Season openers are supposed to be the one game a team can plan for months in advance. Akron just found out its Week 1 starting quarterback situation was never actually settled. Reese Poffenbarger, the presumptive QB1 heading into tonight's trip to Wake Forest, is out while he waits on an NCAA ruling for a waiver that would grant him an additional year of eligibility, according to Brett McMurphy.
Akron starting QB Reese Poffenbarger is out tonight at Wake Forest, awaiting decision on NCAA waiver for an additional year of eligibility, sources told @On3. Either sophomore Bradyen Roggow or freshman Cibastian Broughton will make 1st career start t.co/Kz6q0dVCxg
Poffenbarger's path to Akron is a five-stop odyssey that explains exactly why his eligibility is such a mess. He redshirted at Old Dominion in 2021, then broke out at Albany in 2022-23, winning CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. From there it got rocky: he lost the starting job at Miami in 2024 to transfer Cam Ward, then lost it again at North Texas in 2025 to walk-on Drew Mestamaker. By the book, that's a redshirt year plus four seasons played — eligibility exhausted. A group of outgoing seniors sued for a fifth year and initially won, but the NCAA appealed, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay on August 21 that reversed the ruling. Poffenbarger's individual waiver request is what's still sitting on someone's desk in Indianapolis.
With Poffenbarger's status unresolved, Akron is turning to a true unknown. Pete Thamel confirmed the Zips will start redshirt freshman Cibastian Broughton at Wake Forest, handing him his first-ever college snaps in a season opener on the road.
Sources: Akron will start redshirt freshman Cibastian Broughton at quarterback at Wake Forest tonight. Projected QB starter Reese Poffenbarger is dealing with an NCAA eligibility issue, paving the way for Broughton’s first career college snaps.
Broughton isn't a total unknown to recruiting nerds, at least. Thamel noted he was a three-star prospect and ESPN's No. 29-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2025 class, a dual-threat profile out of Fleming Island High that presumably factored into Akron's decision to lean on him over sophomore Bradyen Roggow, the other name McMurphy floated as a possible starter.
Kickoff at Allegacy Financial Stadium in Winston-Salem is set for 7 p.m. ET, and Wake Forest enters as the clear favorite in Jake Dickert's second season at the helm. That gap only widens if Akron is starting a quarterback who's never taken a college snap instead of a battle-tested transfer with starts at four different FBS/FCS stops. Worth watching: whether Poffenbarger's waiver even lands in time to matter this week, or if this becomes a running QB competition mid-season the moment the NCAA finally rules.