Rutgers football game week opponent profile: Akron
The Rutgers football team will face off against Akron this Saturday at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. The Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) look to ride the momentum of their impressive 44-7 victory over Howard in last Thursday's season opener, as the Zips (0-1, 0-0) head into Piscataway this weekend.
Akron is coming off a less-than-ideal 2023 season, sporting a 2-10 record — the second-worst in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips' start to the 2024 season was much of the same after No. 2 Ohio State defeated them in dominant fashion, a 52-6 dispatching.
Offensively, Akron is a tricky team to game plan against with unorthodox formations that leave defensive play callers weary.
In the loss to the Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0), the Zips broke the huddle with quarterbacks Tahj Bullock and Ben Finley at different points of the game. Finley, though, was knocked out of the contest after suffering an injury. Bullock took the reins in Finley's absence and showed off his dual-threat ability, which Rutgers will need to be cautious of.
Another player the Knights will need to watch is tight end Jake Newell, who led Akron with 41 receiving yards in its season opener.
Newell is coming off a freshman season in which he averaged 9.5 yards per reception. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 240 pounds, Newell is a big downfield target that can cause problems for a banged-up Rutgers linebacking core. With the Knights losing senior linebacker Mohamed Toure for the season, the Zips could lean on their tight end to spark some offense against what still should be a tough Rutgers defense on Saturday.
The Knights will need strong offensive line play to keep the backfield clean, as Akron is a team that gets after the quarterback with its front six. Last season, the group recorded 23 sacks and 74.5 tackles for loss.
"They're stout up front, defensively inside. They're big, they're 300 plus pounds," said head coach Greg Schiano in his Monday pregame press conference. "They have what I thought (was) a very active defense … They gave Ohio State some problems upfront with what they were doing defensively."
CJ Nunnally IV is also a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line for the Zips. Nunnally recorded 15.5 tackles for a loss in the 2023 season, ranking him second in the MAC in that category. Nunnally IV also recorded seven sacks to go along with 65 total tackles and a forced fumble in his junior campaign.
Akron will face an uphill battle come Saturday against a Rutgers team known for running the ball early and often. That, coupled with a passing game on the rise, will put a lot on Zips head coach Joe Moorhead's plate. With three games left before the start of conference play, Akron hopes to dodge an 0-2 start and avoid another disastrous season in the MAC.
The Knights and Zips will play at noon this Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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