1968 Akron Zips football team

1968 NCAA College Division independents football records
	Rankings from AP Poll

1968 Akron Zips football
1968 Akron Zips football
Grantland Rice Bowl, L 13–33 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Independent
1968 record	7–3–1
Head coach	Gordon K. Larson (8th season);
Captain	Don Zwisler; Nate Hagins;
Home stadium	Rubber Bowl
	Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

The 1968 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1968 NCAA College Division football season as an independent. Led by eighth-year head coach Gordon K. Larson, the Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. They finished the regular season with a record of 7–2–1, ranked No. 17 in the nation, and were invited to play in the Grantland Rice Bowl, functionally the Mideast regional championship game for the NCAA's College Division, against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.^[1]

After their postseason loss, the Zips finished the season 7–3–1, having outscored their opponents 327–172 in total.

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at Butler		Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 32–7	3,800
September 21	Indiana State		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 41–13	43,068
September 28	at Tampa	No. 5	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 9–24	15,212	^[2]^[3]
October 5	Eastern Michigan	No. 17	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 7–16	2,051
October 12	at Bradley		Peoria Stadium Peoria, IL	W 27–13	3,000
October 19	at No. 3 Eastern Kentucky		Hanger Field Richmond, KY	W 31–20	12,500
November 2	Illinois State	No. 15	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 46–0	3,559	^[4]
November 9	Baldwin–Wallace	No. 15	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 59–19	4,763
November 16	at No. 8 Western Kentucky	No. 15	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	T 14–14	9,000	^[5]
November 22	at Youngstown State	No. 16	Rayen Stadium Youngstown, OH (Steel Tire)	W 48–13	5,000
December 14	vs. Louisiana Tech	No. 17	Horace Jones Field Murfreesboro, TN (Grantland Rice Bowl)	L 13–33	2,500	^[6]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ McIntyre, Bill (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Retrieved May 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ Smith, Bob (September 29, 1968). "McQuay Has the 'Zip' As Spartans Win". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 1D. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Smith, Bob (September 29, 1968). "Spartans Throttle Akron 24-9 as McQuad Sparkles (continued)". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 8D. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Bosley, Scott (November 3, 1968). "Zip Homecoming Real Blast!". Akron Beacon-Journal. p. B1. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Western Ties Akron 14-14". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. November 17, 1968. p. C2. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Louisiana Tech snowballs Akron, 33–13". The Daily News-Journal. December 15, 1968. Retrieved June 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
^ "2019 Akron Zips Football Media Guide: Records" (PDF). University of Akron. p. 169. Retrieved May 24, 2020.

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v t Akron Zips football
Venues	League Park (c. 1910) (c. 1915–1939) Rubber Bowl (1940–2008) InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kent State (Wagon Wheel) Youngstown State (Steel Tire, 1940–1995)
Culture & lore	Zippy ""
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1968 NCAA College Division independents football records
v t	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 San Diego State		–		9	–	0	–	1
No. 3 Chattanooga		–		9	–	1	–	0
Indiana State		–		9	–	1	–	0
IUP		–		9	–	1	–	0
Nevada Southern		–		8	–	1	–	0
UC Riverside		–		7	–	1	–	1
No. 7 Eastern Michigan		–		8	–	2	–	0
Lincoln (MO)		–		8	–	2	–	0
La Verne		–		7	–	2	–	0
Tennessee State		–		6	–	2	–	1
Hawaii		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Tampa		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Akron		–		7	–	3	–	1
Northeastern		–		6	–	3	–	0
Southern Illinois		–		6	–	3	–	0
Cortland		–		5	–	3	–	0
Boston University		–		5	–	3	–	1
Pacific (CA)		–		6	–	4	–	0
Samford		–		6	–	4	–	0
Parsons		–		5	–	4	–	0
Wheaton (IL)		–		5	–	4	–	0
Drake		–		5	–	5	–	0
UC Santa Barbara		–		4	–	4	–	1
Santa Clara		–		4	–	5	–	0
Portland State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Wayne State (MI)		–		3	–	6	–	0
Wabash		–		3	–	6	–	0
Colorado College		–		2	–	6	–	0
Milwaukee		–		2	–	7	–	0
Lake Forest		–		2	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		2	–	8	–	0
Mississippi Valley State		–		1	–	7	–	0
UC San Diego		–		0	–	7	–	0
Rose Poly		–		0	–	8	–	0
Cal Poly Pomona		–		0	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll