Football

Miami's play is not completely indicative of its 1-5 record.

Of course, eventually you have to win. But take a look at the RedHawks' losses and you'll see a close defeat against Northern Illinois and Purdue.

If those games go the other way, Miami is 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the MAC and boasts a win at a Big Ten stadium.

You could say the same about Akron's record, but I digress.

Here is how Miami stacks up as a team against the rest of the MAC in key statistics…

• 10th in scoring offense (Akron is ninth)
• Seventh in scoring defense (fifth)
• Third in pass offense (fourth)
• Second in pass defense (eighth)
• 11th in rushing offense (12th)
• 10th in rushing defense (fourth)
• Fifth in sacks (12th)
• Eighth in red zone offense (12th)
• 11th in 3rd down conversions (12th)
• 12th in sacks allowed (ninth)
• First in time of possession (eighth)

Regarding individual statistics…

• Quarterback Mike Kokal is behind only Luke Getsy in passing yards per game with an average of 226.5.
• Wide receiver Ryne Robinson is second in the MAC in receptions per game with 7.14. Dennis Kennedy is sixth with five. Robinson is also second in receiving yards per game at 86. David Harvey and Jabari Arthur are fifth and eighth, respectively. Robinson is also third in punt return average.
• Miami middle linebacker Joey Hudson has four interceptions, which is tied for most in the MAC. Defensive back Joey Card is among the league leaders in tackles.

I hate to rely solely on stats. CFN typically has reliable season previews. Here's what I gather…

• You will cringe at this fact: Kokal, the quarterback, is mobile. He is Miami's second-leading rusher, in fact.
• Brandon Murphy ran for 184 yards against Akron. Despite underwhelming overall numbers, Murphy is averaging more than four yards per carry this season.
• The offensive line is young with exceptions of the tackles, who are solid.
• Speed from the defensive ends Otto Linwood and Joe Coniglio has helped the pass rush. Inexperience from the tackles and linebackers makes Miami poor against the run.
• The defensive backs, led by Card, are one of the team's strengths.

Football

OK. I'll admit I was completely, absolutely, 180 degrees wrong about Kent State.

The Flashes destroyed Toledo 40-14 today at Dix Stadium.

Eugene Jarvis ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Julian Edelman had another nice game, too.

• Central Michigan won again. So both teams that beat Akron in the MAC are 4-0 in conference play. That means Akron, perhaps, hasn't played as bad as it seems.
• This result, however, makes me abandon all conventional wisdom about MAC football this year. Garrett Wolfe rushed for 25 yards on 18 carries in Western Michigan's 16-14 win over Northern Illinois.
• In other MAC play, Bowling Green moved to 3-1 in the conference with a 24-21 win at home against Eastern Michigan.

What does all this mean for Zips fans? Kent State (4-0) and Bowling Green (3-1) will seriously need to choke for Akron to return to the MAC Championship. The MAC standings certainly aren't uplifting.

Men's soccer

Akron suffered its first MAC loss in two years today as Northern Illinois scored a 77th-minute goal to win 1-0.

With several near-misses and crossbar bangers, it was more of the same.

The Zips (8-4-1, 2-1 MAC) will return home for a Wednesday night game against Michigan.

Cross country

The men and women both won the 19-team Falcon Invitational at Bowling Green.

Individually, Akron's best finishers were Jason Headman (ninth overall) and Sediah Erskine (second).

While MAC Championships in soccer and football look less likely each week, the runners are keeping the athletic department afloat.

Men's basketball

When Kansas State introduced former Zips coach Bob Huggins last night, it mirrored a rock star's entrance.

Memo to whoever works the multimedia at Rhodes Arena: Akron should do some similar things this year. Fans love it, and it must pump up the players.

Men's basketball

Akron has received verbal commitments from three players — but the verbal is not binding.

So, like I wrote last night, the staff makes periodic phone calls to check in with the players.

Proof of this comes in a news article a ZipsNation.org poster found. Coach Keith Dambrot used Akron's 20th ranking from CBSSportsline.com as a selling point for point guard Ronnie Steward.

Swimming and diving

Nattaya Klim's Zips are performing well in the exhibition season.

The first real match comes Friday at Michigan State.

Men's basketball

Notes from tonight's season-opening practice…

• Steve McNees looks like a high school wrestler — short, scrappy and tough. He has been working through some shooting problems. With the depth at guard, he might be destined for a lot of bench minutes regardless.
• Cedrick Middleton looks in fabulous shape. Coach Keith Dambrot confirmed that, saying of all the players, Middleton's game should improve most this season.
• He's only a freshman, but Mike Bardo appeared to be nothing more than a warm body. His speed and coordination were lacking. Dambrot is hoping Bardo can provide some solid defensive minutes.
• Chris McKnight reminds me of Amare Stoudemire. He's big, strong and appeared to have an upper hand on Romeo Travis in the post.
• Dambrot told me a lot of people might look down upon the Zips' schedule. Truth is, a lot of these road opponents — like Niagara, Binghamton, and Oral Roberts — are picked to finish at the top of their conferences. Sure, Akron beat Clemson last season, but these games should be considerably more difficult.
• The coach continued by saying he's done making trips to big schools. The new plan is to get one-for-one deals with high-end mid-major schools, like Creighton. However, these schools wanted the game this season to be home, and that was not satisfactory for Dambrot, who wants to preserve some home games for seniors Travis and Dru Joyce. Makes sense.
• National signing day is Nov. 12. Coaches can call a couple times per week to check in, or "babysit." Rivals.com and other media outlets have reported the Zips have commitments from Columbus guard Ronnie Steward, Lancaster forward Brett McKnight and Pennsylvania center Steve Swiech.
• The starting lineup is not set, although Dambrot has some idea. He does know who his main six to seven rotation players will be. Although he did not mention them to me, here is my speculation: Joyce, Nick Dials, Middleton, Nate Linhart, Travis and Jeremiah Wood.
• Jimmy Conyers may very well join that list because of his versatility. Dambrot said it might take part of the season to see what Conyers can do in game situations. With LeBron James, Dambrot needed only three games. Now, in no way am I saying LBJ and Conyers are supposed to be mentioned in the same sentence. But for the coach to say that, I think he knows the kind of talent he could be dealing with.

Women's soccer

Perhaps the Zips are overcoming their MAC inferiority complex.

Akron won at Miami tonight 1-0, making it the Zips' second-straight MAC win, moving the team to 3-4 in conference play and 10-4 overall.

Haja Dumbuya scored the game's only goal with an assist from Christine Vacha.

Akron will play next at Ball State on Sunday afternoon.

Volleyball

The Zips lost another MAC match Friday night.

This time, Kent State repaid the Zips for their loss earlier in the season at Rhodes Arena. After the 3-0 loss, Akron moved to 7-14 and 1-6 in the MAC.

The next match will be the season's most challenging. The Zips will head to Athens for a battle Saturday against No. 21 Ohio

Men's soccer

As you can see, I'm not talking about J.D. Brookhart's football team, which is dormant this week.

The soccer team will travel to DeKalb, Ill., to play Northern Illinois tomorrow. Both teams are undefeated in the MAC.

Akron still is nationally ranked, despite some losses to bigger schools and close calls against also-rans. As we know, a national ranking won't help that much when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding.

The Zips (8-3-1, 2-0 MAC) need to win the MAC, and this game against NIU (10-3-1, 3-0) will be one of the most important ones until the postseason. The season finale against Buffalo (2-0 MAC) will be another.

NIU has allowed only one goal during its current five-game winning streak. Against ranked teams, the Huskies fell 5-0 against No. 4 Washington and tied No. 21 Notre Dame, 0-0.

The Zips beat the Huskies last season at Lee Jackson Field, 5-1. Akron is 11-1 all-time against NIU.

• The ABJ's Tom Reed wrote about Ben Zemanski, the prized recruit who nearly followed Ken Lolla to Louisville. It took Zemanski only 10 games to work his way into Caleb Porter's starting lineup as a freshman.
• Word on the street is that Reed, the Zips' soccer writer, is leaving the newspaper for the Columbus Dispatch. Seeing how he's one of my favorite writers of any kind, I'm not thrilled.

Football

With the Browns and Zips on bye weeks, this weekend is going to blow.

However, if you are a fan of MAC football, there are some games to keep an eye on…

• Miami @ Buffalo
• Ball State @ Central Michigan
• Northern Illinois @ Western Michigan
• Eastern Michigan @ Bowling Green
• Toledo @ Kent State
• Ohio @ Illinois

Personally, I am very curious to see the outcome of Toledo-Kent State. Go Rockets!

p.s. Remember to make your selections in the Buchtelite Pick'em League.

Men's basketball

Rather than posting all the Zips preseason accolades seperately, I'll link you to GoZips.com's recent press release that lists them.

Many publications see Romeo Travis as the MAC's best player. Most agree that the Zips will be dancing come March. That would be surreal to me.

The men and women will hold their first practices of the season tonight. They are open to the public. The women play from 7 to 9 p.m. The men take the floor from 9 to 11 p.m. I intend to be there with Buchtelite sports editor "Smooth" Dan Kadar.

Football

UofAZips.com released a new Roocast in which the site's publisher Jason Roberts talks about the football and men's soccer teams.

Men's basketball

Ray Mernagh's Hoopfactor.com is moving. Here is a preview of the new site.

Mernagh is one of the authorities on MAC basketball. He soon will release his new book, 1 Chance 2 Dance: A Season Inside Hoops in Mid-America.

Football

Today's Buchtelite provides more details on kicker Igor Iveljic's arrest on campus.

A more comprehensive story should answer some questions on Tuesday.

• ESPN also is disappointed with the Zips, whom the site says was a promising team.

Golf

As the fall season winds down, Vaughn Snyder is showing a sophomore slump is not likely.

Volleyball

Freshman Brionna Patterson has been a good story from a disappointing season.

The Buchtelite chronicles her path to Akron.

The Zips lost 3-0 to IPFW tonight.

Men's basketball

The MAC has named Romeo Travis to its preseason all-conference team.

I didn't know this, but he's only 10 blocked shots away from setting a school record.

Baseball

Who wouldn't want steak over hot dogs?

Coach Pat Bangtson will buy dinner for the whole team, but only one half will eat cow — the half that wins the World Series scrimmages.

The Gold team leads 2-1 in the five-game series.

Here's something to watch: My inside source tells me pitcher Tom Farmer will have some interest from Major League teams this season.

Football

University police charged freshman kicker Igor Iveljic with assault following an incident at Brown Street Residence Hall on Monday afternoon.

Iveljic, who is out for the year with a back injury, is suspended indefinitely.

• In other blotter news, Ohio University suspended its assistant wrestling coach Kyle Hansen after he was arrested for DUI. The school did not make this move when football coach Frank Solich got his DUI.

Football

After four weeks of stifling defense, the Zips have slipped from first to sixth in the MAC, the PD's Elton Alexander reports.

• With an extra week off, coach J.D. Brookhart will work on running the ball more effectively. Although the bye week gives Zips fans an extra seven days of having a bad taste in their mouths, it will be a blessing in disguise if it allows Dennis Kennedy's shoulder to heal.

Men's soccer

Akron's offense attack seemed to improve last night, the ABJ says, in a 2-0 win over Wright State.

Football

Domenik Hixon, who recently celebrated a birthday, is hoping to return to the Broncos in the next couple weeks.

As he wrote on my Facebook.com wall, he is shooting for Oct. 22, when the Broncos will visit Cleveland Browns Stadium.