Miami comes back from UMass to host the Akron Zips on Saturday October 17, 2026!
Opponent: Akron
Kickoff: 3:30PM
Stream: ESPN+
Location: Yager Stadium
Miami’s defense helped carry the RedHawks to victory against UMass as quarterback Caleb Heavner continues to get acclimated. Kicker Kellan McLaughlin has been one of the brightest points the last several games hitting 6 field goals in a row. He has also been perfect on extra points. Miami now sits at 3-3 on the season with wins over Holy Cross, UConn, and UMass. Their losses are to Pitt, Cincinnati, and Bowling Green.
Miami leads the overall series against Akron 24-9-1 and has won every game since 2017. Akron hasn’t won in Oxford since 2015.
Miami:
Offense:
The RedHawks have been extremely pass dependent on the year to gain yards, despite their play calling being near a 50/50 split of rushing and passing. The RedHawks are rushing 48.85% and passing 51.15% of the time. Miami being down to their third string quarterback makes this even more of an emphasis and they have to get the rushing attack going more than it has so far.
Defense:
The RedHawk defense has been good, but not great this season. They are among the best defenses in the country in rush attempts per game, with opponents rushing just 42% of the time. They are allowing opponents to rush for 3.9 yards per attempt, and 115 yards per game. From a passing standpoint, the RedHawks have been among the worst in the country. They have faced pass heavy gameplans with teams throwing the ball 57.76% of the time. They are allowing 8.2 yards per pass and 312.6 yards per game. Those numbers are all in the bottom 30 of the nation overall.
Akron
The Zips average 14.6 points per game, while giving up 36.6 points on average.
Offense:
Akron averages 14.6 points per game. They are passing it 51% of the time while rushing 48.92%. When passing, they are efficient with their completion rate, but are only averaging 6.1 yards per pass. When rushing, they are averaging 3.8 yards per carry for 121 yards per game. They have been prone to interceptions and sacks (3.27% INT rate, 7.83% sack%).
Defense:
The Zips give up 36.6 points per game and allow 468.2 yards per game and 6.9 yards per play. Teams have run the ball more than they have passed the ball (52.82% vs. 47.18%). Their defense is No. 132 in the country in yards per rush with 6.0. They are No. 103 in the country with 8.1 yards per pass. They are also not pressuring the quarterback frequently with a .63% sack rate. That should give Miami plenty of time to throw the ball and allow Heavner to stay in the pocket.
Miami has a great opportunity to move forward with back-to-back wins under Heavner. A win here will open the window for the RedHawks to climb back into the MAC Championship game race. As of now, Miami is half a game out of second place and 1.5 games out of the first spot. However, they sit at eight currently. Akron is 0-2 in the MAC and 11th in the league. Saturday is going to be one of the most impactful games so far this season.
Prediction:
Miami 35, Akron 24