Western Michigan psychologically challenged host Akron before kickoff and subsequently dealt a knockout blow early in the 24th-ranked Broncos' 41-0 win over the Zips behind a school-record 281 yards rushing by Jarvion Franklin on Saturday.

Vocal during warmups using Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck's slogan of "Row the Boat," the Broncos discovered that some of Akron's players allegedly snapped an oar in half on purpose.

"I think they have other things to worry about," Fleck said after his team shut out Akron to improve to 7-0, which is Western Michigan's best start since 1941. The shutout is the Broncos' first since 2006, also against Akron in a 16-0 win.

Franklin and quarterback Zach Terrell led Western Michigan's offense, which scored on its first four possessions to pull away. The Broncos' defense, led by linebacker Caleb Bailey's 2.5 tackles for lost yards and an interception, limited the Zips to only 283 yards of total offense.

Western Michigan is 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference while Akron is 2-1 with a 4-3 overall record.

"I'm proud of how our guys played in all facets of the game," said Fleck, who was 1-11 in his first season at Western Michigan three years ago. "We came into a tough place to play against a team looking to knock us off, and we stood up to the challenge. Good teams do that."

One of the few miscues for Western Michigan was a turnover after going the first six games of the season without one. A fumble by running back Davon Tucker was recovered by Akron defensive end Daumantas Venckus with 10:42 left in the second quarter.

The Broncos were the only remaining team in the country without a turnover. The six-game stretch was the longest by any team at any point in a season since at least 2004. The previous best streak to start a season was Oregon State in 2010, as the Beavers started four games without a turnover.

"We try to make it a point of securing the ball, making the right play," Fleck said. "Our guys have done what we've asked. (The fumble) was just one play. We'll move past it."

The turnover did not matter overall as Terrell engineered long drives to overwhelm the Zips. Terrell completed 21 of 31 pass attempts for 207 yards and two scores in the game. He also rushed for two touchdowns.

The Broncos led 21-0 with 14:28 left in the second quarter, outgaining Akron in total yards 210-14 at that point. Akron quarterback Tra'Von Chapman accounted for all of the Zips' yards throwing for seven yards and running for seven.

"In all of my years of coaching, I've learned that you're going to get your butt kicked," Akron coach Terry Bowden said. "Today, we got our butt kicked. We just have to grow from it and get better."

The Broncos, playing as a ranked team for the first time in school history, came prepared reaching the end zone on drives of 10 and 16 plays among their first four scoring possessions.

They took the opening drive into the end zone with the 10-play, 75-yard possession culminating on a 1-yard run by Terrell. A 16-play, 70-yard drive that spanned 6:48 between the first and second quarters showed how effective Western Michigan's offense was against Akron, ranked No. 109 nationally in total defense entering the game.

"They're very good at what they do," Bowden said. "We needed to make more big plays on offense, and on defense, we needed to make more stops.

"We just didn't have it. We dropped balls we normally don't drop. We missed tackles we usually don't miss. We'll forget about this one and concentrate on Ball State next week."

After the Zips failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 at their 45-yard line with 13:33 left in the second period, Franklin rushed for 31 yards before Tucker scored on a 13-yard run to increase the lead to 27-0. The extra-point attempt with 12:54 left in the half failed, one of the few miscues by the Broncos to that point.

Terrell completed a 17-yard scoring pass to receiver Corey Davis in the third quarter to increase the lead to 41-0. Davis led the Broncos with eight receptions for 63 yards. Terrell completed the scoring with a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Western Michigan begins the season 7-0 for the first time since 1941, when the Broncos started 8-0. ... Broncos WR Corey Davis came into the weekend the active leading receiver in the FBS with 4,374 yards. He holds the all-time MAC receiving record and was 568 yards away from the all-time FBS receiving record after having 63 yards against Akron. ... Since 1979, Akron has faced 27 nationally ranked teams, going 1-26. The Zips' sole victory was a 34-20 win over No. 25 Marshall at the Rubber Bowl on Nov. 2, 2002. ... Western Michigan is the first nationally ranked team to play at Akron's InfoCision Stadium since it opened in 2009.