2019 Akron Zips football team

2019 Akron Zips football
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record0–12 (0–8 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTommy Zagorski (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorMatt Feeney (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumInfoCision Stadium–Summa Field
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Miami (OH) x$   6 – 2     8 – 6  
Ohio   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Buffalo   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Kent State   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Bowling Green   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Akron   0 – 8     0 – 12  
West Division
Central Michigan x   6 – 2     8 – 6  
Western Michigan   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Ball State   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Northern Illinois   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Toledo   3 – 5     6 – 6  
Eastern Michigan   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Championship: Miami 26, Central Michigan 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2019 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Zips were led by first-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).

The 2019 Zips lost every single game on their schedule, finished with an 0–12 overall record and an 0–8 record in MAC play, and were outscored by their opponents by a total of 435 to 126. They finished in last place in the conference's East Division. CBS Sports rated Akron dead last, at 130th, in their season's-end ranking of all 130 FBS teams.[1] The Zips were the only Division I FBS team to go winless in the 2019 season. They were also the last team to be winless in a full season until 2024.

Preseason

[edit]

Coaching changes

[edit]

Following the firing of seven-year head coach Terry Bowden at the end of the 2018 season, Akron announced the hiring of Tom Arth on December 14, 2018.[2] Arth had spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, leading them to records of 3–8 and 6–5 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Before Chattanooga, he was the head coach at John Carroll University, where he led the team to an upset victory over No. 1 Mount Union to claim an Ohio Athletic Conference title in 2016 and was named D3football.com Coach of the Year.

Tom Arth announced the members of his coaching staff in January and March 2019.[3][4] Among them were defensive coordinator Matt Feeney and offensive coordinator Tommy Zagorski, who both served in the same roles on Arth's staff at Chattanooga.

MAC media poll

[edit]

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Zips predicted to finish in fifth place in the East Division.[5]

East Division
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Ohio 144 (24)
2 Miami 107
3 Buffalo 100
4 Kent State 62
5 Akron 54
6 Bowling Green 37

Schedule

[edit]

Akron's non-conference slate consisted of home games against UAB of Conference USA and Troy of the Sun Belt Conference, and road games against Illinois of the Big Ten Conference and UMass, a football independent.

In Mid-American Conference play, the Zips hosted Kent State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, and Ohio, and traveled to Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Miami. They did not play West Division members Ball State, Toledo, or Western Michigan.

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 31Noonat Illinois*
BTNL 3–4230,654
September 7NoonUAB*
CBSSNL 20–3118,972
September 143:00 p.m.at Central Michigan
ESPN+L 24–4518,641
September 213:00 p.m.Troy*
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
ESPN+L 7–3516,954
September 283:30 p.m.at UMass*
FloSportsL 29–377,284
October 123:30 p.m.Kent Statedagger
ESPN3L 3–2622,692
October 193:00 p.m.Buffalo
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
ESPN3L 0–2116,909
October 263:30 p.m.at Northern Illinois
ESPN3L 0–499,027
November 22:00 p.m.at Bowling Green
ESPN+L 6–3512,113
November 126:00 p.m.Eastern Michigan
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
ESPNewsL 14–4210,811
November 207:30 p.m.at Miami (OH)
ESPNUL 17–2022,921
November 266:00 p.m.Ohio
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
ESPN+L 3–5221,414

Source:[6]

Personnel

[edit]

Coaching staff

[edit]

[7]

  • Tom Arth - Head coach
  • Matt Feeney – Defensive Coordinator / Inside Linebackers
  • Tommy Zagorski – Offensive coordinator / Offensive Line
  • Brian Cochran – Defensive Line
  • Chris Cook – Tight ends / Offensive Tackles
  • Jonathan Cooley – Defensive Backs / Corners & Nickels
  • Jayden Everett – Running Backs
  • Shelton Felton – Outside Linebackers / Defensive Ends
  • Bryan Gasser – Pass Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers
  • Chris Hurd – Special Teams / Fullbacks / Halfbacks
  • Oscar Rodriguez – Secondary / Safeties

Game summaries

[edit]

At Illinois

[edit]
See also: 2019 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 3 0 0 0 3
Fighting Illini 14 14 14 0 42
Statistics AKR ILL
First downs 16 22
Total yards 192 401
Rushing yards 64 207
Passing yards 128 194
Turnovers 2 0
Time of possession 31:37 28:23
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 10/24, 122 yards, INT
Rushing Deltron Sands 14 rushes, 47 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 5 receptions, 79 yards
Illinois Passing Brandon Peters 14/23, 163 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Mike Epstein 8 rushes, 45 yards
Receiving Ricky Smalling 4 receptions, 54 yards

UAB

[edit]
See also: 2019 UAB Blazers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 7 10 14 0 31
Zips 6 0 0 14 20
Statistics UAB AKR
First downs 15 16
Total yards 402 393
Rushing yards 83 34
Passing yards 319 359
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 27:37 32:23
Team Category Player Statistics
UAB Passing Tyler Johnston III 15/24, 319 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing Spencer Brown 16 rushes, 35 yards
Receiving Austin Watkins Jr. 3 receptions, 95 yards, 2 TD
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 25/44, 359 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Kato Nelson 13 rushes, 31 yards
Receiving Dustin Burkhart 8 receptions, 217 yards

At Central Michigan

[edit]
See also: 2019 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 10 0 14 24
Chippewas 3 24 3 15 45
Statistics AKR CMU
First downs 16 21
Total yards 326 533
Rushing yards 42 189
Passing yards 282 344
Turnovers 2 1
Time of possession 31:10 28:50
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 26/42, 241 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing Kato Nelson 16 rushes, 28 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 5 receptions, 78 yards, TD
Central Michigan Passing David Moore 20/31, 316 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Kobe Lewis 27 rushes, 146 yards, 3 TD
Receiving Kalil Pimpleton 7 receptions, 116 yards, TD

Troy

[edit]
See also: 2019 Troy Trojans football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 7 14 14 0 35
Zips 7 0 0 0 7
Statistics TROY AKR
First downs 32 10
Total yards 485 242
Rushing yards 270 39
Passing yards 215 203
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 41:17 18:43
Team Category Player Statistics
Troy Passing Kaleb Barker 27/37, 214 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing D. K. Billingsley 22 rushes, 100 yards, TD
Receiving Luke Whittemore 7 receptions, 64 yards
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 15/29, 200 yards, TD
Rushing Brandon Lee 6 rushes, 38 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 4 receptions, 89 yards

At UMass

[edit]
See also: 2019 UMass Minutemen football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 7 7 7 8 29
Minutemen 7 13 14 3 37
Statistics AKR MASS
First downs 22 24
Total yards 406 433
Rushing yards 71 220
Passing yards 335 213
Turnovers 3 1
Time of possession 29:02 30:58
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 12/16, 173 yards, TD
Rushing Michiah Burton 8 rushes, 25 yards, TD
Receiving Boogie Knight 5 receptions, 100 yards
UMass Passing Michael Curtis 17/31, 173 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing Bilal Ally 15 rushes, 97 yards
Receiving Samuel Emilus 6 receptions, 70 yards, TD

Kent State

[edit]
See also: 2019 Kent State Golden Flashes football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Flashes 7 10 0 9 26
Zips 0 3 0 0 3
Statistics KENT AKR
First downs 24 19
Total yards 382 288
Rushing yards 233 95
Passing yards 149 202
Turnovers 0 1
Time of possession 29:34 30:26
Team Category Player Statistics
Kent State Passing Dustin Crum 16/21, 149 yards, TD
Rushing Will Matthews 25 rushes, 126 yards, TD
Receiving Isaiah McKoy 7 receptions, 80 yards, TD
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 17/28, 202 yards
Rushing Kato Nelson 14 rushes, 64 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 4 receptions, 71 yards

Buffalo

[edit]
See also: 2019 Buffalo Bulls football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 0 7 7 21
Zips 0 0 0 0 0
Statistics BUFF AKR
First downs 16 11
Total yards 254 196
Rushing yards 189 3
Passing yards 65 193
Turnovers 1 4
Time of possession 34:37 25:23
Team Category Player Statistics
Buffalo Passing Kyle Vantrease 14/23, 65 yards
Rushing Jaret Patterson 17 rushes, 88 yards
Receiving Daniel Lee 6 receptions, 30 yards
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 22/39, 193 yards, INT
Rushing Decavilon Reese 8 rushes, 37 yards
Receiving Julian Hicks 9 receptions, 51 yards

At Northern Illinois

[edit]
See also: 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 0 0 0 0
Huskies 7 14 14 14 49
Statistics AKR NIU
First downs 7 21
Total yards 145 345
Rushing yards 94 274
Passing yards 51 71
Turnovers 3 1
Time of possession 20:35 39:25
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 4/15, 36 yards, INT
Rushing Brandon Lee 10 rushes, 76 yards
Receiving Julian Hicks 3 receptions, 22 yards
Northern Illinois Passing Marcus Childers 7/9, 71 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Tre Harbison 31 rushes, 158 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Mitchell Brinkman 2 receptions, 36 yards, TD

At Bowling Green

[edit]
See also: 2019 Bowling Green Falcons football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 6 0 0 0 6
Falcons 7 14 7 7 35
Statistics AKR BGSU
First downs 7 17
Total yards 100 276
Rushing yards 29 156
Passing yards 71 120
Turnovers 4 1
Time of possession 22:58 37:02
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 9/24, 60 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Peter Hayes-Patrick 4 rushes, 23 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 3 receptions, 26 yards
Bowling Green Passing Grant Loy 12/20, 113 yards, TD
Rushing Andrew Clair 29 rushes, 86 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Quintin Morris 4 receptions, 53 yards, TD

Eastern Michigan

[edit]
See also: 2019 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 7 14 14 7 42
Zips 0 0 7 7 14
Statistics EMU AKR
First downs 25 14
Total yards 498 342
Rushing yards 252 54
Passing yards 246 288
Turnovers 0 1
Time of possession 33:45 26:15
Team Category Player Statistics
Eastern Michigan Passing Mike Glass III 20/25, 246 yards
Rushing Shaq Vann 28 rushes, 142 yards, 4 TD
Receiving Matthew Sexton 4 receptions, 76 yards
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 20/33, 288 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing Peter Hayes-Patrick 13 rushes, 43 yards
Receiving Boogie Knight 6 receptions, 121 yards

At Miami (OH)

[edit]
See also: 2019 Miami RedHawks football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 3 7 7 17
RedHawks 3 14 3 0 20
Statistics AKR MOH
First downs 11 19
Total yards 202 355
Rushing yards 5 238
Passing yards 197 117
Turnovers 0 2
Time of possession 26:54 33:06
Team Category Player Statistics
Akron Passing Kato Nelson 15/25, 197 yards, TD
Rushing Peter Hayes-Patrick 6 rushes, 17 yards
Receiving Nate Stewart 3 receptions, 66 yards
Miami Passing Brett Gabbert 10/21, 117 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Jaylon Bester 21 rushes, 128 yards, TD
Receiving Jack Sorenson 3 receptions, 46 yards

Ohio

[edit]
See also: 2019 Ohio Bobcats football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bobcats 14 17 7 14 52
Zips 3 0 0 0 3
Statistics OHIO AKR
First downs 25 7
Total yards 603 74
Rushing yards 251 41
Passing yards 352 33
Turnovers 2 2
Time of possession 37:34 22:26
Team Category Player Statistics
Ohio Passing Nathan Rourke 20/28, 308 yards, 4 TD
Rushing De'Montre Tuggle 9 rushes, 78 yards
Receiving Tyler Walton 5 receptions, 82 yards
Akron Passing Zach Gibson 3/11, 23 yards, INT
Rushing Peter Hayes-Patrick 14 rushes, 42 yards
Receiving Boogie Knight 2 receptions, 22 yards

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "College Football Rankings 2019 - CBS Sports 130". CBS Sports. December 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Caron, Emily (December 14, 2018). "UT-Chattanooga's Tom Arth Named Akron Football Coach". Sports Illustrated.
  3. ^ "Akron Football Adds Assistant Coaches, Staff". GoZips.com. University of Akron. January 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "Arth Completes Akron Football Staff". GoZips.com. University of Akron. March 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "MAC Announces 2019 Preseason Football Poll". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "2019 Akron Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Football Coaches - University of Akron Athletics". Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
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