If you followed the Zips this past year, you know it wasn't exactly a quiet stroll through the park. Far from it. The akron football schedule 2025 was a gauntlet that started with a whimper and ended with some genuine midweek magic. Honestly, looking back at the 5-7 finish, it’s easy to just see the numbers and move on. But that doesn't tell the whole story of what Joe Moorhead was actually trying to build in his fourth year at the helm.
It was a season of extreme highs and some pretty brutal lows.
One week you’re watching them get absolutely dismantled in Lincoln, and a few weeks later, they're hanging 51 points on Duquesne. That’s the life of a MAC program. You take the "paycheck games" against the giants, pray everyone stays healthy, and then try to scrape together enough wins in October and November to become bowl-eligible. They fell one game short.
The Brutal Non-Conference Start
The season kicked off on a Thursday night—August 28—at InfoCision Stadium. You’d think a home opener against Wyoming would be the perfect springboard, right? Wrong. It was a 10-0 defensive slugfest that left most of the 9,000+ fans in attendance wondering where the offense went. Wyoming just suffocated them.
Then came the Nebraska game.
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Look, nobody expected Akron to walk into Memorial Stadium on September 6 and win. But the 68-0 final score was... well, it was a lot. Nebraska was firing on all cylinders, and the Zips were essentially a speed bump. It's the kind of game that can break a team's spirit early. They followed that up with a heartbreaking 31-28 loss at UAB. They were right there. A play here, a stop there, and the narrative of the early season changes completely.
Finally, on September 20, they got some momentum back. They hosted Duquesne and finally let the offense off the leash for a 51-7 win. It was a "get right" game, and they desperately needed it before heading into the meat of the conference schedule.
Navigating the akron football schedule 2025 MAC Slate
When conference play started on September 27 at Toledo, reality set back in. A 45-3 loss to the Rockets showed that there was still a massive gap between the Zips and the top tier of the MAC. But Coach Moorhead kept the wheels from falling off.
Turning the Corner in October
The homecoming game on October 4 against Central Michigan was probably the turning point for the locker room. It was a gritty 28-22 win. They didn't play perfect football, but they found a way to win a close game, which had been their Achilles' heel for years.
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The rest of October was a bit of a rollercoaster:
- A tough 20-7 loss at home to a very disciplined Miami (OH) team.
- A frustrating 42-28 road loss to Ball State where the defense just couldn't get off the field.
- A massive 24-16 road win at Buffalo that kept the bowl dreams alive heading into November.
Midweek MACtion and the Wagon Wheel Heartbreak
November is when things got weird. As is tradition in the MAC, the schedule shifted to Tuesday nights for the national TV audience. Basically, if you weren't watching "MACtion," you were missing out on some of the most chaotic football in the country.
On November 4, Akron hosted UMass and absolutely dominated them, 44-10. It set the stage for the biggest game of the year: The Wagon Wheel game against Kent State on November 11.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it—the Kent State loss was devastating. It was a Tuesday night, it was cold, and it went to overtime. The Zips fought back from multiple deficits, but ultimately fell 42-35. Losing your rival's trophy at home in overtime is a bitter pill to swallow, especially when it officially knocked them out of bowl contention.
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They did show some real character in the finale, though. Traveling to Bowling Green on November 18, the Zips played a disciplined game and won 19-16. Finishing the year with a win and a 4-4 conference record is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering where this program was a few years ago.
What We Learned from the 2025 Campaign
The akron football schedule 2025 proved that the Zips are no longer the "easy win" on everyone's calendar, but they aren't quite ready to challenge for a title yet. The defense, under Tim Tibesar, showed flashes of being elite for the MAC, particularly in that finale against Bowling Green.
The offense? Still a work in progress. When the up-tempo spread is clicking, it’s beautiful. When it isn’t, it results in a lot of three-and-outs that tire out the defense.
Taking the Next Steps
If you're a fan looking toward next year, here is what you should be watching:
- Quarterback Stability: The rotation we saw at times this year needs to settle. Finding "the guy" who can run Moorhead's system for 12 straight games is priority number one.
- Home Field Advantage: Going 3-3 at InfoCision isn't bad, but you have to win those close ones against Miami and Kent State if you want to play in December.
- Recruiting the Trenches: The Nebraska game showed the physical gap between the MAC and the Power Four. While you can't close that gap overnight, seeing more depth on the defensive line is crucial.
Keep an eye on the transfer portal this spring. How Moorhead replaces the outgoing seniors will tell us everything we need to know about whether 2026 is the year the Zips finally get back to a bowl game.