What to know about Akron at Miami (Ohio) college football game

The University of Akron (1-5, 0-2) travels to Oxford, Ohio, to play Miami University (3-3, 1-1) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in a Mid-American Conference football game.

Akron lost 25-23 at home to Eastern Michigan and Miami beat Massachusetts 20-19 on Oct. 3.

Akron has lost four games in a row, falling to Minnesota (41-7), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (38-10), Central Michigan (41-17) and Eastern Michigan last week.

Here is a breakdown of what to know about the Zips and RedHawks.

Akron moves on from football loss to Eastern Michigan

Last week's game ended with kickers in key spots, as EMU's Rudy Kessinger made a 48-yard field goal with 1:50 to play and UA's Matthew Schramm missed a 47-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining. Kessinger made all four of his field goal attempts and Schramm was 1 of 2 on his field-goal attempts.

Akron coach Joe Moorhead said the two-point loss to EMU made him feel "really hurt" for his players. He praised his players for "playing with passion, with physicality, with precision and persisting until the end of the game."

Akron quarterback Brayden Roggow completed 17 of 24 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Jordan Gant ran for 117 yards on 22 carries. Marcel Williams added five catches for 89 yards and two TDs, and Marquese Williams caught a TD pass.

Moorhead said he was pleased to see Roggow "develop and take a positive step forward."

Akron's Donelius Johnson had a game-high 16 tackles (nine solo), and Mehki Flowers totaled 15 tackles (nine solo), a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Tairan Davis recorded an interception and Luke Reed forced a fumble.

EMU quarterback Noah Kim ran for a TD and completed 26 of 46 passes for 277 yards with a TD pass to Harold Mack. Joshua Long gave Akron fits with nine catches for 114 yards.

"Obviously, a very hard-fought, closely contested game that came down basically to the last play," Moorhead said. "I thought our kids had a great week of preparation. I thought we played with good passion. It was physical. Our level of execution and detail was much improved from the prior week, but ultimately we need to find a way to close that thing out.

"Certainly, everyone looks to the field goal, the missed field goal, and we did have an opportunity to close it out there, but there were things in all three phases throughout the course of the game had we performed a little better that we would not have been in that situation. A tough loss. One that we will learn from. We are certainly going to need to play well against a very good Miami team."

What to know about the Miami RedHawks football team

Miami opened the season with a 59-14 loss to Pittsburgh, a 45-7 win over Holy Cross and a 35-31 loss to Cincinnati. The RedHawks then beat Connecticut 24-21, lost 24-20 to Bowling Green and beat Massachusetts 20-19.

Miami features Caleb Heavner at quarterback with David McComb sidelined with injuries. Heavener has played in five fames and is 30-of-53 passing for 329 yards with one touchdown and one interception. McComb played in four games and was 65-of-103 passing for 1,121 yards with seven TDs and one INT.

Miami's leading rusher is Rodney Nelson, who has 55 carries for 206 yards. The other top rushers are Lazaro Rogers (24 carries, 116 yards, TD), Heavner (33 carries, 114 yards, TD), D'Shawntae Jones (35 carries, 100 yards, two TDs) and McComb (18 carries, 45 yards, three TDs).

Miami's top receivers are Maleek Huggins (17 catches, 309 yards, TD), Damarion Witten (13 catches, 278 yards, two TDs), Lynel Billups-Williams (19 catches, 265 yards, two TDs) and Scoop Smith (15 catches, 165 yards, TD).

"Up front [on defense], Roosevelt Andrews, local kid from Barberton, has really stood out with his ability to stop the run and rush the passer," Moorhead said. "No. 3 [Malcolm McCain], the linebacker out of Georgia, looks like a Power Four player. He is solid against the run and the pass. He is an excellent blitzer."

McCain leads Miami with 47 tackles (21 solos). Blayne Myrick and Dillon Tatum both have 30 tackles (15 solos apiece). CJ Young has 22 tackles and an interception. Andrews has 19 tackles, (4½ for loss), three sacks and recovered a fumble.

Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What to know about Akron at Miami (Ohio) college football game