MDZip

Not going to beat WMU when you lose interceptions on penalties

I hear you too :), and I'd love a little more recognition for a program that has made at least the conference semifinals for a decade and more often than not the finals, but in those ten years the MAC has sent six different champions to the NCCAs. That's still pretty wide open.

I thought it was a fair preview with a lot of the "usual suspects" named. In the college basketball pecking order Akron and the MAC are still considered small. And even with Akron near the top for ten years we've still only won the tourney three times so I think its also fair to call it a wide open league. Could this finally be the year to win an NCAA tournament game? I think its within the realm of the possible.

After traveling to Akron, the Broncos next four games are EMU, Ball State, Kent and Buffalo. Not exactly murderers row. They can afford a loss. #sinktheboat

He's such a humble guy too. Think we all knew what he had in him but this?! I think any talk of moving him to safety has disappeared. Nice ESPN piece on him and that was before last nights game. Selected in the fifth round by San Diego this season, Brown was taken with an eye toward depth at his position, along with an ability to contribute on special teams. But with Manti Te'o suffering an Achilles tendon tear in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, Brown was thrust into a starting role and told to sink or swim. So far, Brown's doing the backstroke. Through five games, Brown leads the Chargers in tackles (28), is tied for tackles for loss (4) and also has two sacks, a forced fumble and five pass breakups. So now make that 42 tackles, 5 TFL's, 3 sacks and two forced fumbles. Funny thing is the article says he fits the mold of leaner, more athletic linebackers patrolling the middle which was the exact knock on him out of college. And with him being good at defending both the pass and run he hardly ever leaves the field.

They certainly did on his back to back sack and forced fumble. :-) I believe the Chargers are very happy with their fifth round pick. :-)

I'd like to be upset at the BJ for being incorrect (maybe they just mean at Infocision) but I think our own Sports Information Dept. is also wrong. They are missing our game at OSU in 2011 where they were ranked #18 in the preseason poll. I think this also helps point out the big disparity in almost always having to play away games against ranked opponents. The only two we ever got at home were a victory and very close loss. So I'm going with another close loss. WMU 45-38.

Wish I would have known this when we were playing Wisconsin but Akron had a bit part to play in the Wisconsin tradition of playing the song "Jump Around". Controversy briefly followed in 2003, when Richter, then the athletics director, asked for the song not to be played in the home opener against Akron because the stadium was under construction, and he feared the shaking could be dangerous. Outrage reached such high levels that Chancellor John D. Wiley was forced to step in. He announced "Jump Around" could be played the next week during a home game against UNLV after a study determined the building would remain structurally sound. So the last time that Wisconsin did not use that song at a home game was against the Zips. Fear the Roo.

Turnovers - WMU hasn't had any and that may be the one big thing that can tip the game balance. You can row the boat as hard as you want but it won't make a difference if there's a hole in it. Loved the hashtag zipsoutsider #sinktheboat

And #22 in the ESPN Power Rankings. How sweet would that be to knock them off at home? Man I hope Woodson, Ball and Natson are ready to go.

Seeing it close up makes me appreciate even more the difficulty of the one handed Wolf touchdown catch.

Would happily give that touchdown back for Natson to be okay

Do we start calling him tractor Traylor-Bennett yet? :-)

I'm thinking this Natson guy was a pretty good offseason pick up :-) And Chapman has been pretty impressive.

You know a lot of people don't love the Z only logo - wonder if it would be possible to make something with a similar A and the current Z aligned with the top of the Z going across the center of the A. Then we could say The University of Akron - we have everything covered from A to Z.

Love that they're doing it as a tribute to Dennison. I like the look too.

Wow. Think I might just pull back on my letting people know he attended Akron. How disappointing.

Hustle Belt is usually a pretty reliable source but I don't know who provided them the information that the Zips defense "is one of the best in the conference". I do expect the Zips should win this game. And if we can get a few of our injured starters back (especially Woodson) I think it should come down to the final game of the year against Ohio. Nobody in the East scares me but everybody in the west does.

Loved it. Thanks for taking the time to put all of that together even without your star photo-journalist to help. Love getting the perspective from someone who was there for one I am not able to attend myself. Pretty incredible game.

Also not bad, Ulysees Gilbert III named MAC East Defensive player of the week. Defensive Player of the Week: Akron LB Ulysees Gilbert III Akron sophomore linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III (Ocala, Fla.) led the Zips’ defense with a career-high 16 tackles, including a career-best 10 solo stops and a career-high 3.0 TFL, in the 31-27 Wagon Wheel victory at Kent State. In just the fifth starting appearance of his collegiate career, Gilbert record double-digit tackles for the fourth time this fall. After five games, Gilbert is the Zips’ leading defender with 55 tackles, including team-bests of 31 solo stops and seven tackles for loss. He has two sacks and five hurries. Of course the irony here is that our opponents QB was named offensive player of the week

Chapman called out as Ryan McGee's backup QB of the week in his ESPN weekly Flipping the Field Column: Frank Reich Backup QB Of The Week Award: Tra'Von Chapman, Akron. Just prior to kickoff Chapman was informed that starter Thomas Woodson would be sidelined with a sore shoulder. It all felt a bit serendipitous as Chapman would be taking the field at Kent State. In 2013, when he was a player at Pitt, he was arrested in Kent, Ohio, for allegedly assaulting an ex-girlfriend. The former four-star Kent Roosevelt High School prospect pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, spent several nights in jail in his hometown, was dismissed from Pitt and bounced from Division II Ashland to Akron to play for Terry Bowden, where he became the starter and then lost the job. Chapman fired a 43-yard strike to set up the game-winning touchdown as the Zips defeated Kent 31-27. "There are guys who make headlines for the wrong reasons and never get it turned it around," Bowden said late Saturday night. "But there are also kids who work hard to right their wrongs. This is one those of stories."

Even better since he's actually from Kent.

With as many good receivers as we have I always feel most confident when the ball is in the air heading toward Wolf. And a bunch of us owe Chapman an apology. :-)

I think Van Edwards could have run all the way back to Akron there and not been caught. Good to see Chapman playing a lot better

At least Kent States kicker gave us a laugh by tackling the wrong guy on the kickoff :-)