Akron Travels to Eastern Michigan for Final Road Contest, Midweek #MACtion

Tuesday, November 14

Ypsilanti, Mich.

7:00 PM

University of Akron

Eastern Michigan

Wagon Wheel Akron vs Kent State Nov. 1, 2023

Akron Travels to Eastern Michigan for Final Road Contest, Midweek #MACtion

November 12 | Football

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Akron football program enters its final road contest of the season and midweek #MACtion game against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at Rynearson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game is slated to be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network with Chick Hernandez (PxP) and Malik Zaire (Analyst) calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

Television: CBSSN - Chick Hernandez (PxP), Malik Zaire (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://bit.ly/3u7z9cZ
Live Stats Link: www.GoZips.com - https://bit.ly/3u7zdcJ

HEAD COACHES
Eastern Michigan
Chuck Martin (Millikin, 1990)
Overall Record: 189-113 (27th Season)
Record at EMU: 50-67 (10th Season)

AKRON
Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996)
Overall Record: 56-42 (8th Season)
Record at Akron: 4-17 (2nd Season)

SERIES HISTORY
Series: Akron leads 19-15
Last Meeting: Eastern Michigan def. Akron, 34-28 (Akron, Ohio - Nov. 8, 2022)
Last Meeting in Ypsilanti: Eastern Michigan def. Akron, 27-20 (Ypsilanti, Mich. - Nov. 10, 2018)

Akron is meeting Eastern Michigan for the 35th time in program history with the Zips owning a 19-15 series advantage. The Eagles own a three-game winning streak. The last meeting between the two schools, the Eagles registered a 34-28 triumph past Akron on Nov. 8, 2022 at InfoCision Stadium as well as a 42-12 win in 2019 in Akron. The last time the two teams played in Ypsilanti was the 2018 season as EMU posted a 27-20 victory. Akron's last win over the Eagles came in the 2015 season at Rynearson Stadium when the Zips posted a 47-21 triumph.

The series between the two schools dates back to the 1923 campaign when the Zips earned a 10-3 home victory over Eastern Michigan.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eastern Michigan enters action this week against Akron at 4-6 on the campaign, including 2-4 in the Mid-American Conference, following a 49-23 setback at Toledo on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

QB Austin Smith directs the Eagles' attack passing for 1,420 yards, including throwing for seven touchdowns. EMU RB Samson Evans has rushed for 451 yards and eight touchdowns, while the duo of RB Jaylon Jackson and QB Austin Smith have rushed for 494 and 331 yards, respectively, while running for three combined touchdowns. WR Tannue Knue has pulled down 40 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, the duo of LB Joe Sparacio and LB Chase Kline have combined to record 112 and 109 tackles, including posting 49 and 37 solo stops, respectively. Eastern Michigan has tallied 18 sacks and 47 tackles for a loss.

As a team, the Eagles average 19.0 points per game, while their opponents net 25.0 points per outing. Eastern Michigan has thrown for 154.8 yards and rushed for 105.3 yards per tilt.

AKRON NOTES
• Akron brought the Wagon Wheel back to Akron with 31-27 win over rival Kent State.
• The Zips ended the game on a strong note, scoring 21 unanswered points to close out the contest.
• Akron outgained Kent State, 393-346, including a 298-229 advantage through the air.
• Akron tallied 21 points in the fourth quarter, accounting for 67.7 percent of their total score.
• Akron converted 6 of 14 third downs while Kent State was successful on 5 of 14.
• Akron scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
• Akron went 1-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of attempts.
• Undercuffler earned MAC player of the week, completing 23-of-39 for 298 yards with two touchdowns and scoring the game-winning TD on a 5 yd run.
• The Zips had three players with 100 yards of offense, receiving from George (104 yds) and Gathings (103 yds) and rushing from Lingard (106 yds).
• The Zips had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Fish, who had 10.
• 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
(Nov. 3) – QB QB Jeff Undercuffler, Jr. (Burlington, N.J.) was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week. Undercuffler led Akron to a 31-27 win over rival Kent State as the Zips claimed the coveted Wagon Wheel trophy for the first time since 2018 on Wednesday night at InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field. Undercuffler guided Akron's passing attack with 298 yards, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception while completing 23-of-39 passes. The signal caller also added a touchdown on the ground with a five-yard run with 26-seconds left in the game to secure the rivalry win. The Zips scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the win as Undercuffler led three scoring drives, starting with a 16-play, 87-yard drive lasting 6:32 and ending with a 22-yard pass to WR Jasaiah Gathings for a touchdown to make it 27-17. Next, the Zips used a 3:32 drive consisting of six plays for 74 yards as RB Lorenzo Lingard broke free with a 37-yard run to bring Akron within three points (27-24). After a three-and-out defensive stop by the Zips, Undercuffler gave the Zips a 31-27 advantage while leaving only 26-seconds remaining on the game clock with an eight-play, 57-yard that lasted 2:57. On the final drive, Undercuffler completed 3-of-4 passes, finding Gathings twice and Lingard once to take the offense to the Kent State five-yard line. He kept the ball on the final run-pass-option play and scampered five yards for the touchdown.

(Sept. 25) - QB DJ Irons was named Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week. 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
The Zips return to InfoCision Stadium for Senior Day and the final regular season contest of the season against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, Nov. 24 at Noon.