Akron gets a breather in the home opener, but a 5-7 team still trying to find its footing under Joe Moorhead can't afford to sleepwalk through a warm-up.
Bush’s Picks
RMUAKR
RMUAKR
OverUnder
Best BetAkron
This is a class-gap game before it's anything else. Akron has already been battle-tested against a Power Conference opponent this season, while Robert Morris's only look at this level last year ended in a 45-3 blowout to West Virginia. Backing the Zips outright here is about as safe a moneyline read as this preview series gets.
Robert Morris
+already faced an FBS defense last year (WVU) so no first-time nerves
+closed 2025 with quality wins over Saint Francis and Stonehill
−finished 3-9 overall and 2-5 in the NEC in 2025
−gave up 45 points in its only FBS look last season
Akron
+5-7 in 2025, Moorhead's best mark in four seasons at Akron
+8 players named to Phil Steele's preseason All-MAC teams
−Moorhead's overall Akron record is still well under .500
−bowl-ineligible on APR grounds regardless of record, which can sap urgency
Akron opens its 2026 slate on the road at Wake Forest before coming home to InfoCision Stadium for Robert Morris on Saturday, September 12. It's the kind of scheduling that programs like Akron lean on every year — get a body-blow test against a Power Conference team, then use an FCS opponent to find rhythm before the meat of the MAC schedule and a trip to Minnesota the following week.
Robert Morris isn't walking in blind to this level of competition. The Colonials opened last season against West Virginia and got run out of the building, 45-3, so there's at least some institutional memory of what an FBS front seven looks like. That experience doesn't close the talent gap, but it's the kind of game tape a program can actually use.
Show fees
2:30 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
RMU Robert Morris
AKR Akron
For Akron, this is squarely about building on the best season of the Moorhead era. The Zips climbed from 2-10 to 2-10 to 4-8 to 5-7 last year, and eight players landed on Phil Steele's preseason All-MAC teams heading into 2026. A letdown spot against an FCS team after a physical trip to Winston-Salem is the real risk here, not the final score.
Robert Morris Colonials
Akron Zips
Sep 3?@ Wake Forest—
Recent form.
Robert Morris finished 2025 at 3-9 overall and 2-5 in the NEC, a step back after a 7-5 return-to-the-conference season the year before, but the Colonials didn't fold down the stretch — wins over Saint Francis and Stonehill in the back half showed some fight. None of that changes the math against an FBS roster, but it's worth watching whether RMU competes for a half before Akron's depth takes over.
