Akron 2010 Review

Akron Zips
2010 Record: 1-11 (1-7)
2010 Bowl Game: None

     When Akron made it through to a bowl game last decade, it looked as if a page were turning and the Zips were coming of age to become a power in the MAC. A few years later, JD Brookhart was canned, and any momentum that they built up in making a bowl went right down the toilet. Now, the Zips are as bad as they have ever been. The Zips need to find their way again, because as of now, they are looking at a downward spiral that could sink them for the next 20 years. That's how bad it is.
     Patrick Nicely was yet one of the other Sophomore QBs in the MAC last season, but he struggled badly. Nicely passed for 1753 yards and 10 TDs, but he also tossed 13 picks on the year. His QB rating was under 100, and all in all, it was just ugly.
     Alex Allen led the team with 877 yards rushing, and he scored 8 times. He averaged 73 yards per game, and he also averaged 4.72 yards per carry. Nate Burney finished with 467 yards rushing, but the bad news is that both were seniors. And there is virtually no experience coming back next fall off of the 2010 roster.
     The Zips had more bad news by the end of last fall. They only had 3 receivers that caught 20 or more passes. Jeremy LaFrance was the leader, as he posted a line of 43-534-6. Jalil Carter was the next target in line, as he posted 30-412-2. Gary Pride was next, as he posted 22-182-1. LaFrance and Carter are both moving on, again leaving virtually nothing on the shelf for next fall.
     The Zips were also a mess on defense, as is the case when a team loses 11 games. The top two tacklers both busted 100 tackles on the season, but only one other defender scored more than 50 tackles. LB Brian Wagner was the leader, and he was a machine, having collected 130 tackles on the season. Mike Thomas, another LB, also broke the 100 mark, as he posted 113 tackles on the season. After that, DB Manley Waller collected 52...that's how far the gap in talent went in 2010 for the Zips.
     Shawn Lemon gave the Zips their bonified go to guy on defense in the fact that he collected 10.5 TFLs last fall. Nobody else came to double figures, and therefore the Zips gave up 164.1 yards per game on the ground. Lemon had 7 sacks on the season, when nobody else had more than 2.5. BY the way. Lemon is gone. The Zips gave up 33 sacks last season, while they only collected 17.
     The secondary was not exactly loaded last fall. Brian Wagner defended 6 passes, while Waller defended 5. Not exactly popping by any standards. Freshman Anthony Holmes picked off 3 passes to lead the team, but the Zips only picked off 8 passes as a team. In playing so flat in the backfield, the Zips gave up 264 yards passing per game.
     Igor Iveljic was the PK, and he was average at best as a senior. He hit on only 9 of his 14 FG attempts, while only hitting on 17 of his 21 PATs for the season. They will have an open competition this summer to find his replacement, but there has to be someone who can do better. Zack Campbell was just bad as punter last season, having only averaged 37.79 yards per punt. He needs to get pushed in August. The return game was not even worth mentioning. Just call it a lost season.
Final Notes
     Akron is a mess, and it may not get better for a bit. Rob Ianello bit off a whole bunch of crap with this job, and it has become one of the biggest graveyards in college football. What can you say about a one win season other than it sucked. It just sucked.