Big Zip

GoZips -- you may be right, but one thing is for certain if you throw enough things against a wall -- eventually something will stick. Sad thing for you is Roger Brown has found a way to make a career out of it. Good luck!

What I see happening. Syracuse will lose to BC and not be eligible. South Florida will either lose to Memphis or Pittsburgh. LSU will beat Arkansas. So those three are out. That leaves -- Hawaii, Northwestern, Tulane, TCU and Nebraska. Hawaii can cancel out Northwestern by beating them. Currently they are favored by 6. But, Hawaii would still need to beat Michigan State to become eligible. I don't see them winning both games, but should they win to both they are bowl eligible. I hope they beat Northwestern and lose to Michigan State -- practically guaranteeing the Zips a bowl game. TCU is favored by 13 over Tulane and if they beat them it eliminates Tulane from being eligible. The game is at TCU. Nebraska is home to Colorado and favored by 2.5. If Nebraska wins they become eligible. If Hawaii, TCU and Nebraska all win -- it leaves 59 bowl eliglbe teams for 58 spots. Someone gets left out. This is kind of fun speculating -- here's to hoping Charlie gets one more shot to shine in front of the pro scouts before All-Star games and the combine.

According to MSNBC there are 56 bowl eligible teams for 56 slots as of this morning. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6366631/ If you subtract South Carolina and Clemson that leaves 2 slots. There are (also according to MSNBC) eight teams that can be bowl eligible. Of them: Hawaii or Northwestern are guaranteed bowl eligibility -- they play each other and each team needs on win -- Hawaii is favored. Leaving one slot. Hawaii still has a chance should they lose because they have another game with Michigan State to get the win. South Florida must beat Memphis 7-3 and Pitt 6-3. Arkansas has to beat LSU -- LSU is 8-2 and favored. Nebraska has to beat Colorado -- Colorado is 6-3 and favored. Syracuse has to beat Boston College -- Boston College is 8-2 and favored. Tulane has to beat TCU 5-5 and Louisville 8-1. TCU has to beat Tulane 4-5 to be bowl eligible. Should the favorites win all the games TCU and Hawaii both become bowl eligible leaving one bowl eligible team on the outside looking in. Will it be Marshall or Akron? So you have your teams to root for over the weekend -- Memphis, LSU, Colorado, Boston College, Hawaii and Tulane -- if that all happens the Zips are guaranteed a slot. Three web site predictions have the Zips going bowling -- the bowls are: Silicon Valley Bowl -- Dec. 29 in San Jose, Calif. Independence Bowl -- Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La. MPC Computers Bowl -- Dec. 27 in Boise, Idaho.

Is there anything stopping Conference USA from stumping for Marshall? With Akron having Akron luck -- it is hard for me to believe it will happen for Akron this year. But, the logical side of me thinks Akron makes as much sense (especially with Charlie Frye) as any other of the fringe teams.

WHO'S BOWL ELIGIBLE? * Teams playing 12-game schedules must win 7 games against I-A teams * Teams playing 11-game schedules must win 6 games against I-A teams * x — includes win over non-Division I-A team (teams may include one of these toward I-A total ever four years) * y — 12-game schedule It seems x maybe what keeps the Zips from a bowl game and teams like Nebraska and others in the picture.

There are 28 Bowls. Orange, Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, New Orleans, Tangerine, Vegas, GMAC, Holiday, Emerald, Sun, Music City, Outback, Cotton, Fort Worth, Hawaii, Motor City, MPC Computers, Insight, Independence, Silicon Valley, Alamo, Houston, Continental Tire, Peach, Liberty, Gator, and Capital One. There are currently 54 bowl eligible teams including South Carolina and Clemson. There are also five teams with the possibility of being eligible. Hawaii is 5-5 with 5 Div. 1-A wins -- home games with Northwestern (6-5) and Michigan State (5-6) left. Michigan State 5-6 with 5 Div. 1-A wins -- at Hawaii (5-5) left. Southern Mississippi 5-4 with 5 Div. 1-A wins at Alabama Birmingham (7-3) and at California (9-1). Syracuse 5-5 with 5 Div. 1-A wins at Boston College (8-2) left. TCU at 5-5 with 5 Div. 1-A wins at Tulane (4-5) left. As far as I can figure out all bowl eligible teams get a bid if bowl eligible means 6 Div-1 wins. According to collegefootballnews they have three teams listed going bowling with less than 6 Div. 1-A wins. North Carolina 6-5 and has apparently accepted a bid with only 5 Div. 1-A wins -- no. 6 was William and Mary. Minnesota 5 Div. 1-A wins -- no. 6 was against lllinois State. Nebraska 4 Div. 1 A wins with a game against Colorado left and one win against Western Illinois. My big question is after reading various sites is what does bowl eligible mean? Is it 6 wins is it a .500 record or is it 6 Div. 1-A wins. It seems you can schedule Ashland, Tiffin and Baldwin Wallace for your three OCC games and then win three MAC games and be bowl eligible. gozips.com says the Zips chances are slim and the Silicon Valley Bowl isn't in the running. I'm very confused. Someone help me understand. According to gozips.com key games to watch this Friday are Nebraska/Colorado and Arkansas/LSU -- Arkansas and Nebraska both have less 4 Div. 1 - A wins. Nebraska is favored by 3 and LSU by 4.

Aside from getting the name of the show My Wife and Kids wrong -- this is probably one of the best articles David Lee has written in the Beacon. You have to wonder who checks the facts over there though. Frye's company Zips quarterback, roommates personify college life By David Lee Morgan Jr. Beacon Journal staff writer Trash from the garbage can overflows onto the front porch. Burger King wrappers and empty McDonald's french fry cartons are under the front porch. Inside, a huge carpet stain is noticeable. It's from a 64-ounce soda that was accidently kicked over. It's all part of the landscape at Charlie Frye's house. Frye, the starting quarterback for the University of Akron, and his roommates/teammates, defensive end Dwayne LeFall, linebacker Chase Blackburn and wide receiver Mo Ellington, make the characters in the classic comedy Animal House look like boarding school students. The Zips (6-4, 6-1) are preparing for their biggest game, a battle against Miami University (7-3, 6-1) for the Mid-American Conference East Division championship Saturday at the Rubber Bowl. Still, Frye and his posse are carrying on like they have no cares in the world. That's how they live -- carefree and loose. Frye, who some NFL scouts say will be drafted in the first few rounds of the April draft, will have the opportunity to make a lot of money soon. For now, though, he and his roommates are flat broke, and they don't care. Their four-bedroom house is just another off-campus dwelling. Nothing great. The stairs creak with every step. There are clothes in almost every corner of the house, some looking like they've been there since the season began Sept. 4. Ellington, an Orlando, Fla., native, has the smallest bedroom. ``It's like a prison room,'' he said, laughing. ``Look at how small my bed is.'' Ellington's bed is so small he barely fits in it, and he's only 5-foot-11. ``I was the last one here, so I didn't get to pick what room I got.'' When Ellington opened the door to his cave-like room, it wouldn't have been a surprise if bats flew out. Down the hall is LeFall's room. LeFall, an Oakland, Calif., native, was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week this week for his stellar performance in Akron's 31-19 win at Ohio University. Forget about a stellar performance when it comes to cleaning his room. ``And his room is neat right now,'' Ellington said, jokingly. ``Usually, you can't even walk into it without being attacked.'' When it comes to Frye's room, the quarterback has a secret weapon, his mom, Sally. Actually, Sally and her husband, David Frye, who drive about an hour and 15 minutes from Willard, usually bail out all the guys Wednesday. They bring huge serving dishes of food and the players feast like kings. ``Man, Charlie's mom and dad come here every week, and they put together a nice spread for us,'' LeFall said. ``It's like going to a buffet, only we don't have to pay for it. We love it, and we appreciate it.'' On this particular day, a Tuesday, the buffet was a day away. There are others who constantly hang out at the house and are considered ``unofficial'' residents, like redshirt freshman Yamari Dixon and University of Pittsburgh recruit Luke Getsy. They are set to run things after the four seniors leave. ``Charlie is the president right now, but Luke is president-elect,'' said Blackburn, who is from Marysville. ``He'll be running things here next year when we're all gone.'' Then the front door opens and in walks Charlie Frye, carrying, to no surprise, several Burger King bags. Right behind him are Jim Borrieci, Mike Piccirillo and Mike Grzeskowiak, each one of them carrying more Burger King packages, as if they had just returned from Christmas shopping. Charlie Frye explains: ``Since our (five-game) win streak, I've been treating our linemen to dinner every week.'' The other linemen, Tim Crouch and Aaron Conley, don't live with Frye, but they aren't stupid. They met him at Burger King to get their weekly meal. ``I started out taking them to the Outback the first week,'' Frye said. ``The next week, it was Damon's, then the next week it was Ryan's Buffet. Now, we've been going to the King. They're killing me. I'm broke.'' The players grab a seat in the living room with their dinners, wherever they can find a seat. They put the food on the living-room table, which, now, looks like a Burger King kitchen. They chow down while watching a 60-inch high-definition television that is routinely tuned to ESPN. If they aren't watching SportsCenter, they're caught up in a competitive PlayStation tournament. The PlayStation competition often gets intense. Frye and Dixon battled Blackburn and Getsy in two-on-two video basketball. Frye and Dixon lost. Frye was so upset that he threw a shoe into the wall. The tread marks still are visible. ``We were playing on a Thursday night, and I didn't talk to Yamari until game day, which was Saturday,'' Frye said. ``I love him, but I just hate losing in PlayStation.'' Frye loves to compete, and hates to lose but really isn't a sore loser. The serious question is how do all of these guys get along? Amazingly. They are more than just roommates and teammates. They are good friends. Two black guys. Two white guys. Other black players like Dixon come to visit and hang out. Other white players like Getsy come to visit and hang out. Race and socioeconomic backgrounds don't mean a thing. ``We all feel like we're brothers because we've known each other for so long,'' Frye said. ``This is a great house to be in, and we just have a lot of fun.'' What about their studies? ``I do most of my school work in the football office,'' Frye said. ``It's the most quiet place to study.'' Transportation? Frye has the community vehicle. ``It's my car, but it's really our car,'' he said. ``The dent on the driver's side isn't mine, though. It's Dwayne's.'' LeFall fessed up to the little fender-bender. ``That was me,'' he said. ``I don't remember what happened, but it wasn't my fault.'' Rent at the Taj Mahal? $250 per person. Blackburn acts as the supervisor of the house. He makes sure the bills are paid on time by posting a big envelope in the kitchen that tells when the utilities are due. ``I run everything here. Don't let any of them fool you,'' Blackburn said, as he was walking around the house with a trash bag cleaning up after everyone like a gracious host. ``I have to stay on them, or they won't pay the bills or clean up around here.'' LeFall remembers what happened when they didn't pay a particular bill this summer. ``We came home from practice one day, and we didn't have cable anymore,'' he said. ``We didn't have it for like a semester. Man, that was a killer. I need my cable.'' So, to get their SportsCenter, My Wife and Three Kids and The Real World fix on television, they would go around the corner to friends who play on the women's volleyball team and would take over the television for a few hours. The guys have since paid their cable bill so they no longer intrude on the neighbors. Frye's house and his roommates represent everything great about the college experience. It's about being broke and eating Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's about eating your roommate's food then acting as if you have no idea where it went. Most important, it's about graduating with a college degree and creating lifelong friendships. ``The thing I'm going to miss the most is just being here in this house in this living room and not having all of these guys with me,'' Frye said. ``I'm going to miss being around them because we are like a family.''

The win last week was great, but the OU board isn't 100% wrong. This team needs to take OU to the woodshed and beat Miami before they will get any credit from the rest of the league. I still can't believe we beat Marshall and it's Wednesday night, but I know the Marshall game was the first win against a good team on the schedule and we didn't beat up on any of the bad teams on our schedule. The MAC is a weird place -- we haven't beaten anyone soundly this year, but Can't hasn taken Buffalo and OU to school the last two weeks. I do have one question though -- do both teams in the MAC Championship get a guaranteed bowl invite? Motor City and GMAC? http://www.nationalchamps.net/2004/bowls/ I've read before that the GMAC Bowl gets a MAC or WAC team, but this site says MAC East Champs go to GMAC -- so far the last three years it has been Marshall twice and Miami once.

According to this morning's Lake County News-Herald Akron like Chris as a receiver -- the position he played last year, but told him he would play quarterback at Akron. I don't think it is out of the question to assume he plays QB or WR -- the kid has been real talented at both positions.

Just noticed something on Herdzone.com They have the MAC Championship game on the schedule page like it's a given? I know they've played in nearly all of them, but that's just arrogant. Man it sure would be fun to beat them and prevent this schedule from being correct. Hopefully UCF plays them tough the week before our game -- extra week of practice while the Herd has to travel back frorm Orlando and travel early the next week. I know I'm getting a hea of myself, but it seems to be favorable -- we just need to prevent the patented Owens let down this week. Marshall 2004 Schedule Date Opponent Site Time/Result Sep 4 Troy (LIVE STATS) Huntington, W.Va. L, 15-17 Sep 11 at Ohio St (ABC) Columbus, Ohio L, 21-24 Sep 18 at Georgia (WSAZ-TV, CSS (Ga.)) Athens, Ga. L, 3-13 Sep 29 MIAMI OHIO (ESPN2) Huntington, W.Va. W, 33-25 Oct 9 at OHIO (OSN/WSAZ-TV) Athens, Ohio W, 16-13 Oct 16 at Can't ST (THN/ISP Network) Can't, Ohio W, 27-17 Oct 23 BUFFALO^ Huntington, W.Va. 4:30 p.m. Oct 30 UCF (Sunshine Network) Huntington, W.Va. 2:30 p.m. Nov 5 at AKRON (ESPN2) Akron, Ohio 7:00 p.m. Nov 13 at BOWLING GREEN Bowling Green, Ohio 4:00 p.m. Nov 20 WESTERN MICHIGAN Huntington, W.Va. 4:30 p.m. Dec 2 vs. MAC Championship (ESPN or ESPN2) TBD TBD

Zips win and OSU is soundly thumped by Iowa 33-7. Funny thing is the Beacon and the PD will both devote a full page to the OSU debacle while the Zips will get an AP story. They certainly didn't spend the money to send David or Elton to Orlando -- when Can't was hosting Marshall. Would have loved to have been in Orlando to watch the defense play like this. I can't believe the improvement this defense has made in just a few short weeks. Nine sacks! The Zips notes said something to the effect this is the most since they had five against Eastern -- what does that mean? What's the record? When was the last time they had nine? Really looking forward to next week's game -- and of course the Marshall game, but first things first -- Ball State should be a win. If the ESPN Friday night game has Akron at 4-1 in the MAC competing against an undefeated in MAC Marshall team -- does 25,000 show up at the Rubber Bowl? It was kind of disappointing to hear the Jason Taylor bobbleheads are stuck in China and will be given to 2005 season ticket holders instead of at the game on Nov. 5.

GP1 you can't be serious about the special teams right? They've given up three punt returns for touchdowns. You must have been talking about the kicking -- Swiger was booming them into the end zone all night Saturday night. I hope I don't sound like John Kerry flip flopping, but I thought the Zips looked good Saturday. The best thing for me from the defense was seeing the DE stay home and stop the option. I swear it seems like we can never stop the option -- in the second half the Zips D came through against the option. That 3rd and 48 looked great on the scoreboard. When the Zips blitzed they got good pressure on the QB -- I hope they keep it up. During the two touchdowns to open the halves -- the defense looked tentative like it was thinking too much instead of playing like they know how to. When they just started playing they looked better. As for the offense -- GP1 do you still believe Frye has a weak arm. The rocket he threw to Arthur was great and the pass Hixon let go through his finger tips was easily 50 yards. Any word on Arthur -- I guess we always knew that was the risk of JD plahing him As for Hixon-- he had a great game (his parents had a sign that said Happy 20th Birthday -- not a bad birthday), but how good would it have been if he wouldn't have let three or four slip through his hands. My wife pointed out she noticed Mr. Hixon leaving for the concession stand prior to his kick off return -- he missed the whole thing. What a run -- what a hole. My father usually makes it to a couple games a year with me and he hasn't been yet -- I know the one thing that always gets him are the dropped passes. Frye was 13 of 23, but he could have easily been 18 or 19 of 23. I know this win was against Buffalo, but I think we have good reason to be excited considering where this team began the year. It's going to be interesting over the next three weeks. If the Zips can head into that Marshall game 4-4 and 4-1 in the MAC I have to believe the bowl will be nearly full. Only problem is it's the firs week of High School football playoffs -- good thing is there won't be as many teams playing -- bad thing is those playing will pull big crowds.

Interesting thought GP1 -- Even more interesting how you can blast me for mentioning the poor defense and then throw this up here. At least Charlie has a track record of ability -- as opposed to that of the defense. But to the point of the question -- I think it'll be real interesting to see if Frye has the opportunity we'd all like him to have. I think Charlie throws a great ball and I believe he'd have played in front of Craig Krenzel at OSU who is on the Bears roster. I also tend to agree with the Cap'n when it comes to the QBs who are filling out rostes across the NFL these days. Although I wouldn't mention Rich Gannon and Vinny -- those guys have proven themselves -- it's the Krenzel's of the world or other back ups I would be hard pressed to put Frye behind -- just pull up the depth charts across the league and look at these guys. Both Detmers are still playing, Rodney Peete, Kordel Stewart those are the names that make you realize the talent level after the starters drops off considerably. I give Frye a better than 50/50 chance of playing in the NFL or at the very least continuing his career -- with Arena Football, the World League and the CFL the opportunities are larger than they have been in the past. Not to mention if you make a practice squad the 2002 cap for 5 players was $340,000 or $68,000 per player for 17 weeks or $4 grand a week -- that's not bad for 17 weeks work and better than selling copiers. I think the question really comes down did we see something that wasn't there for three years or was Frye that good. I can't believe he was a bad quarter back who happened to play in a great system for him -- then again Tim Couch had great numbers and he's unemployed. At least he pocked $40 million first. I wish Charlie lots of luck and hope they can turn it around this week -- a loss to UB would be the nail in the coffin for this senior class.

What happened -- wow the defense was great against Can't --- they were not and I told you so -- it really sucks to be righ this time. I feel terrible for Frye -- JD has cost him millions of dollars -- way to go JD!

I agree -- we beat Can't and I'm enjoying it. Folks just don't want you to be critical -- so be careful. By the way Guest Zip -- this wasn't the first game the play calling looked like this.

By all estimations you idiots make -- the Zips are ready to win the MAC this year. Why is it you have referrred to Can't as a tough team? I'm not an Owens fan either -- not sure if you pay that much attention to what I write, but the fact is I called for Owens to be gone long before -- why people told me I was an idiot for that. I now mention Owens being more creative than JD and I'm an idiot for that -- make up your mind. Lets look at the stats assholes -- 390 yards -- oh yeah that is a great defensive effort. I wasn't bitching about them stopping Can't on the two -- I said it was stupid play calling by Can't's coach. Elton Alexander pointed out how Can't ran all over Akron and couldn't figure out why they passed too, but you're right -- I'm wrong. Akron averaged 3.2 yard per carry -- memo to idiots -- that isn't too good. Can't averaged 4.6 pretty good. Morris Ellington -- 1 catch -4 yards -- 4 drops that hit him in the hands. No reason to bitch there -- you're right. I was unaware of Frye's finger problems, but they didn't seem to cause any problems with the passes he threw to Ellington. Are you sure you guys know what football is - this team has a long way to go. A win is a win I'm HAPPY with a win -- right it down HAPPY. But I'm certainly not going to go as far as saying they played well. Oh yeah by the way -- I was one of the lone positive posts after the MTSU loss -- so if you're going to call me out -- get your facts straight. I'm sorry I'd like to root for a team that plays well and wins games -- if you all feel good about this win that's great. I hope they are back in the saddle today working on game film for the NIU game.

to Can't's place kicker. We couldn't have won this game without you. I was out of town for the Virginia game and couldn't offer any real comments, but if the play calling at Virginia was anything like the play calling last night we certainly know where part of the problem lies. For all that Owens was and wasn't -- the offense was potent and got the job done. Owens would still be coaching here if he ever figured out how to hire a coach that new defense. I'm not sure I saw the positives other Zips fans including Coach Brookhart saw in the defense. I saw a team that still can't tackle -- Diontre Earl doesn't have the first clue (still) about wrapping his arms around a player -- he thinks they should just fall down when he hits them. They over pursue -- can't grasp the concept of stopping the option. (By the way Can't would have won this game going away if they woudl have stuck with the option.) They are extremely slow to the ball and the guy on defense with the biggest heart, the most will to get in the middle in a mix it up and isn't afraid of anyone is the smallest guy on defense Chevin Pace. Man is he fun to watch. The defense did have a nice stop at the 2 yard line, but lets face it what was Can't's coach thinking going up the middle twice -- the option worked all night long. How about a naked boot where Cribbs had the option to run or pass. The bend and don't break defense worked because Can't's PK missed two field goals and had an extra point blocked, period. As far as the offense goes -- get an imagination. What the hell -- run on first 90% of the time - of course you aren't going to go anywhere. Isn't it interesting that the only time we move the ball Frye threw the ball. (Aside from Biggs last run.) I still love Biggs at the RB spot -- Ringer is terrible and if he plays and we throw Frye is going to get killed. He has no idea how to pick up a blitz. To top it off he is running very hesitantly. While Ringer is moving his way to the bench please grab Morris Ellington and take him with you. Do you think Frye goes home after last night's game and says -- He Morris do you think you could have caugh one of those f*%king balls I hit you in the hands with tonight. Wow -- how come Jabari Arthur wasn't playing as much last night? Ellington must catch passes in practice because I can't figure out why he wasn't playing. Hixson is solid and Frye -- although running for his life most of the night -- looked solid (not his best performance) tonight. The OL had a hard time of it in the first half and got mildly better in the second half, but then again Frye was throwing more in the second half and Akron was moving the pocket more -- so maybe they didn't get better at all. Special Team -- punt coverage When you give up two special teams touchdowns to two lower level Div. 1 teams in the first four weeks of the year -- maybe you are in a job over your head. Yeah -- yeah the special teams blocked a extra point and recovered a fumble -- they didn't cause the fumble they just recovered it and when your special teams is giving up TDs -- you are really in trouble. Cap'n looking at your original response last night -- I'll look forward to your follow up, but I have to agree with ZIP listening on the radio -- ugly game game with the prettier of the ugly girls going home with a win.

What a let down -- punt return for a touchdown, fumble on are own 5 yard line, fumble on their 10 yard line, dropped pass for an interception. We beat ourselves in this game plain and simple. We gave them three scores and prevented ourselves from scoring once --- that's possibly a four touchdown swing. Glad to see Chase back playing linebacker -- could be trouble if he's out for the season. Glad to see fuller back at safety -- that is the righ position for him. Great game by Montgomery and Frye. The o-line is still terrible -- how did Frank Stams say they were the players of the game? What game was he watching? Brett Biggs is a stud -- Ringner played way too much -- he's far too tentative and Biggs second effort, tackle breaking and spinning were really impressive. Jabari Arther looks great at WR and Hixson looks strong too -- I think these three wide receivers are more than I expected. I liked the way the defense played in the second half (for the most part) MTSU adjusted to the blitzing that was stopping them and Akron forgot to adjust back. Too bad we can't get a pass rush unless we blitz -- when they went to nothing but screens they busted the blitz. One thing I hate about college football -- pass intereference is only a 15 yard penalty. I've always thought it was and the db who got burned from MTSU on the 50 yard bomb made the play of the game by tackling our WR. Speaking of the 50 yard bomb -- how did Frye get the ball down field so perfect like that running to his left and not even stopping to set his feet -- WOW! Someone is going to have to explain to me what happened at the end of the game. Seems like it was either a dead ball foul which would have meant we should have got 17 seconds back on the clock or we should have had to use a time out because the clock can't stop with a foul on the offense -- if you were out of time outs you'd just jump offsides. OH YEAH and last play of the game -- who the hell was our offensive coordinator trying to fool with play action? C'mon who was he trying to freeze? All in all there was a large improvement over last week -- PSU isn't as good as they think -- BC is winning 21-7 right now and they don't look that good. Although it's going to sound ridiculous if this team can get better again -- they may still have a shot in the MAC -- the MAC looks pretty bad this year. Sorry I didn't stop by the Zippy on a stick -- got their late and parked by the red garbage can --

I hate to keep flushing back to what Urban Meyer did at BG, but if you don't think he turned a pile of shit into a crown roast with all the trimmings -- you're high. It can be done. Gary Blackney from 1995 to 2000 went 5-6, 4-7, 3-8, 5-6, 5-6, 2-9. Urban Meyer got there and promptly went 8-3 and 9-3 -- then he left and his recruits went 11-3 with a new coach. It can be done -- this week will tell us more than last week ever could.

I'm in -- trying to figure out who's coming with -- I'll try to park near or stop by the Zippy on a stick.

Institute Academy what the hell does it matter -- how many times do you read The University of Akron even though that is its proper name. Most refer to it as Akron U -- you apparently new what I was talking about. Why don't you offer something to the conversation? How about your opinion or are you devoid of putting thoughts together.

I was thinking the exact same thing -- in the end the Zips only have to win their half of the conference to play in the MAC Championship game in Detroit, December 2nd. The entire MAC won four games so far - Tennessee Martin, Virginia Military Academy, Indiana State and Buffalo. Unfortunately the Zips lost to PSU and soundly - fortunately we don't have to play them every week. Beat MTSU this week and start things out on the right foot. I'm looking forward to this weeks game and finding out where the Zips stand for real. I hope last week wasn't indicative of the future - I hope Charlie and JD don't let it.

I'm done thinking about the game. Glad I decided to stay home and go to the "W" rally this morning in Lake County. At least the president spoke in the rain and didn't disappoint like the Zips. Wow -- do you think the Zips did any tackling drills this year? How bad was the tackling? The best hit of the day Earl on Hunt -- the tv guys couldn't stop talking about it -- guess what he got five more yards because Earl forgot to wrap up. Tell me -- how do you come to a school where your best player is a linebacker and you decide -- you know we should move him to DE so he'll be completely non-existent. Nice move new coaching staff. Another thing --- 3-4 -- huh? Ummm that didn't work. Frye didn't look too bad -- his lone long pass was severly underthrown and the receiver was open. To be honest with you -- it looked like the same shitty coaching staff as last year -- shitting down their leg. How about that -- we might as well have kept Owens. This team was as ineffective as the team that last 77-27 last time we were there. Brookhardt slept in his office for this? How bad would they have been if he went home? I know it's one game, but these guys weren't even in the same league. Can't lost by less to a far better Iowa team. BG lost by less to the no. 2 team in the country. Here's the positive I take from this --- JD's first game. JD obviously needs to get his own players in there -- an o line that has played that long together shouldn't suck that bad. These guys are not very good. It's going to be a long season. I don't like to make predictions because they are most often negative and often come true so I'm just going to go to sleep wake up tomorrow and hope next Saturday comes quick to get these thoughts out of my head.

It seems as if everyone agrees the MAC is the best place for Akron to be at this time and I can't really argue with you, but the key is how do you strengthen the conference going forward -- not that you've lost your biggest dog in the fight. Say what you want about Marshall they did bring the level of play up in the MAC and recognition. I don't think the conference can afford to go backwards at this time. I do understand the whole cyclical thing about the MAC, but if the time isn't right to drop Buffalo from the conference now --- when is? I really think a smaller conference might benefit the MAC immensly. Another thing that would benefit the MAC is getting the ADs together and mandating no Div. 1AA or Div. II schools on the shedule. For every big win there is always that one small school beating a MAC school to take away from it. This year's OCC for the MAC schools is not bad: Miaimi -- Indy State, Michigan, Cincy BGSU -- Okalahoma, SE MO St., Temple NIU -- Maryland, S. Illinois, Iowa State Marshall -- Troy, OSU, Georgia UT -- Minnesota, Kansas, Temple UCF -- Wisconsin, WVU, Penn State OU -- VMI, PItt, Kentucky EMU -- Florida, E. Illinois, Idaho Can't State -- Iowa, Liberty, Rutgers WMU -- Tenn. Martin, Va Tech, Illinois BSU -- Boston College, Purdue, Missouri CMU -- Indiana, Michigan State, Se MO St. Buffalo, Syracuse, Nevada, Connecticut The goal for Rick Chryst should be to secure a Conference USA/MAC opening week match up. Every Conf. USA school plays a MAC school the first week -- make them put their money where there mouth is. I know it won't pay the bills as much, but the possible rep enhancer is huge -- do the same thing with the Moutain West. Sit down after the season with their ADs each year -- determine the following year's favorites and match them up accordingly. Use some unbiased prognosticators to help if you like Example: If you took this year's preseason rankings on FoxSports to make the match ups your first week would look like this: Miami (28) vs. Louisville (18) BGSU (36) vs. TCU (35) NIU (55) vs. Memphis (39) Marshall (65) vs. UAB (47) UT (67) vs. Southern Miss (59) Akron (86) vs. Cincy (60) UCF (89) vs. Tulane (74) OU (95) vs. East Carolina (77) EMU (100) vs. South Florida (83) Can't (103) vs. Houston (84) WMU (104) vs. Army (107) These games are alredy happening with lowe echelon Div. 1 schools why not put some meaning behind it. I'd love to see any number of these games -- you could bill it as some kick-off classic type of thing every year. You could draw media from both conferences to the press conferenc to announce the match ups for the following year.

I know it is always believed the MAC gets a raw deal when it comes to bowl games, but if you look at the SOS numbers for this year -- the arguments legs are going to be weak. The highest ranking MAC school this year is Ball State at 80. Akron comes in smack in the middle of the pack at 96 --- whil Can't State has the worst with 109. Virginia is our highest ranking SOS school at 21 and Penn State comes in at 38. MTSU does us no favors at 114 nearly the end of the list. All this does is underscore the importance of the PSU and Virginia games every year --- a victory helps Akron and any other MAC school's cause immensly. Every year MAC schools pull off these wins (except Akron) and get respect. My question is this -- would Akron be better off being an independent? I know the ability to play in a conference is huge, but if you think about the scheduling you could put in place if you weren't in the conference. If you wanted to schedule MAC schools for some of your games - you could. Perhaps you could then pick and choose which ones you schedule -- home and home. Point being -- you wouldn't have to play the EMU, CMU, Buffalos and Ohios of the world. You could schedule BGSU (down this year), Toledo (down this year) etc. You could fill in with the big dogs of the world and get yourself a more respectable schedule with a higher SOS. The second question is -- what happens when Marshall and UCF leave the conference -- they are ranked 3rd and 4th in SOS for the conference this year. If you replace them with an MTSU (which I've heard talk) you get worse. Maybe you can two to four more teams and make a one league conference. If they did that would Akron be one of the teams left? I would guess our ultimate goal should be to get out of the MAC unless the rules change and teams are forced to play home and home with the lowe Div. 1 schools. Last thought -- will we even be Div. 1 after this year -- can we average 15,000 fans? Is it tickets sold or bodies in seats? I don't think the NCAA has come up with the penalty yet -- I would have thought it would have been moving you back to the previous division, but I read some where they weren't sure yet. 8 days till kick-off!