The University of Akron has assembled a challenging schedule for the 2024 football season with two Big Ten teams and a Southeastern Conference squad in the first four weeks.
The Zips open at No. 2-ranked Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and then visit Rutgers for a noon kickoff on Sept. 7.
Akron's home opener is at 6 p.m. Sept. 14 against Colgate and then it plays at South Carolina on Sept. 21 at a time to be announced before eight Mid-American Conference games.
The Zips have compiled a 2-10 record in each of the past three seasons, including the last two under coach Joe Moorhead .
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Zips senior defensive lineman Bennett Adler and junior linebacker Bryan McCoy are focused on the positives.
McCoy said at MAC Football Media Day on July 19 that his expectations are "to win."
"Winning for ourselves, winning for the Akron community and putting Akron on the map, that is what we want to do," McCoy said at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. "... We want to keep Akron a successful place. We don't want this well to dry out. I think this is a great community."
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The strength of Akron's team is its defense with Adler, McCoy, senior lineman CJ Nunnally IV, senior linebacker Antavious Fish, redshirt senior lineman Lama Lavea and redshirt junior cornerbacks Darrian Lewis and Devonte Golden-Nelson among the returnees.
"I am really excited about this team," Adler said. "We are very close knit this year. Everybody is bought into the culture and I am really excited to go out and kick some you know what with the boys.
"... It is all about the attention to details. It is the small details that got us beat in those close games. It is just that fourth-quarter hump that we have to get over that separates us from a winning team and a losing team."
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Adler said Moorhead is emphasizing the importance of "playing together as one and buying into the culture."
"We have one team and one identity, and that is we are a bunch of hard-nosed players," Adler said.
Adler, McCoy, redshirt junior quarterback Ben Finley and redshirt junior wide receiver Myles Walker were voted captains. Adler and Walker were each awarded jersey No. 1 from Akron's strength and conditioning staff.
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"Everything is boiled down to wins and losses," McCoy said. "Winning your play. Winning your 1 of 11. Winning the rep in front of you and execution, most importantly. Understanding your technique. Understanding your assignment and executing."
Akron will also continue to have fun with "The Turnover Tire" and "The Touchdown Tire" this season.
"With the long drought that Akron has had, it is possible for us to get up out of it and it is here," McCoy said. "The time is now. The term I have been using with the team is, 'Why not now?' The stage is set. We have the players. The fans are here. Why not now? Why not succeed now?"
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Akron football coach Joe Moorhead picks Ben Finley to play quarterback
Finley will be under center Saturday in Columbus after three seasons at North Carolina State (2020, 2021, 2022) and California (2023). He has played in 13 collegiate games with four starts, completing 137 of 245 passes for 1,484 yards and seven touchdowns with nine interceptions.
Finley played in six games with two starts last year at California, completing 54 of 94 passes for 572 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
"It was a very competitive and spirited quarterback battle, with Ben coming out on top," Moorhead said to broadcaster Joe Dunn on Monday during the Zips Weekly television show. "I think he brings a lot of unique tools to the table. Tahj [Bullock] has a very unique skillset as well and Brayden [Roggow] is a very, very young promising guy [from Tiffin Columbian High School].
"... Ben's brother [Ryan Finley] played in the NFL [with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 and 2020], so he has a good pedigree. He is a tall guy [at 6-foot-3] that is up over 200 [pounds] now. High football IQ. He is very accurate with a strong arm. Not necessarily a runner, but a guy that can make plays with his feet and does some nice things when the pocket breaks down."
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Akron football coach Joe Moorhead reflects on Week 1 foe Ohio State
Per usual, there is no shortage of talent at Ohio State as the Buckeyes open their 135th football season with 16 returning starters.
OSU's returning starters on offense are running back TreVeyon Henderson, linemen Donovan Jackson, JoshFryar, Josh Simmons and Carson Hinzman and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
The returning starters on OSU's defense are ends JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams, tackle Ty Hamilton, cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun and safeties Sonny Styles and Lathan Ransom. The Buckeyes also return kicker Jayden Fielding and long snapper John Ferlmann.
Egbuka, Henderson, Sawyer and linebacker Cody Simon are captains for coach Ryan Day.
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The Buckeyes added several transfers, including running back Quinshon Judkins from Mississippi, quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State and safety Caleb Downs and center Seth McLaughlin from Alabama.
There has been a lot of talk this month about how this could be the most talented football roster Ohio State has ever had. That's high praise for a program that has won eight national championships and 39 Big Ten championships.
"Coach [Urban] Meyer and coach [Jim] Tressel both commented on the overall talent and depth of the Ohio State roster," Moorhead said to Dunn during the Zips Weekly television show. "They are very well coached. It is going to be a huge, huge challenge."
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Moorhead was a 35-28 winner the last time he coached at Ohio Stadium as the Oregon offensive coordinator under former Ducks coach Mario Cristobal on Sept. 11, 2021.
"It is always a great feeling to go into one of the best environments in college football and have the ability to compete, and got a win the last time," Moorhead said to Dunn during the Zips Weekly television show.
"... People talk about, 'Oh, enjoy the experience.' This is not an eighth grade field trip to Cedar Point or Niagara Falls. This team is going to try to destroy us, but it is on the schedule, we are going to go play it and our kids are excited to prepare well and go up and compete as hard as we can and hopefully come out of it healthy."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron seeks winning football season; coach Joe Moorhead reflects on Week 1 foe Ohio State
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