Akron Travels to Miami for Midweek #MACtion on ESPNU

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Akron football program looks to carry the momentum of capturing the Wagon Wheel from rival Kent State last week in to Oxford, Ohio as the Zips battle the Miami RedHawks on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Yager Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game is slated to be broadcasted on ESPNU with Michael Corey (PxP) and Dustin Fox (Analyst) calling the action with a link on GoZips.com.

Television: ESPNU – Michael Corey (PxP), Dustin Fox (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/47kayQv
Live Stats Link: www.GoZips.com -

HEAD COACHES
MIAMI
Chuck Martin (Millikin, 1990)
Overall Record: 126-68 (16th Season)
Record at Miami: 52-61 (10th Season)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Series: Miami leads 22-9-1
Last Meeting: Miami def. Akron, 27-9 (Akron, Ohio - Oct. 29, 2022)
Last Meeting in Oxford: Miami def. Akron, 34-21 (Oxford, Ohio - Oct. 16, 2021)

Akron is meeting Miami for the 33rd time in program history with the RedHawks owning a 22-9-1 series advantage and a six-game winning streak. In the last meeting between the two schools, Miami registered a 27-9 triumph past Akron on Oct. 29, 2022 in Akron, Ohio.

The series between the two schools dates back to the 1916 campaign when Miami earned a 23-6 road victory over Akron. The Zips and RedHawks have met every season since 2010.

SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami enters the midweek #MACtion game at 7-2 overall, including 4-1 mark in the MAC. In league play, the RedHawks defeated Kent State, Bowling Green, Western Michigan before falling at home to Toledo. Miami bounced back with a 30-16 win over Ohio the last time out. The RedHawks average 29.8 points per game, while their opponents net 19.0 points per outing. Miami has thrown for 199.7 yards and rushed for 157.9 yards per tilt.

QB Brett Gabbert started eight games for the RedHawks and directs the passing game with 1,634 yards and 14 touchdowns, while QB Aveon Smith follows with 163 yards passing and one touchdown in his lone start this season. Three RedHawk receivers have recorded 20 or more receptions led by Gage Larvadain with 32 catches for 596 yards and six touchdowns. Joe Wilkins and Cade McDonald follow with 23 and 21 receptions, respectively, as Wilkins logged 325 yards receiving and McDonald posted 281 yards. Miami RB Rashad Amos has rushed for 601 yards and 4.9 yards per carry on 119 attempts, while running for five touchdowns.

Defensively, LB Matt Salopek leads the squad with 93 tackles, including 5.5 TFL. Miami has totaled a league-best 25 sacks led by DE Caiden Woullard with 7.0 for 43 yards of loss, followed by DE Brian Ugwu with 5.5 for 28 yards of loss.

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.

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 travel to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. kick, and returns to InfoCision Stadium for Senior Day and the final regular season contest against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, Nov. 24 at Noon.

Akron Travels to Miami for Midweek #MACtion on ESPNU

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Players Mentioned

Jasaiah Gathings

Daniel George

DJ Irons

Lorenzo Lingard

KJ Martin

Bryan McCoy

Jeff Undercuffler, Jr.

The University of Akron Athletics