Akron Zips vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/16/2023

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 16, 2023

Venue:  Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Akron +26, Kentucky -26; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Akron +25, Kentucky -25; Over/Under:  49 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Akron +25.5, Kentucky -25.5; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Akron Zips:  1-1 (0-0) (3rd place, MAC East)

Kentucky Wildcats:  2-0 (0-0) (3rd place, SEC East)

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Akron Zips:  won their last game at home against the Morgan State Bears 24-21.

Kentucky Wildcats:  won their last game at home against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 28-17.

Akron is entering this game with a 1-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Morgan State 24-21. Jeff Undercuffler was the starting QB and he completed 18/25 passes for 209 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Drake Anderson led the team in rushing yards with 27. Jasaiah Gathings led the receivers with 86 receiving yards on 7 receptions. Darrian Lewis led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while CJ Nunnally led the defense in sacks with 2. Devonte Nelson and KJ Martin each came away with 1 interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Kentucky is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against EKU 28-17. Devin Leary was the starting QB and he completed 24/38 passes for 299 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Re'Mahn Davis led the team in rushing yards with 52. Tayvion Robinson led the receivers with 136 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 2 TDs. Andru Phillips led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Trevin Wallace and Deone Walker each led the defense in sacks with 1. Maxwell Hairston came away with the only interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Kentucky listed as a 26 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Akron is only 1-1 this season with their 1 win coming against a team from the FCS. They haven't really played any tough teams this season and have already been struggling in their games. They had a lead over Temple in their season opener which they ended up blowing to lose by 3 points and even in their last game they struggled to pull away against Morgan State, only winning that game at home by 3 points. They will have a much tougher test here with a team from the SEC and Kentucky is already 2-0 this season with their offense looking good and their defense not giving up many points. Akron doesn't have a good offense and they are going to struggle to put points up against this good Kentucky defense. Akron also doesn't have a great defense as they blew their lead against Temple and allowed Morgan State to score 21 points in their last game, their defense will get gashed by this Kentucky offense since they have a lot more talent on their side. The best way to place a bet here is on Kentucky to cover the spread in this game. 

Akron Kentucky Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 16, 2023 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Kentucky 45 Akron 13.

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Akron Zips: 22-30 ATS off 2 or more consecutive unders. 5-10 ATS after gaining 75 or less rushing yards in 2 straight games. 9-5 UNDER off a no-cover where the team won as a favorite. 69-43 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive losses against the spread. 

Kentucky Wildcats: 12-5 ATS as a favorite of 21.5 to 31 points. 11-6 ATS in home games. 18-10 UNDER in all games. 7-2 UNDER when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 11-4 UNDER off 1 or more consecutive unders. 

Akron Zips:  None.

Kentucky Wildcats:  J. Wilcox (RB) Ques Sat - Hamstring. L. Wright (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. K. Horsey (OL) Out indefinitely - Leg. N. Hall (OL) out for season - Undisclosed. B. Christman (OL) out for season - Undisclosed.

“They’re going to be tough, they’re going to be physical, they’re going to be well-coached. It’s going to be a huge challenge.” - Joe Moorhead on his team’s upcoming game against Kentucky this week.

“They’re doing a lot right now, very creative. I think creative minds, when they have time over the summer, you look at the first two games and there’s a lot in there. They hit a T-pipe, they hit the back out of the backfield that they tried on us a different way but they’ve done it over. We stopped [it], I think Yusuf [Corker] broke it up. I know they hit us maybe a year or two before with the quarterback runs, and the back leading, if you’re at any split safety stuff, they’re always sneaking that back down. It’s a tough play and we stopped it in 2018 or ‘19 and they may have hit us on it; it even might’ve been when Coach [Dan] Mullen was there.” - Mark Stoops on his team’s upcoming game against Akron this week. 

WR George, Daniel 

WR Gathings, Jasaiah 

WR Adams, Alex 

TE Banks, TJ 

QB Irons, DJ 

RB Lingard, Lorenzo

WR Key, Dane 

WR Brown, Barion 

WR Robinson, Tayvion 

TE Dingle, Jordan 

TE Bates, Brenden 

QB Leary, Devin 

RB Davis, Ray 

Passing: D. Irons (258)

Rushing: D. Anderson (67)

Receiving: D. George (100)

Touchdowns: L. Lingard (1)

Passing: D. Leary (540)

Rushing: R. Davis (164)

Receiving: T. Robinson (174)

Touchdowns: R. Davis (3) 

Coaches:

Akron Zips: Joe Moorhead (2nd season)

Kentucky Wildcats: Mark Stoops (11th season)