Know Wyoming’s Foe: Akron Zips

LARAMIE -- Leading rusher, Jordon Simmons, left via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

So did his back-up. His, too.

Adrian Norton, Akron's top receiver, is now at Marshall. He took his 831 yards and seven touchdowns with him to Huntington, WV. Bobby Golden was the second-favorite downfield target. His home address is now in Louisville.

Get our free mobile app

Brian McCoy Jr. tallied a team-best 120 tackles last fall. The senior linebacker had 44 more stops than anyone else on an already suspect defensive unit. Free agency landed him in Stillwater, Okla. CJ Nunnally IV registered six sacks in 2024. He landed All-MAC honors. He was one the Nagurski, Lombardi and Bednarik Award Watch List.

He's now a Purdue Boilermaker.

Darrian Lewis, a starting safety who was actually born in Akron, crossed the border to cap his career at West Virginia.

Even the placekicker, another Ohio native, left town. Garrison Smith, who connected on 13-of-16 field goals and booted through all 24 of his extra-point attempts, is splitting the uprights at Florida Atlantic.

And you thought Wyoming had it rough.

"As the saying goes, 'The portal giveth and the portal taketh away,'" Akron head coach Joe Moorhead told reporters at July's MAC Media Day event inside Detroit's Ford Field. "We lost a bunch of key contributors and guys who maybe didn't play a ton. We had to replace them and I think we did a nice job."

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Dehydrated Defensive End Settling Into New Home in Wyoming

* Behind the Numbers: One Last Look at Wyoming's Defense in '24

* Tuck's Take: Hallelujah, Wyoming is Finally Returning Punts

* Landon Sims Defies Odds, Lands Back-Up QB Role

* Tuck's Take: Luxury of Depth Has Finally Crept Into DB Room

* Pokes Practice Report: Dreaded Mid-Camp Lull? No Chance

* Another Rookie Could Be Joining Wyoming's 'Four Game' Crew

* Behind the Numbers: One Last Look at Cowboys' 2024 Offense

* Pokes Practice Report: Chris Durr Jr. A Menace in the Slot

* Bricen Brantley Makes Explosive Plays, Finds End Zone Twice in Scrimmage

* Wyoming's Sam Scott Has Sights Set On Starting, Cementing Legacy

* UW Partners With Buffalo Bills For Brand Awareness, Recruiting

The staggering number of defectors means the Zips return just 42% of their overall production in 2025, just 33% (123rd out of 136 FBS programs) on the defensive side of the ball, according to a study from ESPN's Bill Connelly. Moorhead said the Zips did add 35 new faces this offseason via free agency.

Need even more perspective?

Akron brought redshirt senior safety Daymon David to media day. He started just two games last fall, tallying nine tackles and a pick, before suffering a season-ending injury.

Slim pickings.

Wyoming, on the other hand, welcomes back 56% of its roster from a season ago, including 80% (that's the fourth-best mark in the country) of its offense.

"It's the unknown that is challenging in these games," UW's second-year head coach Jay Sawvel said, referring to last season's opener at Arizona State, a team that featured 30 incoming transfers.

The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the 16-team Big XII in the preseason. After a 48-7 rout of the Cowboys, Kenny Dillingham's squad rattled off 10 more wins, claimed a conference championship and found itself in the College Football Playoff.

If there is one bright spot for this Akron program right now, it can be found under center. Ben Finley, a redshirt junior, is coming off a breakout season where he threw for 2,604 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing nearly 55% of his passes.

"It's exciting for Ben, being a first time, full-year starter," Moorhead said. "... I thought he really put together a nice season, certainly a lot of positives, but by the same token, a lot of things we need to address, correct and build on. He's added 15 pounds to his frame and is playing with a lot more confidence and a lot more precision. He's doing a great job leading the guys."

He has a pair of capable tight ends, too, in Jake Newell and Conner Cravaack, who combined for 48 catches, 401 yards and two scores.

Alex Adams is a real wildcard for this team. The speedy wideout, who transferred to Akron from LSU ahead of the 2022 season, snagged 85 passes for 1,043 yards and 11 touchdowns over the next two years. He was sidelined with an injury over the final five weeks of the '23 campaign and missed all of 2024.

"He's a long guy with really good top-end speed," Wyoming's defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl said. "Obviously, dealing with injuries, it's always tough, but I know he's gonna be chomping at the bit to be playing again. He's a long, deep threat, definitely a guy you can take advantage of the quarterback's arm with."

Finley, who began his college career at North Carolina State before spending one season at Cal, did all of that damage through the air last fall with very little protection up front. He was sacked 24 times. One three occasions, he was brought down at least four times in a game. Pass rushers got to him at least three times in two others.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Zips return just two starters up front. That unit not only left their quarterback hanging out to dry on multiple occasions -- 30 sacks in total -- the run game also struggled mightily, averaging just 100.3 yards an outing.

That ranked them 101st out of a then-133 teams.

The Zips, like they have for the previous seven seasons, will be home for the holidays, facing a one-year postseason ban because of its multiyear Academic Progress Rate score.

It's been tough sledding in the Rubber City, as is. Akron, a program that was selected 11th in the preseason MAC poll, tied with UMass and ahead of only Wagon Wheel rival Kent State, hasn't won more than four games in a season since 2017. They've won just 15 games since that 7-7 campaign, which culminated in a 47-point blowout loss to FAU in the Boca Raton Bowl.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Something Has Clicked for Wyoming Safety Jones Thomas

* Cowboys Set to Open '25 Season Thursday at Akron

* Akron Notebook: Wyoming Not Dismissing New-Look Zips

* Andrew Johnson Eyeing Starting Job in Swan Song at Wyoming

* Wyoming Linebacker Evan Eller Mashed the Reset Button in '24

* Wyoming to Host Open Scrimmage inside War Memorial Stadium

* Pokes Practice Report: How Aggressive Will Sawvel be on Fourth Down?

* Two-Year Gap Remains in Border War Football Series

* Boisterous Barnett Setting Tone in Camp, Urgency at Forefront

* Wilson's Announce $90,000 in Donations to Wyoming Non-Profits

* Wyoming Announces Game Times for Pair of Home Contests

* Pokes Practice Report: Edge Rushers Looking to Punish Passer

* Jay Sawvel: 'We'll Play Wyoming Football Again'

Akron did win three of its last four games last fall, including an overtime victory over Toledo, a team that blew out Mississippi State on the road and outlasted Pitt in the GameAbove Sports Bowl in six OT's.

Will the mass exodus, and the bowl ban, though, be too much to overcome?

Kickoff between the Pokes and Zips is set for 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday, Aug. 28 inside InfoCision Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN-Plus.

"It sure as hell beats going to Columbus, so that's a positive," Moorhead joked, talking about last season's opener at No. 2 Ohio State. "Wyoming is a great program. They have played a certain style of football for a very long time: run the ball, play-action, physical on defense, play great special teams.

"But at the end of the day, going into your opener, knowing that you prepare well, call the game right and the kids execute, you have a puncher's chance of winning it, which hasn't been the case. So I think that's the most exciting aspect of it."

Meet the Zips:

* Head coach: Joe Moorhead (4th year) 8-28 overall record, 5-19 in MAC play

* Offensive coordinator: Joe Moorhead (4th season); Defensive coordinator: Tim Tibesar (4th year)

* Record in 2024: 4-8 overall, 3-5 in Mid-American Conference

* Offense in 2024: Average 20.4 ppg, 332.7 ypg (100.3 rush, 232.4 pass)

* Defense in 2024: Allow 32 ppg, 414.4 ypg (183.3 rush, 231.1 pass)

* Key Returners/ Newcomers - Offense: Ben Finley (QB - 212-387, 2,604 yds, 16 TD, 9 INT; 81 rush, 52 yds, 24 sacks), Marquese Williams (RB - 6 rush, 13 yds), Israel Polk (WR - 24 catch, 201 yds); Jake Newell (TE - 35 catch, 254 yds, 2 TD), Conner Cravaack (TE - 13 catch, 147 yds), Kyan Mason (WR - 1 catch, 28 yds, TD); Alex Adams (WR - 85 catch, 1,043 yds, 11 TD - He returns after missing all of 2024 with an injury. These numbers reflect his production at Akron in 2022 and '23)

* Key Returners - Defense: Justin Anderson (DB - 44 tackles, sack, FF), Gage Summers (LB - 35 tackles), Elijah Reed (DB - 32 tackles, 4 PBU, INT), Melvin Spriggs (LB - 18 tackles, FF), Rich Benenge (LB - 12 tackles, PBU)

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players