The bad news? The Zips were whistled for one penalty – for lining up in an illegal formation on a punt. It cost them five yards.
While Miami couldn’t blame penalties for slipping to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in the MAC, there were plenty of other culprits, such as going 1-for-12 on third-down conversions and missing opportunities to force turnovers while committing three of their own and settling for field goals on two of their three trips into the red zone.
“We’ve got to get the ball where it’s supposed to go,” coach Chuck Martin said.. “We had guys open. We just didn’t get the ball to them.”
Freshman Noah Wezensky, making his first career start, went 14-of-28 for 153 yards and a touchdown that cut the Zips lead to 21-13 with 7:56 left in the third quarter, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble at the RedHawks’ 16-yard line that Akron turned into a momentum-killing touchdown.
“Noah had done a nice job of managing the game,” Martin said. “Then he fumbled the ball to the other team. That stopped our momentum. We felt good about our offense for almost three quarters. We never expected him to win the game.”
Miami’s defense turned in a similarly uneven performance. The Zips burned the RedHawks with big plays while building a 21-3 first-half lead, including a 70-yard bustout run for Akron’s first touchdown by fourth-year junior quarterback Tra’Von Chapman, a Dayton Roosevelt product who also threw touchdown passes of 24, 22 and 32 yards.
“A lot of their offense was on explosive plays,” Martin said. “They had some balls thrown down the field. The defense just didn’t play up to its capabilities in the first half. They regrouped and played a tremendous second half.”
Akron ended up with 299 yards of total offense, down from the 437.6 it was averaging going into the game, but the Zips didn’t commit a turnover despite seeing three passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage. The RedHawks also got their hands on five other passes, but couldn’t haul any in for interceptions, Martin said.
The 6-foot-2, 191-pound Wezensky remains listed as the starter for Saturday’s MAC game against Kent State. Martin left open the possibility that true sophomore Billy Bahl, who started the RedHawks’ first five games before suffering a shoulder injury in the first half of their 17-7 loss to Ohio on October 1, could play against the Golden Flashes.
“He could be available this week,” the third-year coach said. “We’ll see how the week progresses. He could be ready to go, or he could need another week.”
Miami did get fifth-year senior wide receiver Rokeem Williams back after he’d missed two games with an injury. He fortifies a receiving corps that featured against Akron fourth-year junior Jared Murphy, who finished with six catches for 49 yards, and junior tight end Ryan Smith, who had five receptions for 62 yards and Miami’s only touchdown.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Kent State at Miami, 2:30 p.m., 1450, 980
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