2020 Akron Zips football team

2020 Akron Zips football
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record1–5 (1–5 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTommy Zagorski (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorBryan Gasser (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorMatt Feeney (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumInfoCision Stadium–Summa Field
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 25 Buffalo xy   5 – 0     6 – 1  
Kent State   3 – 1     3 – 1  
Ohio   2 – 1     2 – 1  
Miami (OH)   2 – 1     2 – 1  
Akron   1 – 5     1 – 5  
Bowling Green   0 – 5     0 – 5  
West Division
No. 23 Ball State xy$   5 – 1     7 – 1  
Western Michigan   4 – 2     4 – 2  
Toledo   4 – 2     4 – 2  
Central Michigan   3 – 3     3 – 3  
Eastern Michigan   2 – 4     2 – 4  
Northern Illinois   0 – 6     0 – 6  
Championship: Ball State 38, Buffalo 28
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mid-American suspended the season on August 8, but later decided to begin play on November 4.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Zips were led by second-year head coach Tom Arth and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio. They competed as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In their fifth game, the Zips defeated Bowling Green, 31–3, to break their 21-game losing streak dating back to the 2018 season.[2]

Schedule

Akron had non-conference games scheduled against Clemson, Youngstown State, New Mexico State, and UMass, which all were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
November 46:00 p.m.Western Michigan
ESPN3L 13–58449
November 107:00 p.m.at Ohio
CBSSNL 10–241,182
November 178:00 p.m.at Kent State
ESPNL 35–690
November 281:00 p.m.Miami (OH)
ESPN3L 7–380
December 52:00 p.m.Bowling Green
ESPN3W 31–30
December 122:30 p.m.at No. 24 Buffalo
CBSSNL 7–560

[4]

Game summaries

vs Western Michigan

See also: 2020 Western Michigan Broncos football team
Western Michigan Broncos (0–0) vs Akron Zips (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 16 14 21758
Zips 7 6 0013

at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, Ohio

  • Date: November 4
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 449
  • Referee: Greg Sujack
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
  • (10:33) WMU – Thiago Kapps 48-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 24 yards, 4:27; Western Michigan 3–0)
  • (7:32) AKR – Michael Mathison 14-yard pass from Zach Gibson, Cory Smigel kick (Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 2:56; Akron 7–3)
  • (3:48) WMU – D'Wayne Eskridge 5-yard pass from Kaleb Eleby, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 3:33; Western Michigan 10–7)
  • (1:52) WMU – A. J. Thomas 38-yard interception return, Thiago Kapps kick failed (Drive: 4 plays, 12 yards, 1:50; Western Michigan 16–7)
Second quarter
  • (13:04) AKR – Cory Smigel 41-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 3:48; Western Michigan 16–10)
  • (7:33) WMU – Sean Tyler 12-yard run, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 5:25; Western Michigan 23–10)
  • (3:41) AKR – Cory Smigel 28-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 3:52; Western Michigan 23–13)
  • (1:34) WMU – Jaylen Hall 68-yard pass from Kaleb Eleby, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:01; Western Michigan 30–13)
Third quarter
  • (13:09) WMU – D'Wayne Eskridge 76-yard pass from Kaleb Eleby, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 2 plays, 83 yards, 0:53; Western Michigan 37–13)
  • (9:14) WMU – Jaxson Kincaide 14-yard run, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 4 plays, 53 yards, 1:23; Western Michigan 44–13)
  • (0:32) WMU – La'Darius Jefferson 1-yard run, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 4:51; Western Michigan 51–13)
Fourth quarter
  • (6:14) WMU – Christian Singleton 5-yard run, Thiago Kapps kick (Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 2:40; Western Michigan 58–13)
Statistics WMU AKR
First downs 21 15
Plays–yards 58–484 64–256
Rushes–yards 39–218 32–130
Passing yards 266 126
Passing: comp–att–int 13–19–0 19–32–1
Turnovers 0 2
Time of possession 30:53 29:07
Team Category Player Statistics
Western Michigan Passing Kaleb Eleby 12/16, 262 yards, 3 TD
Rushing La'Darius Jefferson 9 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD
Receiving D'Wayne Eskridge 3 receptions, 114 yards, 2 TD
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 18/30, 125 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Jeremiah Knight 11 carries, 74 yards
Receiving Michael Mathison 6 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD

at Ohio

See also: 2020 Ohio Bobcats football team
Pregame line Over/under
OHIO –27.5 59.5
Game Two – Akron Zips (0–1) at Ohio Bobcats (0–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Zips 0 7 3010
Bobcats 7 7 3724

at Peden Stadium • Athens, Ohio

  • Date: November 10, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 1,182
  • Referee: Tim O'Dey
  • TV: CBSSN
Game information
First quarter
  • 12:10 OHIO – De'Montre Tuggle 9-yard run (Tristian Vandenberg kick) – Ohio 7–0, Drive: 6 plays, 62 yards, 2:50
Second quarter
  • 12:27 OHIO – Armani Rogers 1-yard run (Tristian Vandenberg kick) – Ohio 14–0, Drive: 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:13
  • 4:25 AKR – Nate Stewart 14-yard pass from Zach Gibson (Cory Smigel kick) – Ohio 14–7, Drive: 9 plays, 97 yards, 4:22
Third quarter
  • 9:47 AKR – Cory Smigel 35-yard field goal – Ohio 14–10, Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 5:13
  • 6:27 OHIO – Tristian Vandenberg 44-yard field goal – Ohio 17–10, Drive: 7 plays, 21 yards, 3:14
Fourth quarter
  • 2:02 OHIO – De'Montre Tuggle 1-yard run (Jonah Fortkamp kick) – Ohio 24–10, Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:23
Statistics Akron Ohio
First downs 20 15
Plays–yards 72–434 50–307
Rushes–yards 42–216 33–185
Passing yards 218 122
Passing: comp–att–int 18–30–2 10–17–0
Turnovers 3 0
Time of possession 34:53 25:07
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 18/30, 218 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing Teon Dollard 22 carries, 165 yards
Receiving George Qualls Jr. 3 receptions, 64 yards
Ohio Passing Kurtis Rourke 8/14, 92 yards
Rushing De'Montre Tuggle 22 carries, 139 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Shane Hooks 4 receptions, 73 yards

at Kent State

See also: 2020 Kent State Golden Flashes football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 7 21 0 7 35
Golden Flashes 14 21 20 14 69

vs Miami (OH)

See also: 2020 Miami RedHawks football team
1 2 3 4 Total
RedHawks 7 17 7 7 38
Zips 0 0 0 7 7

vs Bowling Green

See also: 2020 Bowling Green Falcons football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 3 0 0 0 3
Zips 3 14 7 7 31

at No. 24 Buffalo

See also: 2020 Buffalo Bulls football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 0 0 7 7
No. 24 Bulls 14 21 14 7 56

Roster

2020 Akron Zips football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 0 Julian Hicks  Jr
QB 1 Kato Nelson  Sr
WR 2 Nate Stewart  Sr
WR 3 Michael Mathison So
WR 4 George Qualls, Jr.  Jr
WR 5 Jeremiah Knight  Jr
RB 6 Jonzell Norrils Fr
RB 7 Teon Dollard Jr
QB 9 Brayden Hawkins  So
WR 11 Jalen Knight  Fr
QB 12 T.J. DeShields  So
WR 13 Kevin Walls  Fr
QB 14 Joey Marousek Fr
QB 15 Zach Gibson  Fr
WR 16 Tony Grimes, Jr. Fr
RB 20 Cole Gest  Sr
WR 21 Bryce Profitt Fr
TE 24 Maverick Wolfley  So
TE 25 Tristian Brank Fr
RB 26 Isiah Childs Fr
RB 27 Jamason Jodway Fr
WR 30 Gavin Blunt  So
WR 31 Ethan Johnson  Fr
RB 34 Jaylen Ball Fr
WR 35 Nathan Simon Fr
RB 36 Michiah Burton So
WR 37 Nolan Labuda Fr
WR 48 Blake Hester Fr
OL 53 Bryce Petersen Sr
OL 62 Vincent Fonte, Jr.  So
OL 63 Alex Robarge  Fr
OL 65 Tony Georges Fr
OL 66 Ryan Beckman  Fr
OL 70 Caleb Herring  Fr
OL 71 Shawn Muldowney II  Jr
OL 73 Owen Murphy  Fr
OL 74 Ronan Chambers Fr
OL 75 Jordan Daniels  Fr
OL 76 Nate Williams Fr
OL 77 Xavior Gray  Fr
OL 79 Joe Gavriloff Fr
TE 80 Jacob Shaffer  Fr
WR 81 Shawn Naim  Fr
WR 82 Jameel Williamson Fr
TE 83 Nick Dottore Fr
TE 84 Kenyon Sholty  Fr
TE 85 Zackary Leininger  Jr
WR 86 Marquis Whitmire  Jr
TE 87 Brycen Yarmo  So
WR 88 Timothy Scippio Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL 0 Bryce Wilson So
CB 1 Randy Cochran, Jr. So
S 2 Corey Thomas, Jr.  Fr
LB 3 DeMarkus Glover  Sr
S 4 Woobendy Guerrier  Jr
OLB 5 Michael Scott  Jr
CB 6 Jordyn Riley  Jr
OLB 7 Julian Richardson So
S 8 Jaylen Kelly-Powell  Sr
LB 9 Demetrick Watts  Sr
OLB 10 Quevan Lawson  Fr
DL 11 Nazir Sy  So
DB 12 Charles Amankwaa  So
CB 13 Chu Ogbonna  Jr
DL 14 Julius Hawkins Fr
LB 17 Juan Jarrett Fr
CB 18 A.J. Watts So
S 19 MyJaden Horton Fr
LB 20 Michael Snowden Fr
LB 21 Reggie Corner, Jr.  So
LB 22 Brandon Bischof Jr
CB 23 Ronald Jackson, Jr. Fr
S 24 Adetutu Daranijo So
LB 27 Bubba Arslanian  Jr
CB 28 A.J. Felton  So
CB 29 Quentin Woodall  So
S 32 Owen Faulkner Fr
ATH 34 Tyson Durant Fr
S 38 Joseph Sarpong  Fr
S 39 DiMarco Johnson Fr
LB 40 Kyle Bischof Fr
CB 42 Gamari Peterson Fr
S 43 Tobias Thomas Pitts Fr
S 44 Sean Conroy  So
OLB 45 Ryan McClain Jr
DB 48 Kavari Adams  So
LB 50 Kendal Marshall Fr
LB 52 Zach DiLauro  So
OLB 53 Nicholas Mayle Fr
OLB 55 Collier Brown Fr
LB 56 Jake Miller Fr
LB 57 Connor Francz Fr
LB 58 Marco Donatelli  Fr
LB 59 Beau Bachie Fr
OLB 60 Dean Ramicone  Sr
DL 61 Ed Reely Fr
DL 64 Kirk Popelas  Fr
DL 67 Logan Hawkins  So
DL 68 Deacon Allen Fr
DL 69 Eseosa Obas  Fr
DL 90 Angelo Howze  Jr
DL 94 John Mitchell Sr
DL 95 Brendan Smith  Fr
DL 96 Darrius Harris  Jr
DL 97 Janirr Wade Fr
DL 99 Eric Bentley  So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 41 Cory Smigel  So
P 42 Kyle Romenick  Fr
PK 46 Ethan Slike  So
PK 47 Jerry Fitschen  Sr
LS 54 Cameron Lyons  Jr
LS 65 Kyle Bauman  So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Matt Feeney – Defensive coordinator/safeties
  • Bryan Gasser – Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers
  • Tommy Zagorski – Offensive coordinator/offensive line
  • Brian Cochran – Defensive line
  • Chris Cook – Tight ends/offensive tackles
  • Jayden Everett – Running backs
  • Deonte Gibson – Outside linebackers/defensive ends
  • Chris Hurd – Special teams coordinator
  • Jamael Lett – Secondary
  • Oscar Rodriguez, Jr. – Inside linebackers
  • Ben Murphy – Director of Football Operations
  • Alex Kline – Director of Player Personnel
  • Deonte Mack – Director of Athletic Performance/strength & conditioning
  • Rich Worsell – Director of Football Research & Analytics
  • Eythan Puhalla - Graduate Assistant, Video
  • Joshua DePasquale - Analyst, Football Research
  • Vance Thompson - Undergraduate Assistant
  • Claire Crosby – Assistant Director of Football Operations
  • Conner Bogard – Defensive quality control
  • Tony Caljean – Special teams quality control
  • Devin Jordan – Offensive quality control
  • Greg Wood – Co-special teams quality control
  • Anthony Cicione – Defensive graduate assistant
  • Sam Kukura – Offensive graduate assistant
  • LaTroy Lewis – Defensive graduate assistant
  • Ray Brewster – Football assistant
  • Jake Schaefer – Football assistant
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 4, 2020

References

  1. ^ Wells, Adam (September 25, 2020). "MAC Approves 6-Game College Football Schedule Beginning November 4". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  2. ^ Justice, Camryn (December 5, 2020). "Akron Zips snap 21-game losing streak with big win over Bowling Green Falcons". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "2020 Akron Football Schedule". University of Akron. Retrieved December 5, 2020.