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"Also, we definitely had two #9s on the field during the last play. The football Gods were on our side for once. Learning experience. I am sure every officiating eye was looking for pass interference and holding." Just goes to show that our pair of nines beats their ace anyway!

They assume they have more talent because they are Big 10. What I saw was a Zip team that was much faster than NW and just as physical. We have had plenty of speed the last few years. Now we have the physicality to go with and more importantly, quality depth. Coach Stroud put four DE's in on the play that forced the fumble for a TD toward the end of the game. Shows off our depth, especially on defense. The problem area with this team is OL. Get that solved and we will be tough to beat. Oh, and Kato Nelson grew up in this game. He is now ready to lead this offense.

I was unable to make the trip, thanks to @Captain Kangaroo who was able to take a few shots from his seats while cheering on the Zips to victory.

I could watch this again...

I knew the Rams lost their returner after week 1 but I hadn't followed to see they signed JoJo to the active roster (he hadn't signed on as a practice squad anywhere after his Rams release). LA Times - Special Kicking Game performance Video of 60 yard return

Fun fact. Our stadium is named after someone from Ohio. Jack Trice was our first African-American player. He is from Hiram, Ohio and came to us via East Tech High School in Cleveland with Sam Willaman who returned to coach Ohio State. It is the only stadium named after an African-American. Jack Trice played only a few games (in 1923 after having to sit out his freshman year because freshmen couldn't play) and was projected to be an All-American. He only played two games (both on the road) and suffered an injury at Minnesota that proved to be fatal. His story is fascinating in many ways, but the highlight is a note he wrote to himself on the night before the Minnesota game (he wrote it in a different hotel because the KKK was having a national convention and it wasn't safe at the team hotel). "My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will! My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part. On all defensive plays I must break through the opponents' line and stop the play in their territory. Beware of mass interference. Fight low, with your eyes open and toward the play. Watch out for crossbucks and reverse end runs. Be on your toes every minute if you expect to make good. Jack." We have a statue of Jack Trice outside the stadium and our letterman's club in the stadium is named after him. He has become a great source of pride for our fans.

FYI the replay is available on the Fox Sports App. Watching now.

We have been talking about our senior laden D. I think we saw their leadership come through. This victory sure had their stamp on it! The scene after the game with the fan contingent in the corner and the locker room fight song really gives me a feeling that these young men have come together. I can't wait to see what kind of a team shows up at Ames. I think any fan should think real hard about making the trip to Ames so you would have the chance to see this squad really come of age.

Wow. Kato was making some perfect throws. I don't remember that from him last year. Hopefully, he has gotten that out of his system now. I liked his last throw the best! Seriously, why stop the clock with time remaining? He could have run around (or even taken a safety) to let time run out. Decisions like that are what cost our former coach his job (Google Iowa State's meltdown at Kansas State a few years ago if you want to see the absolute worst). We should have seen the Zips victory coming. Even the logo on the field looks more like the Akron Z than a Northwestern N! Way to stick it to the Big 10. But don't even think about bringing that non-conference victory flag to Ames!

The Indian lady with an NU jersey seems happy to be celebrating the TD with the Zips!

Unfortunately, you are going to get another week of the Big 12/10 arrogance, even from us a perennial cellar dweller. I apologize in advance.

Really happy for Jojo to get a return like that. If the Rams don't keep him, someone will.

While not a winner this week, I am pretty happy with the accuracy my prognostication.

If you have not spent some time perusing the NW message board after our win, please do. It's a dumpster fire. The one thread that is consistent is that they seem to believe their team has more talent than we do. I saw zero evidence of that. Their interceptions came from pressure on the QB and the fumble was a great strip. We had decidedly more speed, as was documented before the game. My question going into the game was how far along our talent was, at this point.

Jojo got the game ball yesterday

You are spot on. I was trying not to be too specific. I think he definitely settled down in the second half as he only had maybe 1 penalty then. Luckily we were able to win despite that first half. FWIW, I didn't notice any let downs from an actual blocking perspective (meaning he seemed to be able to hold his own). Maybe that is why the coaching staff stuck with him. Has the talent, just needs to put and keep it together from a mental standpoint. I'd bet he does going forward. Learning experience. Also, we definitely had two #9s on the field during the last play. The football Gods were on our side for once. Learning experience.

I think Matt Campbell would take a win in the daylight at this point

Matt Campbell seems to be your kind of coach. He ran a lot of guys off the team when he came because he demanded they take practice seriously. "Win in the dark" was his motto (what you do in the early mornings of the off-seaon, late nights, and when no one else is watching is what will make the difference).

Much thanks to Balsy for his frequent pleas to Jesus through the tough early parts of the game!

Zips fans, it is game week here in Ames, Iowa. Whoever is coming to the game, please see my other posts about parking, tailgating, etc. I will be glad to try to help in whatever way I can for Zips fans coming to town. If nothing else, we have learned how to be hospitable during football season. Just ask Oklahoma. We could win 70 years in a row and still just have the series lead by one game. The average score during my lifetime is 33-10. Seriously, I've made some friends on this site and at the game in Akron last year (in addition to friends and family in the area). I even sold some nice seats at a very fair price to someone I met here. If anyone wants to tailgate with us, we usually get a great spot (we had 100+ on grass last week without being crowded). We will even fly an Akron flag (my favorite is the one with angry kangeroo eyes). Send me a private message or post here and I will give you the details about our tailgate or anything else with which I can help as you come to town.

Big Time Sports podcast with Joe Dunn Listen to Special Zips podcast with Joe Dunn after Northwestern win 9/16/18 by Big Time Sports Radio #np on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/igimeportsadio/special-zips-podcast-with-joe-dunn-after-northwestern-win-91618

One last opinion - this defense will win us the MAC if the offense doesn't lose it. This defense is a top 25 caliber defense (team ranking wise, not the unit's ranking itself). Multiple NFL prospects, speed, length, athleticism. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

This Northwestern fan nailed it:

My thoughts on the game: First half was rough on offense. Offensive line killed us with penalties and making us always be behind the chains as a result. Like Bowden said in his presser, I think it was a result of some acclimating to playing on the biggier stage. Definitely settled down in the second half and played well. Nice job of Gasser to hit his FGs. Not going to hold the last one against him as it was a long one. Our defense is bad as as expected. Agreed Bell played on hell of a game and both Davis'. MLB is a much better fit for Bell, IMO. Alvin should be the national defensive player of the week if there is such a thing! I can't believe he returned the second INT for a TD. First one was sweet too obviously. I can't wait to watch Morris and Williams shred the MAC for years to come. We did have a lot of questions marks at WR going into the year, but as I suspected, there is more talent there. On the injury front, I recall Jean-Baptiste, Featherstone, and Brady getting injured. I think Featherstone was in crutches after the game. I hope none are too serious and they can get back out there quickly. I really hope we can go into conference play relatively healthy. I was pretty baffled at the way our last possession was handled. I also get not wanting to punt the last play. Listening to the presser, it has been something thats been practiced many times, just wasn't set up/executed properly. If I were a betting man, I'd bet the clock operator was a little late starting it and quick to stop it on that play as well. If we really did have two #9s on the field the last play, we lucked out. Definitely some learning experiences that came out this game for players and coaches, just thankful it didn't cost us a big win. Was a pleasure meeting/celebrating with @Captain Kangaroo and his family. The Zips family section (I assume) at the game was an awesome & rowdy bunch. It's nice to see the players have a section for these far away games. Northwestern paid us 1.2M to go up there and kick their a$$. Who would have thought we would be undefeated 3 weeks into the season?! Now time to go read some crying on the Northwestern board and then on to Iowa State!

Looking more and more like neither team will be needing that game for bowl eligibility

Hopefully we’re the ones who won’t want that game rescheduled as we’ll hopefully be in the MAC Championship Game. On to Detroit!

Man, Brian played LIGHTS OUT last night. He was all over the field. It's like we had 3 players named "Bell" by how often his name was announced on the PA. He was strong against the run, on point in coverage, and was putting some big hits on those little cats. Except for the two pick 6's from Davis, it would be hard to not have Bell as DMVP of the game.

That is a drawback. I'd like to listen to the radio broadcast while watching, but the delay makes it a problem.

Okay, folks. Here's the opportunity for a Zips Old Guy to turn on the Way Back Machine and show how history comes close to repeating itself! I was at the Bowl in, IIRC, 1983 when Dennison's Zips played Morehead St late in the season in a must-win game that featured a play similar to the finish in Evanston. I've written about this before, and I call it "The Stupid Punter Play". Under 10 secs remained in the half, and we had the ball at the Morehead 40 YL. Coach Dennison puts his freshman punter, Kevin Kendall from Green on the field -- but MUST have told him not to kick the ball -- "Just run around till the clock expires." But, he failed to account for Kendall's rookie green-ness. The punter took the snap from center, and there was no rush by MSU, who were willing to go to the locker room. Unfortunately, Kendall panicked, and failed to do what he needed to do - take a knee, and after Morehead players finally rushed toward him (as fans shouted for him to just "FALL DOWN!!") he turned and ran -- straight toward his own end zone -- from where under pressure he threw the ball up like a ticking bomb, out of bounds! Everyone assumed the Zips escaped to the locker room safe from everything but embarassment. Then after the band show, as the teams returned to the field, the PA announcer made the announcement, that on the final play of the first half, the Akron player threw an illegal forward pass from the end zone, resulting in a safety! Fortunately, Akron won the second half and the game that day. I am SO glad that situation didn't play out last night, but even if it did, it would not have given Northwestern the ball at the 30 yard line, with a play to win the game! I can't BELIEVE that sequence was practiced for! smh

I will be cutting the cord, soon and switching to Youtube TV. There are not many reasons to stay with cable any more.

Congratulations to Zips Football and all of the Akron fans in attendance at Northwestern. Great day for the Zips!!!

Total class by Fitzgerald.

Nice job Zips but to give NW the ball for the last play was one of the stupidest things I ever witnessed. Hell, Nelson could have sprinted back for a safety and game over. NW should have never had a chance for a hail Mary.

@feetg10 and @zzx get the first three, and miss the bonus. Everybody is a winner! #FlyTheFlag

I see Nebraska got smacked again. We could of won that game. Damn shame

Checked the Directv guide. The game will be on several regional sports networks. Including Fox Sports Ohio.