Kent State University at University of Akron football game | 5 things to know

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The University of Akron and Kent State University football teams will play for the wooden Wagon Wheel at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at InfoCision Stadium.

Akron (4-6, 3-3) is eighth in the 13-team Mid-American Conference and Kent State (3-6, 2-3) is ninth.

Here are five things to know about Akron and Kent State:

Akron and Kent State have four common opponents in MAC

Akron and Kent State have played four common opponents.

Kent State defeated winless Massachusetts 42-6 Oct. 11 and Akron beat UMass 44-10 Nov. 4

Akron beat Buffalo 24-16 Oct. 25 and Kent State lost 31-28 to Buffalo Sept. 13. The Bulls are 4-1 in the MAC and tied for first with Ohio, Miami and Western Michigan. The other two common foes are Toledo (beat UA 45-3, beat KSU 45-10) and Ball State (beat UA 42-28, beat KSU 17-13).

Akron leads football series with Kent State

Akron leads 37-28-2 in the all-time series with Kent. The teams first played in football in 1923, with the Zips winning 32-0. The Wagon Wheel trophy was introduced in 1946. The teams have played each other every year since 1983 with the exception of one year.

Joe Moorhead is 2-1 against KSU as Akron’s coach, with the Zips prevailing 31-27 at InfoCision Stadium in 2023 and 38-17 at Dix Stadium in 2024.

KSU coach Mark Carney was an assistant under Kenni Burns the past two years.

KSU won four in a row in the series from 2019-2022 under former coach Sean Lewis. Akron won four in a row in the series from 2015-2018 during the Terry Bowden era.

Who led Akron to a football win over Kent State last season?

Akron quarterback Ben Finley completed 14 of 29 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown, a 36-yard strike to Jarvis Rush, in last year’s 38-17 win over Kent State. Rush is now at Alcorn State.

Akron’s Elijah Reed had seven tackles and one interception.

Former Akron QB Tahj Bullock (now at Colorado State), RBs Jordon Simmons (Georgia State) and Charles Kellom (Eastern Illinois), WR Adrian Norton (Marshall), LB Bryan McCoy (Oklahoma State) and kicker Garrison Smith (Florida Atlantic) also had standout performances.

Bullock ran for 42 yards and two TDs on 10 carries, Simmons ran for 113 yards on 11 carries and Kellom ran for 104 yards and a TD on 19 carries and had two catches for 44 yards. Norton also had five catches for 107 yards, McCoy had had eight tackles and Smith made 3 of 3 extra points and 3 of 3 field goals.

Players to watch for Akron

Akron’s offense features QBs Finley and Michael Johnson Jr., RBs Jordan Gant and Sean Patrick, WRs Kyan Mason, Israel Polk, Marcel Williams, Myles Walker and Justin Anderson and TEs Conner Cravaack and Max Whisner.

Passing: Finley is 145 of 277 for 1,875 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games. Johnson has one TD pass.
Rushing: Gant has 850 yards and five TDs on 169 carries and a TD catch. Patrick has 65 carries for 262 yards and one TD, and 11 catches for 136 yards. Finley has two rushing TDs.
Receiving: Mason has 29 catches for 418 yards and five TDs. Polk has 27 catches for 373 yards and six TDs. Cravaack has two TD catches, and Anderson and Whisner each have one TD catch.

Akron’s leaders on defense are Shammond Cooper, Dimarco Johnson, Malcom DeWalt IV, Melvin Spriggs, Gage Summers, Elijah Reed, Julien Laventure, Bruno Dall, Cyrus Durham, Markus Boswell and Mehki Flowers.

DeWalt and Summers have scored a TD on defense. Cooper has 60 tackles (27 solos), Johnson has 48 tackles (28 solos) and DeWalt has 47 tackles (32 solos).

Akron’s leaders in tackles for loss are Laventure (10), Dall (8½) and Summers (6½). Dall has four sacks, Laventure has 3½ sacks and Durham has three sacks. DeWalt, Summers and Reed each have two interceptions. Summers, Durham and Bosell have recovered two fumbles apiece.

Punter Joseph Castle is averaging 43 yards, Matthew Schramm is 12 of 13 on PATs and 6 of 6 on field goals with a long of 44 yards and Owen Wiley is 11 of 11 on PATs and 4 of 10 on field goals with a long of 39 yards.

Players to watch for Kent State

Kent’s offense features QB Dru DeShields, RBs Gavin Garcia and Jordan Nubin, WRs Cade Wolford, Da’Shawn Martin, Wayne Harris, Ardell Banks and Sebastian Brown and TEs Terik Mulder and Christian Berry.

Passing: DeShields is 94 of 165 for 1,321 yards with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions in eight games. CJ Montes and Da’Realyst Clark each have one TD pass.
Rushing: Garcia has run for 380 yards and one TD on 100 carries. Nubin has 62 carries for 210 yards and one TD. DeShields has two rushing TDs. Donovan Delaney Jr. and Maurice Stephens each have a rushing TD.
Receiving: Wolford has 16 catches for 406 yards and six TDs. Martin has 23 catches for 293 yards and two TDs. Mulder has two TD catches. Harris, Banks and Brown each have one TD catch.

Kent’s leaders on defense are CJ Young, Mason Woods, Joel Cordoba, Jaire Rawlison, Jamond Mathis, Jelani Davis, Antoine Campbell Jr., Derrick Jackson III, Joel Boamah, Clinton Robinson and Darian Blachewicz.

Young has 69 tackles (36 solos), Woods has 64 tackles (25 solos) and Cordoba has 48 tackles (22 solos).

Kent’s leaders in tackles for loss are Woods (6½), Young (6) and Mathis (6). Mathis has 4½ sacks, Davis has 2½ sacks and Campbell has two sacks. Young, Jackson, Boamah and Robinson each have one interception, Campbell has forced two fumbles and Woods and Terrell Miller each has recovered a fumble.

Punter Charlie Durkin is averaging 41.4 yards, Will Hryszko is 21 of 21 on PATs and 5 of 7 on field goals with a long of 39 yards and Da’Realyst Clark has returned two kickoffs for TDs.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: University of Akron vs Kent State football game | 5 things to know

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