zipboy

I saw Miami vs Can't earlier this year. This is definitely a winnable game. Betts looked the same as last year, still forces things way too much. We should get at least 2 picks in the game. Murphy is tough and will be hard to stop. But I like our run defense. This game tells if Akron has taken a step forward or is still 1-2 years away. I am not driving 250 miles for nothing. NO question that Akron is good enough to win. Akron plays the way that they are capable and eliminate the silly mistakes. Zips roll 31-20 in a convincing win.

I love the idea about more Biggs and Kennedy in a split backfield.

Isn't Mark Snyder their new coach? Another guy that Tressel tried to help get hired and in the Akron running. Thank goodness we got JD.

I missed the game last week due to being out of town. 3 very consistent games and 1 crapper. I think the first 3 are more indicative of this team. What worries me for this game is 1. Is Getsy healthy? If he can't go, how does Ferguson step in? 2. Can Biggs play? If not, Kennedy and one of the FR need to step up. 3. Can the D dominate? Buffalo has a solid D but the worst offense in the league. I think that we will play well but Buffalo will as well. They always give us trouble up there. ZP, I was at that game in 99 also, Buffalo's first ever in the MAC. We sweated bullets all night but pulled it out. My pick, Akron 20-6 as we hold Buffalo to 2 FGs. I am making plans to head down to Oxford, so we better win this week. Go Zips!

CMU is no slouch but we are still more talented. Zips don't take anyone lightly in the JD era. Zips win 31-17 in a hard fought contest that Akron nervously controls throughout. Crowd of 16K.

Good points. The weird thing is, the offense had long drives and ball control in the 1st 2 games. I think they took what NIU gave us last week.

Speaking of class, a great comment from Novak after the game. He said to paraphrase, "Akron outplayed us and out coached us. If there is any justice in college sports then they should have won the game." I can see now why JD always mentions wanting to build a program similar to NIU.

Great game all around, I am still catching my breath. Some thoughts 1. Hixon looks even better this year. Definitely a shot to play at the next level. Depth wise we may have the best receiving core in the league. Maybe the other team has 1 DB who is great and they can try to isolate on Hixon, but we are so solid in our top 4 that someone will be open. 2. Running game is improved from last year but we still have trouble running from under center. I still worry about getting a running first down on 3rd and 2. First and goal at the 5, I worry about punching it in the endzone without passing. Kennedy a nice fill in for Biggs. Biggs made a tremendous run in OT. Hopefully the several series where Kennedy played and Biggs got to rest made him stronger for OT. 3. It seemed like in the 1st half Getsy had to scramble a lot and in the 2nd half the line blocked pretty well. 4. Nice INT by Henry, but how long before Tate takes over as a starter and Henry is the nickel back? 5. Several nice shoe string tackles by Mackey. Rohr was all over the place. 6. Take out the last 10 minutes of the game and the D played pretty well. What happened in the last 10 minutes? Secondary is supposed to be our strength. Even when it was 42-35 I still thought the D was going to stop them. Can't say I was confident in the past. I think they will straighten things out. 7. Good to see Cloud on the sidelines. Hopefully that means he is still in school. 8. Great job Zips! CMU already won at Miami, so the Zips need to be ready to play. Our talent is better, just a matter of playing the game the way they should. MAC East title is for the taking. Go Zips!

Tight ball game, I go with the Zips. Akron wins 28-23.

Post game show Joe Dunn said to JD, "Big victory, are you guys going to savor it tonight at the hotel and enjoy this one." JD replied "Thanks Joe, but no we are going to grade this game tonight and start getting ready for Northern Illinois." Saturday will be the Zips coming out party.

I saw Miami-Can't Saturday while listening to the Zips. Miami is decent but nowhere near as good as last year. I like our chances down there. Betts looks about the same as last year. Murphy is tough. Miami also did not play as physical as the past. Can't - special teams blows, they have no running game, and never could make a play to get over the hump. They are a mid level MAC team, decent at home but can never make a play when it counts, and they will get hammered by some teams on the road. Their QB has a nice arm and is fairly mobile. The poor kid is going to get killed with no running game.

My thoughts on the game as I look forward to hearing from those who saw the game in person. 1. First time EVER I wanted the D back out there to put the game away. NIU will be a good test as they will pound the ball. Our strength is in the secondary, but Fleming will come up with something. 2. How good can Hixon be? 3. The running game worries me. Scoring in the red zone worries me. Getting a first down on 3rd and 2 worries me. 4. Best comment from the night came from Frank Stamms - "Akron out hit MTSU tonight." 5. O Line is much better than I thought. 2 straight weeks of solid play, they are for real. 6. Nice to see Akron not fade in the 4th quarters unlike past years. Conditioning is good. 7. Nice follow up from Purdue. I like the consistency and mental toughness. I thought 5-6 or 6-5 at the beginning of the year. A few people said look out. I am beginning to believe those guys. 8. Good job by Frenchie, Frank, and Joe.

If the Zips win Saturday, I think we are 6-1 heading into BG Oct 29th. Very good win yesterday against a quality team. It is good to see us not play even near perfect and still be this good. NIU is a load and one of the teams that I respect the most in the league. JD mentioned a few times last year that Akron would like to do what NIU has done and play the same way, smart, tough, physical football. A win over NIU, and Akron should crack the Captain's top 3!

A comment above said that osu is what sells papers. Isn't the Beacon at an all time low in circulation?

I will defer to you since you were at the game, and I was probably feeling better than expected. My thought was there were several plays that if they had gone our way, we could have pulled it out. We didn't and they did, and Purdue was the better team. But I go back to Penn State last year or Iowa before that and there was no good that came out of those games. I look at this game and think if we did not have the blocked punt (missed assignment), score a TD on 1st and goal from the 5, holding gets called when Purdue scores their 5th TD and we hold them to a FG, then it is a different game. Good announcing job by French, Stamms, and Dunn. You can always tell when French thinks we still have a chance. He talks faster, gets excited quicker, and is generally more enthusiastic. He was like that until Purdue went up 35-17. Anyway, thanks for the summary of the game!

If the Zips played a perfect game, they would have won. They didn't play perfect, and Purdue was about 2 tds better. This team will only get better. After the first 2 weeks of the season, MAC East is for the taking. If we get by NIU, I think that we are playing BG for the title Oct 29th. Conditioning was good, a lot of guys played, not much drop off in depth, Getsy and the O Line exceeded expectations, Purdue was not running for 8 yards every carry, it was a very good football game for 3 1/2 quarters. I still thought that we had a chance to win early in the 4th which is where you want to be on the road. Next week is key, winnable game vs a solid opponent. If the team eliminates their mistakes, they have a good shot to win. The talent is there, next week will tell if we have the mental toughness and consistency needed for a successful season. Good times are ahead. Go Zips!

Week 3 update - Igor nailed 3 FGs including a 50 yarder!

Lots of weddings and family gatherings this year. I will be listening. Planning on the trip to BG.

They will open it up as much as they trust Getsy to run things. If the lines play well, we are going to make it a lot closer than people think.

I hear from people in the KNOW that Charlie Frye's arm is weak and the Browns are souring on him. Sincerely, Roger Brown

Freaking embarrassment

Igor nailed a 32 yarder and 43 yarder last week during a win for Mentor.

Defense is too good to lose by 35.

A few observations. 1. 8 true FR on the 2 deep 2. Kevin Jackson and Antonio Samuel play their way onto the 2 deep. Weren't both walkons? 3. 2 people missing of the 8 FR, Alex Allen (redshirt?) and Balaam. In the last scrimmage McMillan had a few carries and Allen did not. Balaam had a lot of high marks early in camp. 4. Does Zak Anderson get 25 snaps on Saturday? 5. Missing from the 2 deep, Chris Brown. He did a nice job last year as a true FR in a backup role. Depth in the secondary is the most improvement from last season. 6. We are small on the DLine. Let's hope Kiki and Jermaine stay healthy.

I got my season tickets in the mail on Monday. At Meet the Team Day they gave me my bobblehead.