zipboy

The big question is where the Beacon pony up gas money for DL to make the trek to Athens? I put odds at 50/50.

I look for the game to be moved if it is on ESPN or not. They will at least make it a Saturday night game if not Friday not.

Gotta complain about something. I have the game taped and have not seen it yet. But compare the 2 stories in the Beacon and PD. Beacon DL does a great job with the story capturing the excitement of the night and what a great ball game it was. I hear him on Monday night on the Joe Dunn show, and he really sounds pumped about the game and how Akron is really acting like a bigtime program. 3 paragraphs into the article, he has OU's record way off. So I give him credit for effort and he is way better than Jason Butler was. Then I remember his employer. The sad thing is if this game was at Marshall, we would have been reading an AP story about it in the Beacon. What are the odds they actually give DL gas money to go to Ford Field for the MAC title game if we are there? And how do they F up the adverstisement listing the game at the wrong time? Either they are that incompetant or they seriously do want to sabotage Akron athletics. PD. I have pretty much stayed quiet on Elton. I used to love him but after the Owens firing noticed a negative slant in his articles. How disappointing was his article Saturday. Yes what Marshall did to lose the game was a big part of it , but how many key plays did Akron make to win this game? A brief mention or none at all about it. While DL captured the feel and excitment of the night, I had a feeling that Elton already had his article written, had to tear it up, and pieced together whatever. And where is Roger Brown? No mention of Charlie Frye being in the final 9 for the Unitas award. Any mention in the next week or 2 about the biggest freaking win in Akron history and how maybe Rog was a little off in his preseason criticism? And on that front how about Terry Pluto saying gosh I liked Lee Owens but with what I now see, I was wrong, it was time for Lee to move on and JD Brookhart has been amazing.

I think for the bottom of all of all our hearts. THANK YOU AKRON ZIPS! This game will go down as the one that changed the face of Akron football and everyone associated with the program played a part in this. This is the beginning of greatness. I am sure that everyone will post recaps in the coming days, bu when a play needed to be made, it was made. When the ball had to bounce our way it did. Akron put itself in position to win by doing the little things. 2 minutes left, we call one of our precious timeouts because the line up for the onside kick did not look right. Swiger then goes the other way and we get it. OLine protected well all night. Biggs goes down, Ringer comes in and has some nice carries. We all know that Marshall blundered it up at the end. But how many times has Akron outplayed someone and lost? Heck, columbus state probably should have lost 6 games the year they won the national title. Congrats to a legitimate 30K crowd and the 6K or so who stayed until the end and believed. Man if I am a high school kid, what a place to go to. State of the art facilities, a coach who in all likliehood will be here for the next 3-4 years, being part of building something big. What QB in his right mind would want to play for that anemic offense in columbus? Charlie played big time and again and the receivers came through at the end. The D made a couple of key stops when it counted. I heard Mike Waddell on the post game call in show where the phones were lit up by the way. One great comment, he said Sparks and Cherry told the team about winning against Marshall 2 years ago and then losing at OU. Similar situation this time although for a whole lot more on the line. Waddell said that is the difference from the past, this team has the discipline and character to not have that happen again. Final note, I saw a few Marshall people after the game and they were very gracious. One guy even called in on the post game show to congratulate Akron. I have never been to Marshall, but everyone I met up here has been great and I wish them well in CUSA. I still think they are making a mistake. I also think the rest of the league has caught up to them and if they stayed, there would be no dominance just like the last 2 years. Enough on them, thanks again Akron, you made all of us so proud!

Control the ball, no turnovers, play within yourselves, and solid special teams. 21 hours til kickoff. Should be a great game. It is time for Akron to shine. Watch out for Reggie Corner tomorrow. I think he steps up big.

Great job UAM, we appreciate your efforts. Are you with us for the goalpost? We need some size.

It doesn't matter if there are 2 people in the stands, this is Akron's time.

Zips will go as far as the OLine takes them. As CK said above, we need to control the ball and the clock. 4th quarter 2 years ago you knew that Hendry was going to get it everytime. It did not matter. OLine just knocked them off the ball. Run right at Goddard, you gotta run at speed. Biggs plays the whole game. I don't see Jerrell getting a carry. Akron has had 2 weeks to prepare, gotta go with the horses. I wonder how much Rick Chryst is praying for a Zip win. NIU has taken over the banner as one of the best programs in the league. A Zip win helps the program finally take off. With the size of the surrounding area, a winning program will consistently draw 20K+. Going to pop in the old VCR the game from 2 years ago. Come on Zips, get it done. We want columbus state in the Motor City Bowl!

Marshall is probably saying the same thing now. I think the combined record of teams that we beat is something like 4-30? Marshall beat the same teams and OU. They played much better OOC. But we are a different team than we were in Sept.

Mrhred05, good point about the stats. The last 3 weeks, the D has really come together. They have given some points at the end in all 3 games. They also give up yardage but they seem to make big plays. Granted the last 3 games were vs FUC, Ball State, and Buffalo, not 3 world beaters. You guys have a tremendous D and a poor offense. I think that our D can hold you down and I look for a low scoring, close ballgame. Our special teams is playing well, so I like our chances. As the post above said though, we are downright giddy right now. Should be a hardfought game.

Can we get Shippy to come back up? CK, I will stop over.

Zips rifle owns columbus state. What is that , 3 years in a row?

Calling tomorrow for tickets. I am bringing a group of 20. 2 questions, one guy is bringing his RV down to tailgate. Any restrictions on parking, special lots or does he just go in with the normal cars by the old practice field? I thought they has some restrictions this year. 2, I assume that we can get in around noon and the lots will be open? Planning to make this an all day thing. Zips win, who is with me for taking down the goalpost? There was an AD, I think it was CM Newton a few years ago when asked if he was upset that the students tore down the goalpost after they upset someone big. He replied, "Hell no, if I wasn't 60 years old, I would be there with them." We are all a bunch of old farts, but I think we can take them.

And I like our chances. This is the start of something special and it continues Friday night. Marshall has more talent, they have the stats as Mastodan points out, they have played in the big games. Our last big game was Marshall 4 years ago. Yet I like our toughness and look for a tight game on Friday. The Zips are finding ways to win. Comparing comparable opponents in FUC, Buffalo, and Can't, Marshall is only beating them by 1 TD more than us. The greatest gift from the Lee Owens era was beating Marshall 2 years ago. That I actually saw it with my own eyes tells me that we can play with and beat those guys. All MAC QBs generally win the big game when it counts in the MAC. And we have the big one for once. Special teams rocks, the D is playing well enough to win. It is going to be a special night. For the first time ever if we are up by 3 with 2 minutes left and Marshall takes over at their own 35, I have faith that the D will hold. A national spotlight in front of 30K+ for 1st place, this is one of those once in a decade type moments that can spur the program on to visibility and greatness. Someway, somehow, this team will "sac" up and get it done. Mastodan, hope to see you at the game. You seem like a cool guy. Zips 24 Marshall 14. For once I feel like my head and heart are in synch.

I saw the kid play once this year vs Chardon. You guys hit it right on the nose, great athlete that plays QB. He has a strong arm but has not played much QB. He is a kid that will play somewhere though. A nice pick up for the Zips.

Tommy G had me rolling tears down my eyes in laughter. All I remember him saying is "Can't State (2minutes of laughing) blows it again (1 minute of laughing). Josh Cribbs throws 3 (chuckle) 3 (chuckle), 3 interceptions (2 minutes of laughing)" then cut to the commercial. On the other notes above, so happy that we beat FUC. Knight 04, you seem like an ok guy but the last 3 years there have been some pretty big aholes from FUC over here. Marshall leaving the MAC is a big loss. They did a lot for the league and raised the whole league up. FUC has been an embarrasment and I say good riddance to rubbish. You have a good post above, given the money that you are pouring into the program, you should start winning and fairly quickly.

Can't will give a better game than expected, but they will implode somehow. If they had decent special teams, they may have won 2 more games. Offensively everything revolves around Cribbs. Keep him contained, and they may not even score. Defensively, I don't know stats but I like their secondary. You should be able to run on them. It is supposed to rain all day too which may neutralize your superior talent. Marshall wins 20-10.

1-4 playing another 1-4 team will do that. Even if the Zips split the next 2, I think we get 25K plus for Marshall. That will put us at about 15K heading into Miami. I still don't see this 15K rule taking effect. No one has said this is a do or die year. Based on the rule, if Akron goes, so goes Purdue, MTSU, and TBA. I worry more about attendance from the point of growing the program, building a fan base, and getting more money.

Agreed, a nice win. 3 key areas where the Zips struggled played well, the running game, special teams, and pass protection. Frye might have got touched once maybe twice all night. The O Line stepped up. The play for me that summed the game up was on Hixon's kickoff return for a TD. Dixon is still running interference at the 5 yard line for Dominic. Good execution, playing hard, and playing smart. Big one on Saturday. How about a brass knuckle exit out of the MAC?

Correct Captain, he is Jerrel's uncle. He is one of the top RBs in the state and plays at Dayton Chaminade. JJHuddle.com likes him a lot. He could be our starting RB next year.

Some lively posts this week. The best thing about the NIU game was the half time interview with Rich Reliford. Nice job Joe Dunn. Glad to see Rich is coming back for the Marshall game. If there ever was an overachiever, it was him. Deep down, I was hoping JD would have pulled off a miracle and led the Zips to a championship. Reality has now set in after the 1st month of the season. Our talent level across the board is jus not where it needs to be. To JD's credit, I have never heard him bad mouth the players for talent level. I remember when John Cooper started at columbus state, he bemoaned what he inherited. It showed his character right away. JD always talks about fundamentals and learning the system as what Akron needs to work on. Who knows what he really thinks. That said, the team is still underperforming from where they should be. I am sure a brand new system has something to do with that. Bad habits are also hard to break. Missed tackles, blown coverages, missed blocks have been all too commonplace. The league is still pretty piss poor this year. Another 3 or 4 wins are entirely possible and should be expected. I will still have fun going to the Bowl watching Frye and hopefully seeing some players develop. With respect to Frye, it is hard to judge this year. He is big enough, has the desire, had a good arm, and is smart. If he plays well at the combine, he will do fine in the draft. Last year I heard everywhere from 3rd to 5th round. Given that MAC players always slip, he probably would have been a late 4th or early 5th round pick. If he stays injury free, he does not hurt his chances. Last question, is the O Line or the receivers or both who are helping Frye get beat up. Sometimes on the 3 step drop, people just bust right through. Other times, it seems that Charlie holds the ball for a long time. Given what I have seen him do in the past, I have to believe that the WRs can't get open. Another question, Johnny Long loses his redshirt against VA. Is he playing? Should be a good game against Buffalo. Zips need some wins. It seemed like forever to go from 2-9 to 5-6 every year. Winning is contagious. We need some Ws over the next 3 weeks.

Per Joe Dunn on his radio show Monday night, Javon is waiting for an offer from columbus state. If he does not get it, Joe said don't be surprised to see Ringer in a Zips uniform.

This will be a good test to see where the Zips stand. NIU plays smash mouth football at its best. JD had a great comment, something like "good players, in a good system, with good coaching, who execute." Nothing spectacular but the sum of the parts are greater together. The backup RB looked tough last week. I think the Zips will play tough. NIU also does not blow many people out so it should be a tighter game than people expect. I look for the D to step up big again. The running game needs to produce as well. Any word on Frye's finger? How much will it hold him back? Go Zips!

Wow, I actually thought my post was positive, not a Owens jock sniffer type post. The D played great, I am excited the Zips won, and I like JD. However, I still think BZ made some good points about the offense. Penn State we threw 2 yard dinks. MTSU, every 1st down play was a run. Also, 3rd and 8 play actions don't fake anyone out either. Hopefully JD was planning to open things up until Frye got hurt. He did a lot better this week getting the play in on time as well. I know it is a learning process, but the Zips are too conservative right now. The running game needs a lot of work as well. I hope you are right GP1, but I don't see a strong running game as you are. The Zips have tried for 4 games to establish something on the ground and have not been able to. That worries me.

Good post BZ, I agree with a lot of what you say although you say it more directly than I do. Was the play calling changed because of Frye's injury or is that the normal offense? Biggs has cleary supplanted Ringer and played 80% of the time. Why is Arthur not starting? The O line was horrible in the 1st half and better in the 2nd. At least they started holding rather than having Frye take another shot. Special teams, except for kick off coverage and the sure hands of Hixon returning punts worries me. That said, Zips beat Can't last night! I am still on a high. And I disagree about the D. They played a very good game last night. I have never seen Akron get that much pressure on a QB. They attacked and were aggressive. The secondary stepped up big time. And the D hit people. How many times did Cribbs run the option, and a guy just nailed him as he pitched out unlike Penn State? That had to take a toll on him. Earl is helped off the field, I think that he is done for the year, and he limps back out 15 minutes later. Gonzalez who played a nice game gets thrown out, someone else steps up. When the Zips need a stop with 2 minutes left, they actually get a stop, and sack Cribbs to boot. I thought they played really well. They had an attitude that they actually were going to make a stop. I don't remember them playng that way in a long time. We now have 8 days to get healthy for NIU. A win at NIU and the Zips can still lose 1 before Marshall and be playing for 1st place. Can't is better than everyone the Zips play from here on out except NIU, Marshall, and Miami. Let's see if the offense can get straightened out next week. A few side notes, I took 10 people to the game, a few casual fans with no ties to the Zips or Can't. They could not get over the Zip band. Great job again zipsbandsman. We stayed for the fireworks and it was great hearing the band play after the game. It was all great to see the team bring the Wagon Wheel over and sing the fight song with you. It was also great to see the 7K+ Zips fans as CK predicted. Goaline stand into the Zips endzone with Akron fans going crazy. How could anyone not get chills watching that? A few other notes, I saw Lebron at the game with his entourage. I must have seen about 20-30 coeds come up to Lebron throughout the game. Man, I should have been an NBA player. Romeo had a Tarver 00 throwback jersey on. 3 female Can't student were in front of the Akron bench taunting the Zips. They had several signs one which read Cribbs is the true Heisman with a line through Frye's name. Zips go up 24-13, she is still waiving her sign, Charlie looks up and says with a smile, "Do you want me to sign that for you?" Great pre game as I drove to Can't. Jason Taylor bobblehead night for the Marshall game will be awesome. Rece Davis asking for a piece of the Wagon Wheel to be sent to ESPN studios if the Zips win was cool too. And finally, I always knew that Can't could not count. Gotta have at least 4 guys lined up on each side of the kicker for on side kicks. GO ZIPS!