# 2020 Akron Zips football team

The 2020 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Zips were led by second-year head coach Tom Arth and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio. They competed as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In their fifth game, the Zips defeated Bowling Green, 31–3, to break their 21-game losing streak dating back to the 2018 season.

## Schedule

Akron had non-conference games scheduled against Clemson, Youngstown State, New Mexico State, and UMass, which all were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| November 4 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | ESPN3 | L 13–58 | 490 |
| November 10 | 7:00 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | CBSSN | L 10–24 | 1,182 |
| November 17 | 8:00 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH (Wagon Wheel) | ESPN | L 35–69 | 0 |
| November 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Miami (OH) | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | ESPN3 | L 7–38 | 0 |
| December 5 | 2:00 p.m. | Bowling Green | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | ESPN3 | W 31–3 | 0 |
| December 12 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 24 Buffalo | UB StadiumBuffalo, NY | CBSSN | L 7–56 | 0 |
| Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### vs Western Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 16 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 58 |
| Zips | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field • Akron, Ohio
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Clear skies • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: N at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
* Game attendance: 490
* Referee: Greg Sujack
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Michael Reghi (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | WMU | AKR |
| First downs | 21 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 58–484 | 64–256 |
| Rushes–yards | 39–218 | 32–130 |
| Passing yards | 266 | 126 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–19–0 | 19–32–1 |
| Time of possession | 30:53 | 29:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Michigan | Passing | Kaleb Eleby | 12/16, 262 yards, 3 TD |
| Western Michigan | Rushing | La'Darius Jefferson | 9 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD |
| Western Michigan | Receiving | D'Wayne Eskridge | 3 receptions, 114 yards, 2 TD |
| Akron | Passing | Zach Gibson | 18/30, 125 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Akron | Rushing | Jeremiah Knight | 11 carries, 74 yards |
| Akron | Receiving | Michael Mathison | 6 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD |

### at Ohio

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at Peden Stadium • Athens, Ohio
* Date: November 10
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind: 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
* Game attendance: 1,182
* Referee: Tim O'Dey
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Dave Ryan (play-by-play) and Corey Chavous (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | AKR | OHIO |
| First downs | 20 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 72–434 | 50–307 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–216 | 33–185 |
| Passing yards | 218 | 122 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 18–30–2 | 10–17–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:53 | 25:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Akron | Passing | Zach Gibson | 18/30, 218 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Akron | Rushing | Teon Dollard | 22 carries, 165 yards |
| Akron | Receiving | George Qualls Jr. | 3 receptions, 64 yards |
| Ohio | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 8/14, 92 yards |
| Ohio | Rushing | De'Montre Tuggle | 22 carries, 139 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio | Receiving | Shane Hooks | 4 receptions, 73 yards |

### at Kent State (Wagon Wheel)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| Golden Flashes | 14 | 21 | 20 | 14 | 69 |
at Dix Stadium • Kent, Ohio
* Date: November 17
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Wintry mix • Temperature: 34 °F (1 °C) • Wind: 17 miles per hour (27 km/h)
* Game attendance: 0
* Referee: Bryan Banks
* TV announcers (ESPN): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | AKR | KENT |
| First downs | 21 | 37 |
| Plays–yards | 56–366 | 78–750 |
| Rushes–yards | 41–212 | 51–390 |
| Passing yards | 154 | 360 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 9–15–1 | 24–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 29:21 | 30:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Akron | Passing | Zach Gibson | 9/15, 154 yards, 1 INT |
| Akron | Rushing | Teon Dollard | 28 carries, 202 yards, 4 TD |
| Akron | Receiving | Nate Stewart | 2 receptions, 68 yards |
| Kent State | Passing | Dustin Crum | 22/25, 348 yards, 3 TD |
| Kent State | Rushing | Marquez Cooper | 14 carries, 107 yards, 3 TD |
| Kent State | Receiving | Isaiah McKoy | 6 receptions, 140 yards, 1 TD |

### vs Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| RedHawks | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Zips | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### vs Bowling Green

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zips | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### at No. 24 Buffalo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| No. 24 Bulls | 14 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 56 |