OXFORD — Miami (Ohio) ran for 324 yards and picked off four Akron passes on Saturday, Oct. 17, beating the Zips 34-14 at Fred C. Yager Stadium and handing Akron its fifth straight loss.
The Mid-American Conference game was tied 7-7 after one quarter, and that was as close as Akron stayed. Miami outscored the Zips 10-0 in the second quarter to lead 17-7 at halftime, added another 10 points in the third quarter, and closed the scoring with a fourth-quarter touchdown while Akron managed only one touchdown after the opening period.
Miami’s offense was almost entirely a ground attack. The RedHawks carried 35 times for those 324 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per play, finishing with 389 total yards despite throwing for only 65 yards on 8-of-16 passing. When a team runs it that effectively, it does not need to throw, and Miami rarely had to.
Akron’s numbers tell the opposite story. The Zips actually ran more plays, 70 to 51, and held the ball longer, 32:19 to 27:41, but they rushed for just 81 yards on 32 carries. Quarterback play produced 234 yards on 22-of-38 passing, yet four of those throws were intercepted — and Miami turned one of the takeaways into a return touchdown, the back-breaking kind of play that turns a two-score game into a rout.
Turnovers were the whole afternoon in miniature. Akron gave the ball away four times to Miami’s one, and the Zips also hurt themselves with seven penalties for 51 yards against Miami’s four for 40. A team that is outrushed 324-81 and loses the turnover battle 4-1 is not going to win many conference road games, and Saturday followed that script exactly.
The loss continues a brutal month for Akron, which arrived in Oxford off a 25-23 heartbreaker against Eastern Michigan a week earlier — a game the Zips lost in the final two minutes after leading the statistical battle behind three touchdown passes. There was no late drama this time: Miami settled the game in the middle quarters and Akron never mounted a serious comeback.
Akron falls to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the MAC with the defeat, still searching for its first conference win. Miami improves to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in league play, keeping itself in the conference race with a win built on the line of scrimmage.
Akron returns home next Saturday, Oct. 24, to host Kent State in the Wagon Wheel rivalry game, a matchup that now carries the Zips’ best remaining chance to snap the skid in front of their own crowd. Miami continues MAC play next week after a performance its coaching staff will be happy to bottle — 324 rushing yards, four takeaways, and a 20-point conference win.
