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South Dakota St beat Boise St last night. That win is really going to look good IMO.

Congratulations to all who received honors, especially Jared. Here's to hoping there will never be another Coach of the Year or All Conference member in the MAC from Akron going forward. 😉

I know it’s silly but nice to look at this pic. Love seeing the Zips logo right in the middle of things.

pre game party and march to the match Fellow Alumni & Friends, We’re hosting the MAC Tournament Championship against Western Michigan this Saturday, November 12th! The #1 and #2 overall seeds are competing for all the marbles this weekend. As you always have been, we’ll need our 12th man energizing the boys they absolutely love it and it fuels them. Bleacher stomp, drums, chants, whatever it takes let’s bring the noise. For those that are attending the match, there will be a PREGAME PARTY at Score Draft Room (off Exchange Street – right across from campus). There will be a MARCH TO THE MATCH at 12:30 prior to kickoff. We ask that you please help spread the word to your fellow alumni, friends, and family. When: Saturday, November 12th Time: 11:00am – 12:30pm Location: Score Draft Room (426 E. Exchange Street) Who: For all alumni, family, friends, students! Specials: 1/2 OFF BEER AND PIZZA!

As I look at the roster, I see a lot of new faces. It seems like that every year, especially with the transfer rule. I know we have talked about some of these players in the past but if somebody would be nice enough to help me out and tell me where the following players from last year ended up. Also, if somebody wants to comment about these players as the season progresses we now have one thread on this subject. Thanks in advance. Michael Wynn Aziz Bandaogo Sekou Kalle Pat Mayfield (I think he played briefly last year) Ali Ali Bryan Trimble Jr.

https://getsomemaction.com/news/2022/11/10/mens-soccer-mac-announces-mens-soccer-all-mac-specialty-award-winners.aspx first off, congratulations to Coach Embick very well deserving now, let me vent Joel Sangwa was voted to the second team??? Joel is the best soccer player in the MAC Joel should have been first team and he should have been MAC player of the year. Mitch Budler is an excellent goal keeper. Zips nation loves you, Mitch. Mitch, you are All MAC in my book congratulations to 5 zips on first team and 3 zips on 2nd team Mitch, Sammy and Ashton, you have had great years for the zips. Thank you !!!

AT Boise, too. I don't know who Boise returned from last season, but they won the MWC, which has Nevada, San Diego State, etc. First of all, I 100% agree our win over South Dakota State is going to look really good. Second of all, props to South Dakota State for their schedule. Their first 4 games all had significant postseasons last year... Akron (NCAA Tournament near upset over UCLA) Boise (Won MWC, 8 seed in NCAAs, lost to #9 Seed Memphis) St. Bonnie (Lost to Xavier in the NIT Semifinals) #10 Arkansas (Elite Eight) Their 5th opponent is Stephen F Austin, which has had a ton of success in recent years and despite not making the NCAA or NIT last year, still posted a 22-10 record). After that, they have Valpo and James Madison, before going on the road to KSUcks and Bama (back to back days - 12/2 & 12/3). If they tread water through their OOC schedule, they could run the table in conference, as it's pretty weak. This will probably prove to be the OOC win we've needed to boost our seeding resume.

I rewatched the game last night and have these comments: -Hester had a couple of nice returns -Bubba was again sensational -Although he threw two picks (the second was in desperation at the end). I think the offense was much more productive with Undercuffler. There were some big drops and some near misses, but the running game was much better. I believe that the defense was focusing more on passing and this opened up the run. -Wiley did a nice job at RB -Adams was clutch, as were the other 2 WR transfers. As I stated in another post, I think we have a chance in the last two games. Go Zips!!!

Valpo. But man, he's 6-2, 225 & can run and looks tough.

I could be wrong, but I remember those Zips doing pretty well vs. OU. I recall Dambrot being quoted that OU's style was "loosie goosy" haha, and that OU fans seemingly agreeing with that assessment. But I thought that was an interesting juxtaposition. Like we had Dambrot's very controlled system vs. Groce's much more fluid and much less-structured approach to the game.

Found this regarding Spriggs.

Ryan Kopay and Moon....will play their quarterfinal game on Saturday https://pittsburghsoccernow.com/2022/11/09/piaa-boys-soccer-quarterfinal-round-sites-and-times-are-set-for-saturday/ 4 p.m. – Moon vs Cathedral Prep at North Allegheny

OFFENSE - Great to actually see an effective ground game by the running backs. Part of that was due to the over aggressiveness by EMU’s front, part was due to alignment, part play-calling, and credit needs to go to the OL, Wiley, and the QBs. I throw the QBs in there because they didn’t goof any of the handoffs and 99% of the time made the right read to give (or keep). - Although Undercuffler did throw one nice deep ball, we witnessed the difference in arm strength and accuracy between the two QBs. Irons gets away with a number of those tight window and cross field throws, Undercuffler not so much. - I can’t heap enough praise on the OL after that performance. For a unit that has struggled all year in the run game, they looked confident and decisive. Even in pass pro they looked well prepared. Landers is going to be a monster by the time he graduates. Watching Williams block down and role up EMU’s LBs was fun. DEFENSE - Couldn’t always see what was happening in the secondary with the camera angles, but it looked like Hence and Durant played most of the snaps at CB. Thompson and Martin at S. Lewis at nickel. Woods may have been working in at both S and nickel, but I’m not sure. - I can’t say what the issue was with all the edge busts because I haven’t rewatched the game, but the TD play after we had Terry’s TD called back was a mixup with Jones and Boateng. Boateng was blitzing on the edge but took an inside angle and Jones looped over almost like he thought he was running a stunt. If I recall correctly, we were in Cover 3 and the CB was run off by the WR and one S was in the middle of the field. I believe the other S was lined up underneath on the opposite side. - At this point, any time a LB is in the game not named Bubba, Terry, or McCoy I think to myself “oh ****” Sometimes we get away with it, but often the other guys seem lost. - Despite giving up 155 yards rushing, that was probably the best game our DL has played in 2022.

My wife and I each ordered Enrique Freeman t-shirts today. Show your love for Enrique's efforts by ordering your own t-shirt, crew neck sweat shirt or hoodie. Logos of Enrique on front and back. Order at https://store.barstoolsports.com/collections/enrique-freeman

MSU's big man Tolu Smith played a year of HS here in Hawai'i. Has family in the islands. He's a very athletic post. It'll be fun to see how he and Freeman match up against each other. There should be NBA scouts present, as both those guys have gotta be on the radar. https://www.hawaiiprepworld.com/boys-basketball/life-after-kahuku-tolu-smith-thriving-at-mississippi-state/

Combination. My guess is they had a post-season meeting, and Groce told him the system worked better with a smaller, quicker lineup. Probably told him he'd be a great asset off the bench, but couldn't guarantee significant minutes. Aziz probably took that information and did what he needed to do. Wouldn't surprise me if Groce helped him to Utah Valley via some sort of connection. Groce's OU squads never had true "bigs". They always had a shorter (6'7"-6'9"), athletic front court with athletic guards that could shoot. Fast forward to Groce at Akron: he recruited true bigs the first couple of years because it's easier to protect the rim with a 7 footer than it is to establish your system. LCJ/Cheese/Banks/X1.0 established the system, with X1.0 often being the tallest player on the court for us. Once LCJ left, there was a lot of uncertainty with the direction of the program. Would it take a few years for the system to be re-established? Groce again brought in multiple 7 footers, potentially to help buy time. The system was re-established late last year with the emergence of X2.0, and the 7 footers left the program. Groce then filled the open front court spots with Amani Lyles (6'7"), Sammy Hunter (6'9"), and Prince Mosengo (6'8"). Hankerson and Nate Johnson are the supporting cast scoring threats to X2.0, and Groce has now re-built the formula that saw so much success at OU. Hopefully we reap the same benefits (we almost did last year, and probably would have in 2020...). RE: Groce's OU squads. They ate Dambrot's lunch. We didn't find success against Groce's squad until he left and Jim Christian took over the same group of guys. Dambrot had Harney and Treadwell, which evened out the athletic deficit in the front court, and took the pressure off of Zeke. Jim Christian also didn't know how to get the most out of Groce's squad, but that didn't matter to Boston College when they made him the captain of the ship that brought up the rear in the ACC fleet for nearly a decade.

https://www.keloland.com/sports/sdsu-men-fall-in-overtime-to-akron/ “What a basketball game,” South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson said. “We certainly had chances. I loved the energy we played with. We played extremely together, we played our butts off and we were physical. But the Castaneda kid was terrific. He had a heck of a game.”

And he made the free throw that mattered. I look to Tribble for defense, rebounds as a guard, and attacking the basket. He stole the ball when it mattered, and at the same time attacked/rebounded when it mattered. Love Tribble and he's been fun to watch in an Akron uniform. He was HUGE tonight.

I'd settle for Larry Sanders if he'd average more than this team's 2.4 yards per carry.

Academies mostly play other academies, with few exceptions. So, the caliber of play is generally much higher than typical high school competition. Most academy participants forego high school competition altogether nowadays. More is the pity.

Did anyone else notice that not only did Aziz lead UVU in scoring, but he also was 2-2 from behind the arc?!?!