Leaderboard

You came here at the absolute worst point in the 124-year history of the football program, and you leave us with the best season in Zips history. It's hard to believe and if I didn't watch it happen in person, I doubt I would ever understand the full impact of your careers at Akron. So, thank you. Thanks for believing in your team and yourselves when nobody else did, thanks for taking a huge risk in coming here, and thanks for sticking it through to the end.

Aggie fan here. I just wanted to come over and congratulate you guys on a great win. Your team looked stout, and you should be proud of the way your boys played. I was at the game, and could tell right from the get go that your team was fired up, and excited to be playing in a bowl game. Your team reminds me of the Aggie team that played in the Idaho potato bowl back in 2012. We won that game, and that was the beginning of an upward projection for our program after literally decades of horrible football. I really hope that the same will happen for your team there at Akron. This may seem funny to say, but losing to a team that has worked so hard for a bowl win and come so far, took some of the sting off of our loss. Once again, congratulations on your first bowl win!!

Win the MAC.

I wonder if a long time poster that quit on the team will come back

I'm extremely happy for this team. If ever there was a group of seniors that deserved a bowl win, it's this group. They brought Akron football back from nothing and made school history. Cherish this. Be proud today, I certainly am.

The reports I saw said that Bowden expressed interest in Tulane, but the feeling wasnt mutual. I don't even know if I believe any of it. To answer your question though, I can't see him leaving. Father Time isn't in his side to get a bigger gig. Not only that, I really don't think he will want to go through another rebuild at his age. He wouldn't be stepping into a winner if he leaves. Besides, he has a pretty sweet gig here to be honest and I am sure he wants to continue to try and build on the momentum the program currently has.

Great season Zips! We've endured some pretty rough seasons, but definitely have seen amazing growth and this bowl game caps it off! Let's win the MAC next season - Is there any chance Bowden would leave? I read an article about Tulane targeting him, but don't see Bowden going there

Johnnyzip84 - that was an excellent post. This is a good reminder that there are a lot of things going on that we will never know about. Robert's a great kid with a bright future. Pratt delivered when we needed him to deliver. Hat's off to him and Tommy for capitalizing on the situation. It could be argued that he could have easily received the game MVP. ESPN announcers gave it to TW13, also arguably worthy, and CBS Sports gave it to Cody Grice who played a fantastic defensive game and delivered on offense, too. I think it was an excellent team win. However, I agree about Brown being in a category all by himnself. Seems like a stellar individual and can't wait to see him on Sundays. I would agree. It seemed that he became more emotional as the season went along and it was nothing but a joy to watch him be emotional with the kids. TW13 looked like he bawled his eyes out for a long time after the game. He was emotionally spent. I think even more than his athleticism, what made him the right fit for the Zips this year was his heart. He played one gutsy game after another this year and left it all out there on the field yesterday. I think his energy drove this team on the field and helped us sustain drives that we would have lost on in the past. He had a lot of growth as a player this year and can't wait to see what an another entire off-season of prep allows him to do in terms of preparation. I wonder if there is any chance they will post those to their website?

Well that will be one game I’ll probably watch a dozen times or so, just to soak it all in. There are so many intriguing little stories within the big story that it would be difficult to number them. And the big story is huge – nothing short of the pumping life into a football program that was clearly teetering on a possible downward slide only 5 games ago. This 5 game win streak, and all the additional unprecedented feats that go along with it, finally gives TB and his staff the ammunition they’ve previously lacked when hitting the recruiting trail. I realize the 2016 class is currently low on numbers, but I would wager that both the quality and quantity will improve greatly before February 3rd rolls around. Here are some of my favorite little stories that emerged from the game: A perfect Stein – Robert’s 3 of 3 on FGs to close out his career was merely the exterior surface of a fantastic story that I’m not sure too many of us fully understood before TB enlightened everyone during the post-game press conference. As one of the numerous UA engineering grads who follow this board, this subplot resonated strongly with me and is one of the most inspiring I’ve ever come across as a Zip fan. Robert declining the offer to have his scholarship reinstated is the definition of a selfless act – what a breath of fresh air!Woodson to Pratt – I can’t agree more with K92 regarding the enjoyment I experienced in seeing Andrew have a career (literally) day after many fans (including yours truly) were critical of his mistakes over the years. There is another aspect to this, however. When I heard French say during the pregame that Austin Wolf would be unavailable (groin), I wondered who would step up knowing Lane would see plenty of double coverage. Andrew certainly came through, but I also give credit to Tommy for recognizing the mismatch and exploiting it.Best Zip LB EVER – Jatavis didn’t need to do anything yesterday to further convince me of this, but that sack strip and ensuing return by Coe will forever go down with Getsy to Hixon, Andre Jones game ending KO return, and Daron Alcorn’s 56 yard FG to beat UT in Zip football D1-A/FBS folklore. And who just happens to make the tackle on USU’s botched/fake FG in the 1st half? I’m not sure a Zip player was ever more valuable to his team than JB1.Fiery TB – Sure his hair during the Penn State game last year was reminiscent of the Heat Miser, but the Tater Bowl ended up being the one where his burning drive to win was most prominently displayed. I believe that was the most competitive emotion he’s shown in his UA career and I really think the players fed off of it, especially after going down 14-13.Sweet Emotion – Although I did not hear the interviews 1st hand, the post-game radio discussion with French/Dunn and Cody/Jatavis in particular were apparently quite emotional given the amount of adversity anyone associated with the program has withstood over the years. I hope I get to hear a recording of this someday. For those of you who heard it, I’d be curious to get your take.Now where can I get me a 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Champion tee-shirt? Go Zips!!!!

UCSB beat Iona yesterday 80-76.

Well said Zach!! I was getting text all night from friends - "how bout those Zips" "The Zips are winning" "Wow, the Zips look good" "Those are some sick helmets" a-zip = PROUD

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-national-top-100/men Richie at #4; Adam at #9 and Victor at #20 and to think that the MAC coaches did not even list one of these young men in their top 22... Your Akron zip soccer family....knows how good you are , Victor ....and we are also very impressed by your fantastic GPA. Congratulations to Richie, Adam and Victor

Can somebody help me, please. There must be something wrong with my computer when I look this list. Besides Richie, Adam, and Victor, the only other MAC player I can find is Joey Piatczyc from West Virginia at 55. I can't find the MAC PotY (in this case, pronounced ), Russell Cicerone.

I'm at home watching the game and it's half time but I had to check here to see the result. What a great day for the team. Now I can enjoy the second half without the worry! Loving a bowl win after so many seasons in the hinterlands. GO ZIPS! I really like the white unis and helmets too. BOOM!

Coach Bowden nailed it in my living room back in January ..... "I hope for 7-5 and a bowl win, that would make it 8-5 and the most wins in Akron history. I think your son is coming in at a special time" Boom ...

Very happy to hear about your win!

Wkyc Facebook page has a post congratulating Zips has been out there 20 minutes. 230 likes and 10 comments with no negative ones.

My phone and feed have been blowing up here in pa. After the crap that happened this year, the school it's students, players and alums all needed this. GO ZIPS!!

I feel great for the players.

To illustrate that it's a huge problem that needs to be dealt with. A large amount of economic capital is being locked up in debt and servicing debt. That's not good for the economy, and it's a bubble waiting to pop.

Congrats Zip ME87!