MAC Game Preview: Akron at Miami (OH)

By: Rich Douglas

A pair of the bottom dwellers in the MAC, the Zips and Redhawks will fight to stay above the basement.

When Akron has the ball:
The Zips offense is not really good, but its not as abysmal as some numbers might suggest.  They only average 25.9 yards per drive, but have averaged 30 or more in four of their seven games.  They have been able to get the number of three and outs under control, handing it back fast on just 29.5% of their drives.  The run game though continues to be anemic, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, and have put together just four 100 yard games so far.  Jawon Chisholm has been the bell cow, taking 92 carries for 357 yards.  He has only eight runs of ten yards or more, and has only converted 25% of his third down chances.  Freshman DJ Jones could provide more of a spark, he has three runs of 10 yards or more in his fifteen carries but missed last week with injury.  Kyle Pohl has not exactly set the world alight though with his passing game, averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt with a sub 55% completion rate.  The one place Pohl though has been good is third downs, converting 39% of his passes for first downs to help the team reach a 43.9% conversion rate overall.  LT Smith has averaged 17.7 yards epr catch, but has been inconsistently targeted with two games with no catches, and two more with two or fewer.  Zach D'Orazio has just four catches of 15 yards or more, but is the leading catcher with 23 receptions.

The deficiencies of the Zips though might look pretty good this weekend, since the Redhawks have been dreadful this season.  Theyre giving up 6.1 yards per play, and are allowing opposing run games to gain nearly 5 yards per carry.  50% of third downs have been converted against them, but surprisingly theyve forced opponents to score on just 68.8% of their red zone attempts. Chris Wade leads the team with six tackles for loss amongst his 41 stops and has an Int.  The pass rusher is basically non existent, with just six sacks amongst five players.  Wes Williams is the only player about to mildly create pressure with his two sacks and four QB hurries.  Heath Harding has two Ints to lead the team, while Dayonne Nunley leads the team with nine pass break ups to go with his 33 tackles.

When Miami has the ball:
As bad as the defense has been, the offense has been worse.  Just 3.7 yards per play, with only a 14% conversion rate on third downs.  They go 3 and out on 48% of their drives, which alone makes this possibly the worst offense in the country.  Austin Boucher just isnt an efficient passer, completing only 43% of his passes for just over 5 yards per attempt with six Ints and four TDs.  He has only nine completions on third down, and has seen his completion rate drop to 37.7% in the second half of games.  His receivers havent been bad, dropping only five passes so far.  Dawan Scott has made the most of his catches though, taking his ten passes for 163 yards, with five of them for more than fifteen yards.  Scott is the most explosive player for the offense, with an 8.1 yards per carry average on the ground as well.  Austin Gearing actually leads the team in carries with 54 rushes for a solid 4.7 yards per carry.  The Line has held up in the run game, allowing just 38 TFL.

The Zips defense has not stood up well at all this season, allowing 5.9 yards per play and 4.1 per carry.  Teams have been able to get to the redzone 34 times, and convert for points on 82.4% of those drives.  Jatavis Brown leads the team with 44 tackles, four of them for loss.  The team's ability to make plays in the backfield has been trending the wrong way, with just seven in the last two weeks.  Passers have been able to pick apart the defense, completing better than 63% of their passes for 8.3 yards per attempt.  The pressure has bot been there, although CJ James has 3.5 sacks and another 2 QB hurries.  Albert Pressley is an undersized DE, but does have 2.5 sacks with 4 QB hurries.  LB Justin March has been excellent in coverage, hauling in half of the teams six interceptions.

Whats our take:
No contest really here.  Akron has played poorly but has shown life in most of their games (the season opener and a loss to Ohio notwithstanding).  Miami lost to a UMass team that had yet to win, and had lost to FCS Maine.  Take Akron -7.5 with ease.