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They should really open conference play with rivalry week every year. Games more meaningful then, better weather, students in town, etc.

One thing that hasn't been really discussed is that it was a decent crowd, yesterday. Reported attendance was over 20,000. This was a much better atmosphere for a rivalry game than the week after Thanksgiving, when the students are away and people are with family.

Isn't that something the coach would normally announce?

Perry Kitchen and DeAndre Yedlin will be on the US team playing in Havana, Cuba I think that the game will be televised on espn2 on Friday Oct. 7 at 4 pm http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/10/02/16/45/161002-mnt-klinsmann-calls-23-players-for-historic-friendly-against-cuba

I guess one sure sign of TB's progress is that we are now able to knit pick wins... Mine: 1) As all have noted, the defense got torched by a single guy, a non-qb, on team that has been terrible offensively. Our D just got manhandled and run over much of the game. Again. Against Appy, they did get that last stop and the offense just couldn't get it done, but what has to happen/can happen to get the D to play more effectively? (Tackling being one thing, as has been noted...) One thought is that we need to chew up much more clock on offense... Kent had huge ToP advantage at half and it persisted through the game. Need to keep the D off the field and as fresh legs as possible. This should have been a blow out given their QB sitch, but ended up a nail biter. 2) If Woody's shoulder was dicey enough to not play, how could Chapman not have been getting some reps w the first team? He shouldn't have been so unprepared to start-- not really his fault. Probably a real benefit to all that this happened, but seems like there should have been some gameplanning around this scenario during last week. 3) MTB! Wow...I'd love to see him, Natson and Lane get more touches in innovative ways. Let's mix in that wildcat more often and not just in short yardage. There was a reverse to Natson but I'd like to see more with him getting the ball and a chance to fly. And also Lane.... there has got to be more ways to enable him to be a factor. And when Woody is back, how about figuring out ways to work Chapman in-- obviously a great athlete. Over the last few years we've progressed from a very conservative offensive (by necessity given the personnel) to one that now has the personnel to be much more wide open, but we are doing it in a somewhat "old fashioned" way-- throwing down field more. Given the talent on the offense and the gelling of the o-line, I really wish we had more innovative sets and plays. Seems like we should be able to pull that off... A win's a win, especially against Kent but man it was way closer than it should have been...

So Chapman had exactly zero time to prepare as starter. No snaps with the 1st team, no time to get in the right state of mind. Not even during warm-ups for the actual game. No surprise that it took him some time to settle in.

Great win, lots of emotion and character shown today. Defense still has me anxious as we look ahead to more challenging games. Glad to see Brown and Moore getting reps on D as they both play with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. This game was more about moments than stats and I hope that is the most our offense struggles all year. As has been noted, the character demonstrated by Chapman today was something amazing. What a tremendous young man. From Marla's article, linked above, this tells you a lot about this kid: Positive Take-Aways: Penalties were, again, lower (6-64) Kicker and punter played well Tra'von Chapman 2nd half turn-around Guiser, Jones, Gilbert played well JoJo, being JoJo Wolf, making ridiculous catches, again MTB with clutch plays Defensive stops at the end of Q2, and middle of Q4 Wagon Wheel stays home 3 wins towards bowl eligibility, 1-0 in the Mac, 3-2 overall More defensive penetration into the backfield, sacks Not so great: Defense - tackling was atrocious, overall teams can run on us, almost at will 1st half Tra'von Chapman mistakes No defensive take-aways

Marla Ridenour: Trip to Kent revives old pain, but UA backup quarterback Tra’Von Chapman finds redemption University of Akron 31, Kent State 27: Backup quarterback Tra’Von Chapman overcomes early struggles, makes big play to help Zips keep Wagon Wheel

You're right...thanks. All the more amazing we overcame a 3 turnover differential.

Barely. I think I just finally stopped shaking.

The color commentator on ESPN harped, on and on, about his lack of hustle on the play where the ball was intercepted in front of him. I get it. But once you looked at that play a couple of times, you realize that the interceptor was being chased out of bounds by other Zips defenders, way in front of Lane. The way I saw it, there was nothing he could have done to change the play, but he could have attempted to do something nonetheless. Other than this play, was someone else detecting something that I wasn't seeing? I do recall that the announcers mentioned that our receivers looked frustrated in the first half. But, I don't recall seeing anything specifically.

1. WB did not play 2. Combined turnovers: 3 3. Attendance: 20,167

WOW!!! WHAT A PUNT! Tressel-ball. Lol

I remember folks (including me) questioning Jim Tressel's credentials to be University President. He sure seems to be working out well at YSU. I think Matt could be fine as UA President. He's been doing very well thus far. If he's great at relationships and getting the best out of everyone, I'd suspect he could hire someone to help with the strategic thinking. Running the university isn't done by one person, but requires a team anyway.

I have heard from a former dept head at UA that Matt is a great relationship builder but has questionable strategic thinking skills. I don't know about that but I do believe that he is building a strong case for removing the interim title. Scar was devisive. Matt seems to have an ability to get the best out of everyone and get all of us pulling oars in the same direction. I'd be comfortable with him keeping the job. I place a lot of value in people who are passionate about what they do and believe in making the place better by working thru others.