2025 MAC Football Week 6 Game Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Akron Zips

The Central Michigan Chippewas (3-2, 1-0 MAC) get set to travel southeast to face the Akron Zips (1-4, 0-1 MAC) for an early October conference matchup.

The two teams have very different outlooks coming out of their first taste of league action last week. Central, under first-year head coach Matt Drinkall, are coming off a statement win against rival Eastern Michigan, running for over 300 yards on 51 carries in a two-score victory.

Akron, meanwhile, fell back down to earth against a loaded Toledo squad a week removed from blowing out FCS Duquense. Without starting QB Ben Finley, the offense could only muster 148 total yards of offense and three points against the Rockets. Fourth-year coach Joe Moorhead has a big challenge ahead of him amid the teams’ overall issues.

Let’s get right into the matchups:

Game notes

• Time and date: Saturday, October 4th, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time
• Location: Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio
• TV network options: The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+; a valid subscription is required for viewing. Coverage by Kyle Sandel (play-by-play) and Nathan Arbaugh (color analyst).
• Radio options: Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and Brock Gutierrez (color) will provide the Central call for 98.5 WUPS-FM; Dave Skoczen (play-by-play) and Joe Dunn (color) will provide the Akron call for WHLO-AM 640.
• Gambling considerations: Central favored by 7.5 points, with an over/under 45.5, per FanDuel.
• All-Time Series: Central holds the all-time lead over Akron, with a 19-10-1 overall record in 30 previous meetings. The Chippewas have won the last three contests between the two teams. Akron’s last win in the series was at home in 2018.

About the Central Michigan Chippewas

If there’s one thing the Chippewas want to do, it’s run the damn ball.

CMU wore down Eastern Michigan’s already-shaky defense last weekend with 305 net yards (317 gained) over 51 carries. The tide of the game turned late, as safety Maddux Blackwell intercepted an errant Noah Kim pass to gift CMU the ball to start the fourth quarter. The Chips would execute a 14-play, 72-yard drive to kill over seven minutes of clock before settling for a 22-yard field goal to put CMU up two scores. On the drive, they ran on 11 of 13 plays from scrimmage, gaining 60 yards, with a 12-yard pass and the field goal being the only two non-rush plays.

On the last drive of the game, CMU ran five more times to secure a first down and burn EMU’s final timeout, before kneeling out the clock, further putting the nail the coffin. Head coach Matt Drinkall had a sense of humor about the effort after the game, joking to media “slowly but surely, huh?” as he walked off the field.

It certainly seems on paper could match up well to Akron’s defense with such an effective run attack. The Zips have given up 182 yards per contest (117th in NCAA) to this point in the season, with 10 scores in five games to boot, while CMU averages 4.66 yards per rush between their top three runners.

Nahree Biggins (242 yards, touchdown) will be the leader at halfback, with quarterback Angel Flores (289 yards, two touchdowns) and halfback Trey Cornist (188 yards, touchdown) all figuring to contribute.

Not to be lost is Joe Labas’ effectiveness as the primary passer. Through five games, Labas is completing nearly 75 percent of his passes for 560 yards and five touchdowns, tossing just one interception. Flores has also contributed nicely through the air to compliment his rushing prowess, sitting at 14-of-21 for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Chippewas have been effective in forcing turnovers. As of publication, CMU sits 20th in the NCAA in turnovers gained (six interceptions, two fumbles) and 35th in turnover margin (+3.) The jump is astronomical from last season, where CMU had five total turnovers in 12 games.

“…[Y]ou do your job at the best of your ability and things will take care of themselves,“ safety Maddix Blackwell said during media availability this week when asked about the new defensive scheme and how it has impacted their performance. ”Just stick to what we’re good at and then we’ll be successful as long as we play hard. [T]hat’s our biggest emphasis right now is just making sure that everyone’s playing hard and things will take care of themselves from there.“

Taking care of itself it has indeed; after a tough start to the season against a pair of Power Five schools, CMU has rebounded in the last two weeks, giving up an average of 205.5 yards per game and 11.5 points per contest while also forcing three turnovers.

Five Chippewa defenders sit at 20+ tackles on the season so far, with all-MAC linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski sitting atop the table with 29 tackles and an interception. A trio of transfer defensive backs have been making noise in recent weeks as well, with Kalen Carroll (22 tackles, TFL, three pass break-ups), Elijah Gordon (28 tackles, TFL) and Maddix Blackwell (15 tackles, INT) all finding their way into important spots. Michael Heldman remains CMU’s best pass rusher, with 4.5 sacks through five games.

About the Akron Zips

The Akron Zips are a team which always seem to be playing uphill both ways whenever they take the field. Playing on such a razor’s edge constantly can test the mettle of a team, and last week, they collapsed under the pressure in a 45-3 thrashing to in-state MAC peer Toledo.

Outside of their win over Duquense last week, Akron has been flat out abysmal in 2025. As a unit, the Zips complete less than 50 percent of their passes, and through their four losses to FBS opposition, Akron has scored 7.75 points per game while giving up 38.5 points per contest. Not even special teams is safe from the scourge, as the Zips recently had a change at placekicker after Owen Wiley started 4-of-8 on the season and Akron’s punting averages have dipped significantly after the departure of Avery Book.

Despite these numbers, sportsbooks have this game being within a one-score margin, which makes one wonder what Vegas sees in this roster.

Perhaps there is optimism Ben Finley can return after sustaining rib and lower body injuries in back-to-back contests against UAB and Duquense. That would be a boon for a Zips offense which passed for just 79 yards against Toledo. Finley has a live arm and his ability to scramble forces opponents to think twice about covering him — even if his 47 percent completion rate is less-than-ideal.

If Finley can’t go, Syracuse transfer Michael Johnson Jr. (9-of-20, 36 passing yards; 27 carries, 42 yards) will likely be the starter at QB. Brayden Roggow (10-of-16, 82 passing yards; 10 rushing yards) could also have a chance at the role.

There’s a decent core of skill position players Akron can utilize, even if they haven’t been able to connect in the best of times. Jordan Gant exploded for 161 yards three scores against Duquense and could be in line for more run, while Sean Patrick (42 carries, 199 yards, touchdown; seven catches, 89 yards) has been the team’s most dependable back thanks to his three-down ability. At the receiver spots, Israel Polk has established himself as the leading receiver, with 179 yards and two touchdowns on the season, while Myles Walker has a team-leading 15 catches for 166 yards. Kyan Mason has also emerged recently, with an average of 14.1 yards per reception on 10 receptions.

Defensively, Akron is a scrappy unit even despite the numbers. They exhibit size, speed and pedigree at every position and on a good day, can give the opposition fits.

The standout prospect is hard to miss; defensive lineman Bruno Dall is a six-foot-seven, 260 lb. rusher who leads the team in tackles-for-loss (five), sacks (three), pass break-ups (four) and QB hurries (three) while also collecting 14 total tackles.

Akron also sports a trio of defensive backs who are capable in both coverage and run-stuffing. Outside corner Malcolm DeWalt IV holds the joint-lead with four pass break-ups on the season and also has a pick-six to sit alongside 24 tackles and two TFLs. Nickelback Alex Branch has 25 tackles (16 solo), 3.5 TFLs, a sack and a forced fumble, while safety DiMarco Johnson leads the unit in solo tackles (21) and sits #2 in total tackles (32).

Shammond Cooper leads the tackle charts with 33 tackles and 2.5 TFLs at the linebacker spot, with a rotation of other backers who are great in situational play, including Gage Summers, Markus Boswell and Melvin Spriggs.

Transfer edges Julien Laventure (11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs) and Cyrus Durham (10 tackles, three QBH, two fumble recoveries) have also keyed for the Zips defense.

Final Thoughts

The answer to Vegas’ optimism regarding the margin of the game might be simpler than it appears— at least according to CMU head coach Matt Drinkall.

“There is nothing that could come up in a game or a game week of prep that [Akron head coach Joe Moorhead] isn’t completely ready for 10 times over,” Drinkall quipped during media availability. “Like, there’s nothing you can do that he hasn’t seen, prepped for, has a dynamic answer for complimentary football off of, ways to immediately put you at a disadvantage or steal touchdowns here and there…  I cannot possibly explain to you the admiration and respect I have for how he is as a coach— let alone the impact he’s made on football and schematic stuff. Most everything I did in my career, I’ve stolen from him at some point.”

At the end of the day, football is a mental game as much as it is a physical one, and Moorhead has decades of experience at the FBS level, even if this Akron team has been a rollercoaster at the best of times. Drinkall is still a rookie head coach at the Division I level, and could be bound to make a mistake or two.

Akron will want to perform in front of their home fans after taking a heavy loss to Toledo last week, and historically, these teams have played close in recent years. That said, on paper, Central seems to be likely to establish the rules of the game early if last week’s effort is any indication of their talent— especially if Finley isn’t a go for the Zips.