Akron (0-2) played perhaps its best game of the Tom Arth era, under tough circumstances. Many folks outside of the Zips locker room would not have guessed Akron would be as competitive as they were given how things looked prior to kickoff.
Akron entered the contest against Ohio featuring a newly-minted roster, with more than 70 freshman, redshirt freshman, and first year transfers. The Zips were 27.5-point underdogs, coming off a week one loss by 45 points, carrying an 18-game losing streak, and going on the road.
To top it off, the Zips were short on players entering the game, as noted by Coach Arth in the post-game press conference: “the defense… (was) hit with a lot of adversity, wasn’t really sure if we were gonna be able to play, if we were gonna have enough guys.