Meet Your Insider
Greetings, Zips fans, and welcome to The Cover Window! I'm Hollister Grubbs, but everybody calls me Zip. I'm a polymer-science grad from the Rubber City, and I measure football the only scientific way: in tire tread depth. Deep, grippy tread means a team that holds the road on third down. Bald tires mean a team sliding all over the place. I travel with this team and I live with this team, usually with a clipboard of formulas. When we win, I bounce like a superball: BOING! When we lose, I say, "Some tread wear today," and start scribbling equations to figure out why. Every week you'll get the players, the coaches and the matchup, vulcanized for durability. "That's some sticky tread."
The School in 60 Seconds
Akron plays at InfoCision Stadium, listed at 30,000, in a city that put the world on rubber tires. This week is the big one: the Wagon Wheel game against Kent State. The trophy dates to 1946, and Kent State won the first nine games for it. Kent State holds the Wheel right now after a 42-35 win last season. Before that, we won the 2023 and 2024 meetings, 31-27 and 38-17. The series count depends on your source: CollegeFootballDigest lists Akron ahead 26-19-1, and other references list Akron ahead 37-29-2. Either way, the Zips lead. Science.
The Coach and the Scheme
Joe Moorhead was hired on Dec. 4, 2021. Before Akron he was Mississippi State's head coach in 2018 and 2019, then Oregon's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020 and 2021. In 2026 the offense is balanced: about 51% runs, 206.9 passing yards and 132.7 rushing yards a game, with 11 passing touchdowns and 6 rushing. It's been a hard season. We score 18.9 points a game (126th) and allow 32.4 (124th). The run defense allows 200.4 yards a game, 130th in FBS, at 6.05 yards a carry. Tread wear, as the scientists say. We've lost 14 turnovers and forced 7, so we're minus-7 (131st). And the protection has given up 19 sacks while the pass rush has 4. Those are the numbers to fix. The red-zone defense ranks 114th in FBS, so once opponents reach the 20, they've usually found grip. On the plus side, our penalty numbers are respectable, at 56.1 yards a game (66th). Fewer flags means less slipping.
Players to Know
RB Jordan Gant: 452 yards and 4 TD on 98 carries. Our most reliable tire. At Miami (OH) he ran 15 times for 46 yards and a touchdown, and caught two passes.
QB Brayden Roggow: 1,068 yards, 7 TD, 8 INT, 59.0% completions. Against Miami (OH) he threw for 234 yards but had four interceptions. He'll want that one back.
WR Marcel Williams: 31 catches, 332 yards, 3 TD. WR Miles Burris caught six for 54 yards last week.
LB Donelius Johnson: 67 tackles, sixth in FBS, including 10 last week. That's some sticky tread.
The Conference Picture
We're 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the MAC. The only win was 45-10 over Robert Morris. The non-conference schedule was rough: Wake Forest, Minnesota and UNLV. In MAC play we lost 41-17 at Central Michigan, 25-23 to Eastern Michigan and 34-14 at Miami (OH). The Eastern Michigan game was a two-point heartbreaker. A Wagon Wheel win would make the whole season feel different.
This Week: Akron (1-6) at Kent State (2-5)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 1 p.m. ET · Dix Stadium, Kent · ESPN+. Forecast: 59 degrees and sunny.
Last week: we lost 34-14 at Miami (OH). Kent State lost 29-2 at South Florida.
Our offense vs. their defense: Kent State allows 32 points a game (120th) and 141.4 rushing yards (69th). Gant should have room. Kent State's pass defense allows 222.1 yards a game (89th), so Williams and Burris should find openings, too, if Roggow keeps the ball safe.
Their offense vs. our defense: Kent State has struggled to score: 12 points a game, 138th in FBS, with 102.6 rushing yards (132nd). QB Dru DeShields has 1,145 yards but 6 interceptions. This is our chance to get takeaways.
Series: Akron leads (26-19-1 per CollegeFootballDigest), and Kent State won last year 42-35.
Availability: I found no official availability report for either team as of Oct. 18, 2026.
What decides it: (1) Turnovers. Both teams are in the red, and we're minus-7. (2) Can our run defense hold up against a team that averages 2.93 yards a carry? (3) Protecting Roggow. We've allowed 19 sacks, and Kent State has 15.
And to Ozzie Brannigan, Kent State's insider: cheer up, friend. A rivalry game is the best day of the year. BOING!
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
In Akron? Totally Baked Pizza on North High Street. Round, like a tire. Science again.
My call: Kent State Golden Flashes 26, Akron Zips 22.