2019 Akron Zips football team

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American college football season

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.

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 will consist 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.

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
August 31 Noon at Illinois* BTN L 3–42 30,654
September 7 Noon UAB* CBSSN L 20–31 18,972
September 14 3:00 p.m. at Central Michigan ESPN+ L 24–45 18,641
September 21 3:00 p.m. Troy*
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
 ESPN+ L 7–35 16,954
September 28 3:30 p.m. at UMass* FloSports L 29–37 7,284
October 12 3:30 p.m. Kent Statedagger ESPN3 L 3–26 22,692
October 19 3:00 p.m. Buffalo
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
 ESPN3 L 0–21 16,909
October 26 3:30 p.m. at Northern Illinois ESPN3 L 0–49 9,027
November 2 2:00 p.m. at Bowling Green ESPN+ L 6–35 12,113
6:00 p.m. Eastern Michigan
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
 ESPNews L 14–42 10,811
7:30 p.m. at Miami (OH) ESPNU L 17–20 22,921
6:00 p.m. Ohio
  • InfoCision Stadium
  • Akron, OH
 ESPN+ L 3–52 21,414

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]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 3 0 0 0 3
Fighting Illini 14 14 14 0 42

UAB[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 7 10 14 0 31
Zips 6 0 0 14 20

At Central Michigan[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 10 0 14 24
Chippewas 3 24 3 15 45

Troy[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 7 14 14 0 35
Zips 7 0 0 0 7

At UMass[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 7 7 7 8 29
Minutemen 7 13 14 3 37

Kent State[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Flashes 7 10 0 9 26
Zips 0 3 0 0 3

Buffalo[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 0 7 7 21
Zips 0 0 0 0 0

At Northern Illinois[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 0 0 0 0
Huskies 7 14 14 14 49

At Bowling Green[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 6 0 0 0 6
Falcons 7 14 7 7 35

Eastern Michigan[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 7 14 14 7 42
Zips 0 0 7 7 14

At Miami (OH)[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Zips 0 3 7 7 17
RedHawks 3 14 3 0 20

Ohio[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bobcats 14 17 7 14 52
Zips 3 0 0 0 3

References[edit]