Akron Zips give away victory to Central Michigan Chippewas at InfoCision

The closing moments of the University of Akron's 28-21 Mid-American Conference loss to Central Michigan was so shocking it left coach Joe Moorhead speechless.

After getting the ball with less than four minutes remaining, the Zips marched toward the Central Michigan end zone, eventually facing a second-and-10 at the Chippewas 32. UA quarterback DJ Irons, in the shotgun, took the snap and put the ball in the gut of running back Clyde Price III, but the exchange was mishandled and the ball flopped to the stadium turf. Central Michigan defensive end Thomas Incroom pikced up the loose ball and dashed 63 yards for the go ahead score and, ultimately, a victory for his team.

Stunned silence filled InfoCision Stadium in that moment. The Zips went from controlling their destiny in that game to watching it slip away again.

How does UA recover from a play/loss such as that?

The way the loss came was so absolutely unbelievable to the point that it had to take an emotional toll on a team which had bounced back from a 21-7 deficit after the Chippewas scored on their first possession of the second half. The Zips battled back in a concerted effort from the defense and offense, but to lose in the way they did has to be tough from which to recover.

Realistically there is only one good way to get over it – quickly.

“We're going to have to get over it by falling back on our culture,” Moorhead said. “And I think since January, our kids' belief in the things we're asking them to do to be successful has put us in this position [to compete].”

The team will look at film, get their evals for the game and meet with coordinators.

“We got to rinse it off quick,” Moorhead said, “as you said that there's not a ton of words ... that one stings. We snatched the defeat from the jaws of victory.”

The Zips sent an early message that faded

UA’s opening-game drive lasted three plays and went for 75 yards. It was a punch in the mouth the Zips hadn't delivered to anyone all season. What they needed to do was continue it. Moorhead took advantage of the Chippewas' sell-out on the blitz, he said.

“So once that thing split, it was a was a foot race,” he said of a 53-yard touchdown run by Irons, “so that was a much better start than what we had done the past few weeks.”

Unfortunately, the Zips couldn’t take advantage of that momentum and that touchdown was their only points in the first half as Central Michigan locked down the UA passing game.

The Chippewas defense didn't allow Akron receivers a lot of wiggle room

The Chippewas flustered the Zips offense by locking down their wide receivers. For much of the game, and especially the first half, the Chippewas were not allowing UA’s receivers a significant cushion with which to work. A telling sign is that Price, a running back, led the team in receptions with seven for 39 yards. It wasn’t until the second half when Zips receivers Shocky Jacques-Louis, who caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and Daniel George were able to get any room with which to work.

“Formationally, we were trying to get ourselves in some different looks to create access,” Moorhead said, “and then they started to go to a little bit more man in the fourth quarter.”

A significant problem in getting the passing game going with any consistency was being able to handle the Chippewas defensive line, which finished the game with eight sacks for 57 yards in losses.

For the Akron Zips, offensive line remains an issue

Yes, it's a refrain at this point. Irons getting the opportunity to get settled on passing plays when he had to rely solely on his offensive line for protection proved to be tenuous for much of the afternoon. He was pressured consistently, took a couple of decent hits, one that sent him to the locker room late in the first half  When there was a running back to provide some help, the situation was better. There was a reason for that.

The offensive line took a literal beating, losing players throughout the second half.

Moorhead said the Zips can only keep trying to plug along. He won’t know the injury status of players until Sunday, but he recognizes what needs to be done as UA still didn’t get enough push off the line in the running game.

“Right now, the strength of our team is how our quarterback's playing and our receiving corps and tight ends and getting the backs out of the backfield,” he said. “We’ll find a way to continue to try and find a way to run the ball better. We got make sure we keep DJ upright and get the ball to these receivers.”

The defensive bounce back for the Akron Zips?

For as badly as the Zips played last week defensively, they needed a bounce-back game. They ended up with a mixed bag. They seemed to have no answer for Marion Lukes, a third-string running back, who punished them in the pass and run games.

Lukes found room to run on the outside, rushing for 163 yards on 26 carries. To their credit, the Zips eventually figured him out. The Chippewas had no run game and the Zips’ defense basically played them to a 21-21 tie. It was a far cry from how they played against Ohio University.

“I thought they responded very well to the adversity of what occurred in Athens last week,” Moorhead said.

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Late-game fumble leads to Akron Zips losing to Central Michigan