Akron Zips 2026 Season Preview

Fifth Year, Same Ceiling

Joe Moorhead's fifth season looks a lot like his first four: a losing record, a middling league mark, and a power rating that sits at 133rd nationally. Going 5-7 with a 4-4 conference split is the definition of treading water in the MAC, not building toward the top of it. Nothing in that profile points to a program trending upward heading into 2026, it points to a staff that has to actually change the on-field results this time.

Poffenbarger Takes Over

Akron's offense stalled to the tune of 22.3 points per game and a 30.8% third-down rate in 2025, and Joe Moorhead is handing the keys to North Texas transfer Reese Poffenbarger to fix it. His 36 passing yards last season came in limited action, not as a gauge of what he can do running this offense, but the havoc-rate defense (33rd nationally) and 70 tackles for loss give him a margin for error while he settles in. If Poffenbarger can push the passing game past last year's 219 yards through the air, the run-stuffing front (22.5% run-stuff rate, 20th nationally) makes this a team capable of climbing out of the bottom third in yards per play.

Ben Finley's 2,475 yards walk out the door, and Akron replaces him with Reese Poffenbarger, imported from North Texas to take over an offense that finished 108th in scoring and 131st on third down a year ago. The North Texas numbers are thin, but they reflect a backup role there, not a ceiling, and Joe Moorhead needs him to clean up a unit that allowed 34 sacks and converted at just 38.4 percent success rate. Brayden Roggow and Semaj Beals sit behind him, but this is Poffenbarger's job to fix an offense that couldn't finish drives, ranking 112th in points per scoring opportunity.

Jordan Gant comes back off a 1,032-yard season, and with Sean Patrick, Marquese Williams and Taven Curry all in the room, Akron's backfield is the one part of the offense that carried over fully intact. That stability matters because everything around it was broken, an offense stuck at 22.3 points per game and a 30.8% third-down rate that ranked 131st. Gant alone cannot fix a line that allowed 34 sacks, but a full season of him as the workhorse gives Joe Moorhead a proven building block while the passing game and protection get sorted out.

Israel Polk's 8 touchdowns and Myles Walker's 20 catches walk out the door, leaving a passing game that already ranked 131st on third downs and 113th in yards per play to replace its top scoring threat. Marcel Williams (45 catches, 641 yards) and Kyan Mason, whose 5 touchdowns matched the group's best mark, have to carry more of the load without much proven depth behind them beyond Cameron Monteiro's 8 grabs. Charlotte transfer Miles Burris brings 14 catches of production into the room, but this offense's third-down and explosiveness numbers suggest Akron needs Mason to turn into more of a red-zone weapon, not just add bodies.

Conner Cravaack is the only proven piece left at tight end after Akron lost Max Whisner, Jake Newell and Khalil Witherspoon, and his 18 catches for 147 yards now stand as the position's floor rather than a complementary piece. Michigan State transfer Wyatt Hook arrives with no catches on record, so whatever he gives Joe Moorhead's offense in 2026 is pure upside on top of Cravaack's known production. That matters because this passing game ranked 79th in yards per game but bogged down badly on money downs, converting just 30.8% of third tries, and Akron needs Cravaack to be the reliable underneath option that keeps drives alive rather than another explosive-play luxury.

Akron allowed 34 sacks and posted just 5.11 yards per play last season, numbers that put this line's rebuild in stark relief. Eight linemen are out the door, and while seniors Amarie Archer and Colin Lyons along with juniors Alex Fox and Allen Jones Jr. give Joe Moorhead some experienced bodies to work with, none of the returners carry a proven track record as a starter. The fix leans heavily on newcomers up front, with three-star signees Elzea Rollins and Lorvens Barthelemy joining the room via high school recruiting, and transfers Nate Hampton, Carlos Slayden and Brandon Smith brought in to compete immediately, a group that has to gel fast if Akron wants to climb out of the bottom third nationally in offensive success rate.

Ronald Hull's 2.5 sacks and 3 TFL are the top returning production on a line that lost the bulk of its punch, with Julien Laventure (10.5 TFL, 4 sacks) and Bruno Dall (8 TFL, 3.5 sacks) both gone. Jon'Trell Mixon and the Frazier duo, Dahvon and Jahvon, have to turn modest 2025 snaps into real reps up front, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Vaughn Highland and Clark Atlanta's Kurtis Waye arrive with no meaningful pass-rush track record. Akron's run-stuff rate ranked 20th nationally last year, a strength this rebuilt group needs to hold even as its sack production takes a hit.

Akron's entire linebacker production walked out the door with Shammond Cooper (66 tackles), Gage Summers (54 tackles, 7 TFL) and Melvin Spriggs (45 tackles, 2.5 sacks) all gone, leaving Jason Hocker's 8 tackles as the most experience on the returning depth chart. Florida International transfer Dwight Nunoo brings modest game action to lean on, while incoming freshman Daunte Curtis arrives as a three-star signee out of Pickerington North with no college snaps yet. This group has to rebuild the havoc that made Akron 33rd in havoc rate and 20th in run-stuff rate largely from scratch, and until Nunoo or Curtis proves it in games, that identity is the biggest question mark on the roster.

Mehki Flowers is back after piling up 42 tackles, and Alex Branch, Rodrick Hunter and Jamari Somerville return alongside him, giving Joe Moorhead a secondary with real snaps in the room even as six defensive backs are gone, including DiMarco Johnson's 53 tackles and Malcom DeWalt IV's 51. That production loss shows in the numbers, a defense that allowed 229 passing yards per game and gave up 5.88 yards per play, ranking 87th and 96th in those categories. Akron leaned on five three-star corners in Dawayne Galloway Jr., Henry Perrymond, Savion Lewis, Shamar McNeil and Khory Moss to restock cornerback depth, but the pass defense stays a question until the returning tacklers prove they can hold up on the back end.

Akron's real special-teams edge is the gap between its two placekickers, not the punter room the Zips just restocked. Matthew Schramm hit 11 of 12 field goals with a 48-yard long last season, the kind of accuracy that should push him ahead of Owen Wiley, who made just 4 of 10. At punter, Joseph Castle returns off a 42.8-yard average and figures to hold the job even with West Virginia transfer Aidan Stire in the mix, while Frank Miner takes over long-snapping duties from departed Jacob Dennis.

Poffenbarger Inherits Ben Finley's Job

Ben Finley's 2475 yards and 19 touchdowns walk out the door, and Reese Poffenbarger, a North Texas transfer whose only line on file is 36 passing yards, steps in as the established 2026 starter. That gap is the story here more than the 5-7 finish, especially with Israel Polk's 33 catches and 525 yards also gone and Miles Burris (14 catches, 134 yards at Charlotte) brought in from the portal to help replace them. The defense loses just as much production up front and at linebacker with Julien Laventure, Shammond Cooper and Gage Summers all departed, so Joe Moorhead is rebuilding two lines of the roster at once with a class ranked 133rd doing little to fill the gap immediately.

Jordan Gant Carries the Offense

Reese Poffenbarger arrives from North Texas with a 36-yard sample size, which means Akron cannot lean on him to replace Ben Finley's 2475 yards right away. That shifts the load to Jordan Gant, who ran for 1032 yards and 6 touchdowns a year ago, with Marcel Williams and Kyan Mason providing the catches to keep defenses honest while the new quarterback finds his footing. If Gant produces at that same clip behind a line adding Nate Hampton, Poffenbarger gets the runway to grow into the job instead of having to win games on his own.

Zips Bounce Back Well

Akron gave bettors nothing to hang a system on last year, going flat 6-6 against the number overall, but the split by role tells the real story. As a road underdog Akron covered five times in five chances at 60 percent, and after a loss backers who stuck with Joe Moorhead's team covered at a 71 percent clip, suggesting a squad that answered adversity better than its 5-7 finish let on. Heading into 2026, that resilience angle, not the raw record, is the number worth tracking early.