Penn State Sports Magazine
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to That Team Up North. But it's safe to say that with their victory in 2016 and the steady improvement of their recruit- ing efforts, the Lions have Buckeye Na- tion's full attention once again. This year's meeting will take place Oct. 28 at Ohio Stadium, where the Nittany Lions won't have a rowdy White Out crowd to help rattle their opponent. They've gone 2-10 at the Horseshoe since the start of the Big Ten era, so his- tory won't be on their side. What's more, the Buckeyes won't be as young and inexperienced as they were a year ago. They'll still have veteran J.T. Barrett at quarterback and Meyer on the side- line, where he'll be looking to burnish his .851 career winning percentage. The visit to Ohio State is the game that everyone is pointing to as Penn State's season approaches, but it's hardly the only major challenge that awaits. The Nittany Lions will also be looking to end losing streaks against Pittsburgh (two games, including a 42-39 loss in 2016) and Michigan (three games, including a 49-10 loss last year). In addition, they've traded Minnesota and Purdue for Nebraska and North- western and will be looking to end losing streaks against those two teams as well, having dropped four in a row to the Cornhuskers and two in a row to the Wildcats. And they'll have to go to Iowa, which will be every bit as hungry for re- venge as Ohio State, and to Michigan State, which is unlikely to be as bad as it was last year when it won only three games. The nonconference schedule may be a bit more manageable than last year, with all three games set to take place in Beaver Stadium. But even with Georgia State, a relative newcomer to the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision, wedged in be- tween the Pitt game and the Big Ten opener in Iowa City, this schedule looks to pose some even more daunting hur- dles than last year's did. Of course, Penn State is looking a lot better than it did at this time a year ago, so the result should be a series of big games, none bigger than that visit to Columbus in late Octo- ber. ■ 2016 RECORD 5-7, 3-5 Mid-American Conference COACH Terry Bowden (24-37 in >ve seasons; career record: 164-99-2) SERIES RECORD Penn State is 5-0 against the Zips. MOST RECENT MEETING Christian Hackenberg threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns as Penn State de- feated visiting Akron, 21-3, on Sept. 6, 2014. It was James Franklin's >rst home game as the Nittany Lions' head coach. EXPECTED STRENGTHS When healthy, quarterback Thomas Woodson was very impressive last season, completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,079 yards, with 18 touchdowns and six intercep- tions. The problem? He wasn't healthy all that oAen, and he's still recovering from the shoulder injury that hampered him at times last year. Woodson is ex- pected to be ready to go this fall, but if he's not, the Zips have a potential re- placement in Virginia transfer Nick Johns. Whoever starts will be playing behind a veteran line with four starters returning, and the ground game should get a liA from another transfer, Deltron Sands, formerly of Oregon State. Akron also has a reliable kicker in Tom O'Leary, who went 10 of 11 last year. POTENTIAL CONCERNS The Zips have su@ered some major defensive attrition since last season, and among the posi- tions that were gutted were defensive end and cornerback. Bowden has tried to address the problems in the secondary by bringing in more transfers, but the rebuilding e@ort is far from complete. On o@ense, the biggest hole is at wide receiver. One of Woodson's backups last year, Tra'Von Chapman, has been moved from QB to wideout to help make up for the loss of last season's top three pass- catchers. SCHEDULE Except for a visit from Arkansas-Pine Blu@ in week two, there don't appear to be a lot of wins lurking in the nonconference slate. But that's to be expected. The MAC season is what mat- ters, and the Zips should be competitive against Bowling Green and Ball State be- fore facing Western Michigan and Toledo on the road in consecutive weeks. GAME OF THE YEAR Kent State is a ri- valry game. The Zips and Golden Flashes reside only 10 miles from each other in northeast Ohio and tussle annually for the coveted Wagon Wheel. They'll meet again in the regular-season >nale Nov. 21, but if Akron is going to move into the MAC's upper echelon, it will >rst need to get its conference season o@ to a good start with a victory at Bowling Green on Sept. 30. OUTLOOK Bowden's record at Akron is poor, but that's mostly due to a 1-11 >n- ish in his >rst season. Since then, the Zips have been pretty competitive. They even won a bowl game in 2015, defeating Utah State, 23-21, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, before slipping back below .500 last season thanks in part to a dev- astating run of injuries. If the team's overall health improves and Woodson is able to show that his quick start last year was no ?uke, the Zips could be headed for a bounce-back season. –M.H. AKRON ZIPS P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> TOP RETURNEES PASSING T. Woodson 146 of 242 | 2,079 yds. | 18 TD | 6 int. RUSHING Van Edwards 100 att. | 492 yds. | 3 TDs RECEIVING A.J. Coney 15 rec. | 173 yds. | 1 TD TACKLING Ulysees Gilbert III 65 solo | 57 asst. | 122 total INTERCEPTIONS Kyron Brown 3 int. | 68 yds. W E E K 1 | S E P T E M B E R 2 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M