12), Davis Patterson (10) and Gavin Williams (10) follow in receptions, while Chris Carter paces the receiving corps in TD grabs with two. RB Antario Brown shoulders most of the ground attack with 336 yards on 80 attempts, averging 4.2 yards per carry with one TD. Gavin Willimas has carried the ball 28 times for 106 yards.

Defensively, the duo of DE Raishein Thomas and S Nate Valcarcel have combined to record 31 and 23 tackles, including posting 18 and 8 solo stops, respectively. Northern Illinois has tallied 10 sacks, 31 tackles for a loss , four forced fumbles to go along with 14 QB hurries, nine pass break-ups and three interceptions.

As a team, the Huskies average 19.2 points per game, while their opponents net 26.0 points per outing. Northern Illinois has thrown for 195.6 yards and rushed for 121.6 yards per tilt.

AKRON NOTES
• The Zips had four players with more than eight tackles against UB led by sophomore LB Bryan McCoy (Chicago, Ill.), who had 14.
• Irons completed 73.1 percent of his passes, going 19-for-26.
•Th Zips limited UB QB Cole Snyder to his lowest passing totals in two seasons with 142 yards and one touchdown on 19 of 34.
• Against IU DJ Irons and Lorenzo Lingard each rushed for over 100 yards for the Zips with 141 and 113 yards, respectively.
• Akron outgained Indiana, 474-282, including a 263-92 advantage on the ground.
• Sophomore LB Bryan McCoy (Chicago, Ill.) led the Zips with 12 tackles.
• Akron won the time of possession battle 34:24 to 25:36.
• Akron won the turnover battle 3-1 after intercepting one pass and recovering two fumbles.
• Akron tallied 3 points in the third quarter, accounting for 100% of their total score.
• Akron converted 6 of 15 third downs while Kentucky was successful on 5 of 8.
• Akron won the time of possession battle 34:47 to 25:13.
• Irons completed 67.6% of his passes on the day, going 23-for-34
•CJ Nunnally opened the game with back-to-back sacks for the Zips.
•Noel Roach blocked punt to setup Akron field goal, made by Noah Perez 22 yards
•Alex Adams caught his first TD pass of the season 29 yards from Jeff Undercuffler 5-5 on the 67-yard drive.
•Devonte Golden-Nelson recorded the Zips first interception of the season and first Pick-6, taking the 50 yards for his first-career touchdown.
• Akron outgained Morgan State 262-231, including a 254-152 advantage through the air.
• Akron converted 4 of 11 third downs while Morgan State was successful on 2 of 16.
• The Zips had three players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Bryan McCoy, who had 14.
• The Zips racked up nine tackles for loss and added four sacks.
• Akron posted 279 yards of total offense in the season opener vs Temple
• DJ Irons accounted for 205 yards of offense with two TDs on 17-of-29 throwing.
• Lorenzo Lingard caught a career-high 77 yard TD reception from Irons on the second play of the game to give Akron a 7-0 lead.
• Daniel George caught a 50-yard long pass from Irons to setup the Zips second TD
• Myles Walker hauled in the second TD pass from Irons, a 14 yard reception and his first career touchdown
• Drake Anderson led the ground attack with 40 of the Zips 74 yards.
• Akron's defense registered three tackles for loss with eight total yards.Bryan McCoy (1), Shammond Cooper (0.5), Terray Jones (1) and CJ Nunnally (0.5) recorded the takedowns.
• Darrian Lewis, Antavious Fish and McCoy recorded seven tackles each to lead the Zips. Judson Tallendier, Cooper and KJ Martin followed with five each.

MAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
(Sept. 25) - QB DJ Irons was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced. Irons generated 335 of 474 yards of total offense for the Zips in a four-overtime setback to Indiana on Saturday night, 29-27. Irons paced the Zips rushing attack by accumulating 141 yards with two touchdowns, averaging 7.8 yards per carry and a 34-yard long rushing attempt. He also threw for 194 yards, completing 22-of-35 passes and a 28-yard long toss to sophomore WR Jasaiah Gathings. Irons gave Akron a 10-7 advantage on a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter after returning to the game. He found paydirt in the first overtime period with a 10-yard TD rush.

(Sept. 11) - CJ Nunnally was named Mid-American Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Nunnally provided a spark for Akron, helping them to a 24-21 win over Morgan State in their home opener at InfoCision Stadium on Saturday. With less than a minute to play, Nunnally forced a fumble to setup the game-winning touchdown. He forced the fumble at the Morgan State 13-yardline, stripping the Bears QB J.J. Davis of the ball, allowing teammate LB Bryan McCoy to recover the loose ball and score the game-winning touchdown.In addition, Nunnally opened the game with back-to-back sacks, recording two of the Zips four sacks on the game. His sacks totaled 10-yards of loss and posted a third tackle for an eight-yard loss. In all, Nunnally registered four tackles, three solo and one assisted, with three tackles for losses.

AKRON NAMES CAPTAINS FOR THE 2023 CAMPAIGN
The Zips elected QB DJ Irons, WR Daniel George, DB KJ Martin and LB Bryan McCoy as captains for Akron for the 2023 campaign.

UP NEXT
Akron is back on the road for the next two weeks before returning to mid-week #MACtion at InfoCision Stadium. The Zips visit Central Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 14 and Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. in Mt. Pleasant and is TBA at BGSU.