Akron-Michigan: Zips Almost Pull Off Appalachian State-Like Upset

Someone should tell the Michigan Wolverines that they didn’t beat Alabama, or win a National Championship last Saturday night. They simply beat Notre Dame.

The Wolverines slept through most of their noon kickoff against Akron, and if not for some timely penalties by the Zips and brain freeze by Akron’s offensive coordinator, they’d be reliving that nightmare finish from Sept. 1, 2007 when Michigan lost to Appalachian State.

The Wolverines were 36-point favorites, but held on to a 28-24 win after the Zips failed to score from the one-yard line on this final play from the game. Devin Gardner came back down to earth after last weeks masterful performance, and accounted for three Wolverine turnovers.

Akron entered Saturday with a 27-game road losing streak against Division I opponents, and almost lost to FBS opponent James Madison last Saturday before holding on for a 35-33 win. The Zips were in the game from the start, and even collected a $900,000 check from the Wolverines to be quality sparring partners.

Michigan clearly seems bored, and will travel to Connecticut next week to sleep walk through another thriller.
This article was written by Glenn Erby. Follow him on Twitter here and read more of his work here.