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#10 Ben Finley is the hands down #1 QB. He began the scrimmage with a 20 yard pass to Adrian Norton, then a 30 yard TD to Norton. A severely blown coverage nets #88 TE Jake Newell an easy TD Ben sprinted to the endzone to celebrate The OL acquitted itself well today. The starters were #55 Blanchard, #58 Burrell, #56 Davis, #54 Williams and freshman Jayvin James at RT #15 Terrance Thomas broke up this pass intended for Adrian Norton. It was one of the few times Norton was stopped on Saturday morning. Isiah Jones made a nice over the shoulder TD catch in the back of the endzone. Boding well for the future, it came courtesy of a nice Brayden Ruggow toss. Jordon Simmons got a lot of PT today. He looks to be the #1A RB. Kellom looks to be #1B. Simmons breaks the goal line for a 10 yard TD. Tahj looked better today than in the spring, but there is no QB competition. He'll likely get some early season opportunities as we try to keep Finley as healthy as possible for MAC play. But he's entrenched at #2. Tahj moved the team down the field, but an ill-advised pass was snatched by Syracuse transfer Aman Greenwood and taken the distance for a pick 6! Like the Zips, the scoreboard remains a work in progress. Oddly enough, it's probably as effective right now as it was the past 2 seasons? Joe addresses the team after the scrimmage. Overall he was happy. He liked the physicality. I agree, as there were some hard hits, and tough running. It was a noticeable ramp up from the spring. He like that the defense generated 3 turnovers, and made several stops on 3rd and short. A few final words from the Coach before the players hit the shower. Owen Wiley hits a FG. We seem in MUCH better shape with special teams this year. The FG/XP holds were flawless. #47 and #99 hit some solid FG's. #99 and #36 both nailed KO's into the endzone. #95 Castle had some great punts. #37 Garrison Smith (McNees State transfer) kicked two second half FG's (both < 30 yards). Hoban's Grant Gainer pulls in a swing pass from Brayden Ruggow and waltzes into the endzone. #3 Jarvis Rush (Jr. JUCO from Mississippi) eyes a deep ball from Ben Finley... ... and pulls it in for the TD! A guy I am very high on is #9 Paul Lewis III (Safety). He's all over the place on coverage, physical against the run, fun personality...you will LOVE him. Shown here dapping up #13 Rodrick Hunter. Adrian Norton, celebrating after a Finley TD pass, can't be stopped in 2024. He seems to be Finley's go-to guy. He has great hands, and uses his body to shield-off defenders really well. #7 Alex Adams showed so much promise 2 seasons ago. If he could regain his 2022 form, the Zips could have a hell of an aerial attack. Other notes: Marquese Williams, the Minnesota transfer, seems to be the #3 RB. #29 Jordan Castleberry got some carries, and also scored a TD. Starting DL was #95 Andre Proffit, #90 Demitri Madden (UTEP), #16 Fr. Dahvon Frazier and #94 Kabbash Richards Bennett Adler is wearing #1 this year!?

Tahj got one series with the 1st string. The rest was predominately with the second unit. He's throwing the ball downfield more than before. I like that Ruggow looked comfortable. Threw two TDs and moved the ball "well enough". I'm sure they want to redshirt him. But if Tahj struggles, I think #6 is constantly improving and could could hold down the fort if needed. Bubble wrap Finley.

It is really tough to keep track of the OL and DL sets in my situation. I really don't know the players numbers yet (there's maybe 40 new faces, plus some guys have changed numbers). The big guys roll up their shirts so you can barely read their numbers. And I'm running up/down the field trying to get some pics. No replays or announcers. No buddy next to you to ask "what happened?". Whatcha see is whacha get with my solo, amatuer reporting. 😀 Zips football is like a Yeti sighting. You've hear rumors it exists, but all you have to prove it is my grainy black and white footage of Joe Moorhead looking over his shoulder as he walks past that log.

Music to my ears to hear two things... - Even with Tahj potentially being improved, Finley is a clear cut upgrade. That bodes well for the success of this offense. - Having legitimate kickers on FGs is something we haven't had in years. Would've beaten Indiana last year had that been the case.

Hell yeah Captain. Good stuff. Thank you

Those were built a long time ago and a lot has changed since their construction.

Very good. Thanks for posting. Their answers supporting MACtion range from nonsensical to complete BS. It has been horrible for the league. They think it's innovative? In what way? These people are morons. Am I the only one who noticed how few of their answers referenced their athletic departments benefiting the athletes students alumni fans and general communities around their schools? MAC athletic directors could give a flying poop about the schools they work for.

Ohio schools must accept cash, new Ohio law states. How this only applies to high schools and not colleges is beyond me, but not accepting cash is a dumb shift in society. Since when is having a bank a must or risk being barred from society (the last people who risked being barred from society - anti-vaxx/masks - ended up being correct)? People used to think for themselves and even question banks (gasp). Now we're forcing everyone to be beholden to the banks? If someone chooses not to use a bank, but has cash, they should be allowed to attend a Zips game. With "inclusivity" being at the forefront of social agendas, it's a hypocritical decision to refuse service to those who wish to use cash. Kent State level of stupidity & hypocrisy.

As a season ticket holder from the Rubber Bowl on I never gave a rats behind about the scoreboard unless the music was too loud(and it certainly is now) or I couldn't find the score or the clock. I would much prefer to see a consistently decsent team on the field than worry about a scoreboard. Don't care who pays for it. OK the 'taxpayers' and students may not 'pay' for the scoreboard. But they ain't showing up to watch the scoreboard. They ain't showing up much at all. Lets hope the football on the field lives up to the expense of the new scoreboard.

I don't have the figures, but I'd imagine we're near the bottom. As several of the ADs mentioned, we spread out our spend into sports like soccer and basketball. Many MAC schools are throwing everything they have at football, which is a big reason why the MAC has regressed so much in MAC basketball. You only have Akron, Kent, Toledo, and Ohio spending on the sport.