INSIDE SLANT

The J.D. Brookhart watch reaches the final stages this week. The embattled Akron coach is on the hot seat after four straight losing seasons, dropping his record to 29-42 at Akron.

Back in late 2005, Brookhart was considered a hot coaching prospect after leading the Zips to the MAC conference title. The Zips failed to capitalize on the conference crown, entering their season finale against Eastern Michigan with two wins.

Brookhart doesn’t hide his desire to continue coaching at Akron.

“I want to be here, I would love to be here,” he said. “Absolutely. This is a great place and a great commitment. I have been very fortunate. I have turned down opportunities to leave and would do it again to stay here. It’s become home and I absolutely love it.”

The Zips enter their regular and home finale smarting after a 36-20 loss at Bowling Green. The Zips controlled the tempo of the game in the first half, but Bowling Green quarterback Tyler Sheehan shredded Akron to finish with 338 yards passing.

“In the Bowling Green game we had a good first half,” Brookhart said. “I thought we should have had 11 more points, but we turned the ball over in the red zone. We also had a chance for another touchdown, but we settled for a field goal.”

The Zips (2-9, 1-6) encounter a team starving for a victory in Eastern Michigan. The Eagles, under first-year coach Ron English, are trying to avoid their first winless 12-game season. The Eagles have plenty of youth on their roster with 25 players seeing their first-ever action at EMU.The Eagles suffered a big blow when quarterback Andy Schmitt was ruled out for the season on Oct. 19. Kyle McMahon started the first six games in Schmitt’s absence, but freshman Alex Gillett has started the last two games.

“Eastern Michigan has a good, athletic quarterback,” Brookhart said of Gillett. “Their offense seems to change week to week; sometimes they run the wildcat and other times the will run a three tight end set.Their defense is similar to many teams that we have played this season. Eastern Michigan will try to put extra players in the box and it is up to our offense to execute.”

The Zips, despite enduring turmoil and numerous injuries, remain competitive. Akron played solid in the first half of losses to Temple and Bowling Green. The Zips defeated Kent State and battled Buffalo to a four-point game.

Brookhart is optimistic of the program’s future based on the youth and positive attitude of the team.

“The team continues to play hard even through the adversity,” he said.”That is a tribute to the leadership and heart on this team”

NOTES, QUOTES

—tb B  roderick Alexander has started three of the four games since his redshirt season was removed. Alexander, a true freshman, is fifth on the team with 144 rushing yards.

—qb P  atrick Nicely is averaging 176 passing yards per game. In seven games, Nicely has six touchdown passes and four interceptions.

—lb B  rian Wagner owns more solo tackles with 66 stops than Mike Thomas has total tackles. Thomas ranks second on the team with 59 tackles. Wagner leads the team with 121 total tackles and two forced fumbles.

Series History:   Akron leads series 16-11 (last meeting, 2008, 42-35 UA).

Scouting The Offense:   Quarterback Patrick Nicely faces a winless EMU squad in Akron’s season finale. The Eagles, though, have a good passing defense. Nicely averages 176 passing yards on six touchdowns and four interceptions. The Zips have yet to run the ball with any efficiency with 1,228 rushing yards this year.

Scouting The Defense:   The Zips must work on their defensive line next year. Akron enters their season finale with nine sacks in 11 games. Opponents average 200.1 yards passing per game against the Zips.

Quote To Note:   “There are roughly 80 snaps in a game lasting about five seconds each.In each game there are six plays that can change a football game.For example, we had a chance to block a punt and make one of those six plays, but we didn’t. Bowling Green was just able to convert more big plays than us. Particularly, they were able to convert two plays that amounted for 140 yards of offense.”—Akron coach J.D. Brookhart on the Bowling Green loss.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Eastern Michigan at Akron, Nov. 27—The Zips won last year’s series meeting 42-35 at Eastern Michigan. The game marks the final home game at new InfoCision Stadium this year.

Keys To The Game:   Akron has to avoid turnovers or risk the embarrassment of losing to winless Eastern Michigan. The Zips have lost 10 fumbles and thrown 11 interceptions.

Players To Watch:  

QB Patrick Nicely is gaining confidence with each game. A strong game by Nicely bodes well for next year.

TB Broderick Alexander is showing promise after having his redshirt lifted midway through the season.

LB Brian Wagner closes out a stellar freshman campaign with one final game to impress the home fans.

Roster Report:  

—Head coach J.D. Brookhart is on the hot seat after the Zips have failed to produce a winning season since 2005. His status will be evaluated after the season.

—pk B  ranko Rogovic is going to lead the Zips in scoring this year unless Andre Jones has a breakout game. Rogovic has 41 points compared to 30 for Jones.