MDZip

Boy, it's all perception, isn't it? NIU jumped up 20 spots (and is now ranked #25) by beating a bad Purdue team (who they have now ranked 89th).

Go Explorers!! Always liked that name with the school tie in (as well as Revere Minuteman - but as they were in our league we would pronounce it Minoot - men). When I was on the JV wrestling team as a freshman the Varsity team got new warmups and we were supposed to get their old ones, but when they came in we got them because they had it spelled Explores (maybe the french version?) but the school got some big discount because of the mistake. Ah, high school sports.

As disappointing as it is to lose week after week, this team isn't that good yet, but I believe they are much better than in past years it just isn't showing up in wins and losses yet. That was a damn tough opening schedule, UCF almost took out #12 South Carolina, Michigan is Michigan (although I do not think they stay in the top 25 at the end of the year, even though they have a soft schedule, did you see what Buffalo did the Connecticut a week after Michigan struggled with them?), Louisiana didn't play this week but they haven't looked too bad to start and then we probably the #1 and #2 teams in the East and then NIU who is #23 in the AP poll (tehy'd beat Michigan right now and they just pummeled Purude) coming up. That's a rough start and the Zips could be looking at a 1-6 start. It gets much better after that, I believe the Zips are superior to Miami, Can't State and UMass. It's going to get worse before it gets better but the team (and coaches) have not quit, they are still playing their hardest every single game and that's all I can ask for right now. The wins will come, just continue to fight every week. We will upset somebody along the way here (could even be this week). On the bright side we haven't even been mentioned in the Bottom Ten yet. And I think the MAC might have a vested interest in NIU doing well again. Their crossover games are Akron, Can't and UMass.

I hate that the Zips open with the Falcons as I believe they will win the MAC East East this year (I also hate that OU gets a week off before we get them next week but that's a topic for next week). I think the Falcons win this one handily 35 - 17. So ZN.O what say you for this week?

Wasn't this originally a UA/OSU soccer game thread?

The best site I know for football statistics is NCAA.com, they have a lot of that kind of data. You will need to select sport and divsion on the left side of the page. Did not see Mizell and I know they don't have it to the depth of each players snaps but it might help some. Freeman, March and Holmes are listed among the tackling leaders, Justin March is tied for 5th in interceptions per game.

I think we're starting to understand why you are so tolerant of athletes smoking pot.

Poor Browns - can't even get tanking the season right.

It was a good game - look forward to the rematch next year.

Disappointing loss yet again but still some improvement. Lousiana may well win the Sun Belt which isn't that much different than winning the MAC. There are definitely three more victories on the schedule, I can feel it. The Zips are going to run over somebody in the MAC in one of the remaining weeks.

I have been on a lot of campuses and I will tell you it is amazing how many schools have train tracks that run through them or beside them - Villanova has two that criss cross right beside campus, JMU has railroad tracks and is bisected by an interstate highway. Akron's is just a little less obvious since the tracks are sunken. I can only assume since many of these schools were founded before cars and interstate highway systems it may have be intentional to locate them close to a railroad to get students to and from school.

I think you are overrreacting - give the poor girl a break. Its her job now and she works for Fox Sports OHIO. She is also seen wearing Zips, Indians, Browns and whatever the Ohio team is by the green bug at the top (I only know it's Ohio by the fact it incorporates the Ohio flag), so she should represent Ohio sports. Now if she is ever seen wearing a Can't shirt ...

I love our team but if we have two potential NBA draft picks, we better at minimum be a top 25 team and probably an elite 8 team. Both are excellent players but if by high pick, you mean in thre first round, I just can't see it, there are a lot of excellent players out there. I'd love it but I'm not convinced yet.

What? There were buildings on that campus?

I'm highly encouraged from last week, but Louisiana is a very good team. The Zips come so close again but can't quite get over the hump - this week. Louisiana 35 Zips 32

Living so far to the East I don't suspect I will ever get a chance to see the Zips at every MAC stadium, so while I was in Michigan (among other things) I did a little trip to the stadiums I had yet to visit, so now the only ones I have not seen are Ball State and UMass so not having personally seen their campuses, I'll have to leave them out. I really felt bad for EMU, their campus and stadium weren't too bad but they are literally ten minutes from UM, so I can't see them ever being able to gain much momentum. CMU and WMU are each around an hour from Lansing and MSU so they're a little better but still a tough geography. We think we have an Ohio State problem? Anyway, my opinion on the MAC stadiums that I have seen. 1. Akron 2. Toledo 3. NIU 4. CMU 5. Ohio 6. EMU 7. Buffalo 8. Bowling Green 9. Miami 10. WMU 11. Can't As far as the campuses themselves go 1. Ohio 2. Miami 3. Can't 4. Bowling Green 5. NIU 6. Akron 7. Toledo 8. CMU 9. EMU 10. Buffalo 11. WMU So the combined rankings are: 1. Ohio 2. Akron 3. NIU 4. Toledo 5. Miami 6. BGSU (tie) 6. CMU (tie) 8. Can't 9. EMU 10. Buffalo 11. WMU

Not so fast my friend. What in the world has happened to USF? 0-3 with a road loss to Michigan State (expected) and home losses to (are you kidding me?) FAU and McNeese St - and neither game was close - with a roadie coming up at Miami (FL). I'd much rather be the Zips than the Bulls right now.

And who knocked off Temple this week. When do the calls for Joe Moorhead's return start? And Temple might just regret leaving the MAC, well at least they can point to all their championship hardware like Marshall could when they left the MAC, of wait, that's right, in their years in the MAC Temple never even made it to the MACC.

Correct, that was the very beginning of the game, that section filled in pretty well (but not completely) after the game got going. Everyplace else looked full. Announced attendance was 107K and I'll bet they actually had 100K actually there. Shot from later in the game of the same area.

Bleacher Report's recap of the game. How much money could you have gotten on a prop bet that any Akron player would get voted player of the game? Pohl got 64% of the vote. And down in the comments section someone gives us credit for being the fifth best team in the MAC. Before the game I would have happily taken that. Now I'm not so sure.

I know some people were curious about this, it appears the Zips got $900K to play in Michigan. If we keep playing well like this, we're not going to get those nice paydays any more.

This looks like a wide open year, but the Zips have slipped from 7th to 15th in the latest NSCAA poll.

Hoping after this weekend, we can just refer to them as Lose-iana.

Sorry for being a little late to the party, stayed up that way a couple more days. I'll try to give my impressions of being there without duplicating too much of what has already been said and I have posted some pictures from my view of the field. And UA1987, I was too late with my similar joke, I was going to say LT Smith should be promoted from LT to Major. Day late and a dollar short. Obviously both an awesome and awful day at the same time. I actually was tailgating with some Michigan fans who were polite but obviously didn't give the Zips any chance (they were a little humbler after the game) and I did hear a comment on the way into the stadium that that person expected about a 100-0 score. There was some real respect earned by the Zips Saturday. By the way Zips fans at the top of the stadium, during the big Zips plays, because the stadium went slient, you were heard. I was right behind the Zips bench and that was a great place to be, you could really sense the Zips confidence building as the game went on. Zips were outmanned to some degree as Michigan rolled up a lot of big plays on them (and the score likely would have been a lot different without four Michigan turnovers), but that was the great thing. No matter what happened I always saw confidence from the Zips players that they were not done. At the end of the game I saw (I think it was CJ Mizell) gathering the defensive players after the Zips took the late lead imploring to "Do our job since the offense has done theirs." A linebacking core of March, Turner and Mizell is damned good, and I was very impressed with the D-Line putting so much pressure on Gardner. Also give major props to the O-Line for the protection they provided. Funniest looking play of the game was a punt team formation where Moses McCray and Fransohn Bickley were side by side on the D-Line. Apparently the play was to have McCray occupy the blockers and let Bickley slip in beside him. It came pretty close to working. Anyway here are some of the better pics: Beginning of the game Play under way Pohl back to pass Timeout Beginning of a play Pohl steps to the line Shot of the Zips Rooting section up by the flags (including the two Zips fans that were the only ones that I could find within 50 rows of me). Zips celebrating Zips take the lead late in the 4th!! This would be my avatar if the score had held. Some very concerned Michigan fans. I also had a good shot of when the Zips got intercepted in the end zone but it shall never see the light of day. I had video of the last three Zips plays in hope I could capture dead silence in that stadium (except for a few hundred Zips fans), but it wasn't to be. Great, great experience, now Zips, build on it!

They explained this at the game. Hoke calls any game that starts at noon a "glazed donut" game because of the early start so he bought the students glazed donuts (400 dozen of them). So happy I made the trip up, so disappointed and yet so proud of that team at the same time. I think it bodes well for the Zips especially with UCF knocking off Penn State. I now think JMU should be happy with how well they hung with the Zips. I am very encouraged for next week. Do I see light around a corner?