Zip Watcher

Other game related notes: - Getsy's time to throw was unprecedented. We were asking each other during the game if the "time of possession stat" as reported on ESPN should be revised to read: NIU - 25:30 Akron - 22:00 Getsy in Pocket - 12:30 - It was a strange game in that I did find myself frustrated at times when they failed to connect on outlet screens or delay passes to the half back. At the end of the game, I was shocked to see his numbers given the times we got frustrated. Perhaps we're asking too much? - I'm going to call him Gutsey from now on. Great performance. - Everytime the NIU QB called an audible with his arms out to his sides, it was a mis-direction run to the right side (the run the right, and OL to the left). Each time the UA DLine shifted to go the way of the OLine and the LB's were caught up in it, leaving noone on the weak side. Something to work on. - Great performance by the defense when it counted. Lots of bend and don't break late in the game. The 3 and out was key. - Conditioning did appear to be a factor late in the game. The hurry up killed NIU. You could see them trying to get subs in here and there, but generally they weren't able to. Their line was really dragging by the 3rd possession of the 4th quarter, and it really showed. - Would like to see more of the Kasparek up the seam called. I think they could have really abused the NIU linebackers in the second half with that throw. - Great performance all around. I thought the coaches really got it done for the Zips. The effort was clear on both parts, play and coaching ... and they got it done. One last question (haven't seen this discussed): Do you think Novak would take that late timeout again if he had it to do over? Were his guys that gassed, and in the wrong set that he felt he needed it? With 17 seconds left, I can't help but think the TO by NIU gave Hixon the chance to get in the game and the Zips a chance to script 3 or 4 plays, where otherwise they might have only had 2 or 3 cracks at it in the hurryup. Glad they only needed one shot! Go Zips!

I have the opposite problem. I DVR'd the game live on ESPNHD. When I set up the recording, it did occur to me to bump out the end time a bit to be sure to catch the end of the game. So I bumped it to record from 7:30 to 11:00 instead of 10:30. The delayed start killed me. My recording ends at 11:00PM, right about when the Zips were starting the drive that ended in the interception, so I missed the whole point of it. I do know someone who has a DVR of the entire thing, and we will be attempting a DVD burn off in the next week or so .. I'm not sure how it will go, but if we get it sorted out, I'll post some updates.

Nice posts all .. After a couple of days letting this sink in .. some thoughts on the festivities and experience: - We went to the Detroit Beer Co. before the game to drink. Missed the notice on the UA event at Ford Field. Beer Co. was nice & fun .. we'll head there for a bit at the MCB probably. - I loved Ford Field. A HUGE upgrade from the Silver Dome and a nice place to catch the best football game I've ever witnessed in person (top 3 minimum). Our 50 yard line perch gave us an excellent angle on just about every play, and I hope we can get similar seats for the MCB. - I would guess that there were about 25-33% MORE Zips fans there than NIU. The distance difference on a weeknight took its toll on the Huskies fans, all of which I found to be enjoyable folks to be around. In the 3rd quarter I made a trek to one of the endzone sections to compare and spoke with a few ushers that said there were certainly more Zips fans. It's not like we brought 10k, but it was a nice showing by the Nation. - The NIU folks I encounterd in watering holes / casinos after the game were nice to meet. They handled what must have been a tough kick in the gut type loss with class, generally without exception. What I encountered around town was far different that what is currently happening over at the MAC boards. - Ran into the good Dr. Z, Pouch & some friends later in the night and very much enjoyed celebrating the victory with them. - This line is intended to call out any Zips fans we encountered who read this board daily, yet aren't registered and don't post. This means YOU my man BIRD! - Late night we found ourselves back at the team hotel for more revelry. I've had the opportunity to be at team hotels for other events (NCAA ... etc) but it was never MY team's hotel. This was an unbelievable experience being at the team hotel after a huge win in the post season. Got to raise some cheer with Frenchy, CK, Dr. Z. and a bunch of others. UAM made an appearance & was rightly congratulated. Truly a fun time and great place to be. Marriott was a nice lodging option. A great event and party to be at. I feel bad for those who couldn't make it, since this will be the biggest win this season regardless of what happens at MCB. Go Zips!!

I'll actually have to disagree a bit with this .. UT's campus was redone in the '80's and isn't the eyesore that we'd like to believe it is. It's generally pretty residential in nature.

These are pretty silly words from a fan of a MAC school who has been in the league for probably 4 times as long as UA. Just guessing, but hasn't Toledo been in the league for 50 years? How many Reese Trophy's does UT have? How many Jacoby? Guess what friends, the answer is pretty simple: ZERO REESE TROPHIES Same number as Akron has. Perhaps the rest of the teams in the league would also like to move the league upstream and rid themselves of a bottom feeder athletic program like UT. I'm pretty sure you speak only for yourself Rocket fan .. just in case you missed it, here are the standings from last year's Reese trophy .. be sure to look FAR down the list, you'll find your UT down there. Congrats on cracking the top 10 in a 13 team league. The following taken from this page at the Official MAC site.

See everyone at the Beer Co. On the way in a little bit.

Nice win tonight against an A10 team .. this one wont' get us into any postseason tournaments, but a loss might have hurt our chances. Good to beat the "upstream" conferences when you can .. even though I personally think the A10 is way overrated. Quick thoughts: - Nice game by DP tonight. They worked hard to get him looks and he's starting to find his stroke. Nice effort on defense and the glass by #23 also. - I thought all of the seniors came to play tonight. Nice effort on D by DP and RP and Futch found his way inside. Not sure, but I think he didn't shoot from outside 15'. - Dials can flat out play. His quickness (especially side to side) is amazing to me in that knee brace. - Several times tonight, I thought to myself that the 5 on the floor was a nice lineup that could do some damage. After the 2nd or 3rd time, I reallized the lineups were different each time. That heartens me, as KD will figure these rotations out by MAC season. Depth is nice on this team. - Never had any fears this game would get away, even when it got tied in the 2nd half. Seemed like KD was working on things with the team and then just decided it was time to put them away & it was over. - Nice crowd. AK Rowdies were active and loud at times ... Daisy Dukes cheer might not have been original, but got a laugh out of many around us. Not a huge crowd .. maybe thinned by folks that are going to Ford Field tomorrow? - I don't think they need to mic the band at halftime. I'm quite sure they can fill the JAR with Brittney Spears tunes on their own without amplification. Darn near impossible to have a halftime conversation tonight. Overall, I like what I see so far. The next couple of games will tell us a bunch about where they are. Lots of time before MAC season starts. With the 30 game slate, a 2 or 3 loss nonconference slate puts us in good position for a 20 win season. YSU blew a 16 point 2nd half lead tonight against Can't State. Damn! Moneyline on YSU was 450.

Let's go Zips Nation! Here are the opportunities we've been asking for: 2nd home game for hoops (Wed. night vs. Duquesne @ the JAR) MAC TITLE Game for Football (Thursday vs. NIU @ Ford Field) Elite 8 Match at the #1 seed for Soccer (Saturday vs. Maryland @ College Park) Where are you representing this week?

Ken Lolla's men's soccer team defeated UConn on Sunday to advance to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Next up for the Zips is a visit to Maryland to face the Terps on their turf this Saturday. They will appreciate any and all support the Zips Nation can muster as they aim to return to the College Cup for the first time in 19 years. The University of Akron's first NCAA team title awaits. They need your support. UA Athletic Department sponsored travel is available. Read about it in Mike Waddell's call to arms here at ZipsNation.Org .. AND .. At GO ZIPS .... dot COM! Good luck to Ken and the Zips as they march on!

Rise Up ZipsNation! The football team will be playing for its first MAC Championship and the 3rd for UA this fall on Thursday evening at Ford Field. This is what we've ALL wanted, what we've all been waiting for .. and now is the time to represent. In case you haven't seen the information, or you don't know who to call, below are a few links to help you: Letter from Mike Waddell: Posted Here at ZN.O .. AND ..At GoZips.Com General Ticket and Travel Information: From GoZips.Com! Information for STUDENTS: Posted Here at ZN.O .. AND .. At GoZips.Com Now about 9000 of us braved the elements to watch the Zips clinch the MAC East on Thanksgiving .. surely more than that many will enjoy nice indoor weather as the Zips battle for their first MAC Football title! Let's Go Zips!

I agree entirely about both of these points. On playing Can't in November: What better way to ensure you win the East and can move forward in the bowl season than having your annual "Stomp the Worst Team In 1-A" party at the end of the season. Teams play their rivals at the end of the season, not the beginning. If Can't State has any sack, they'll figure out a way to compete and do their best to spoil the Zips fun here and there. My guess is that they won't do that for awhile, and while BG has to deal with UT and Miami with OU .. the Zips can continue to feast on the buzzards. Let's leave it where it belongs at the end. That the game was a success: I'll admit that our group was not among the heartiest of fans in attendence Thursday. We made the fatal error of sitting on the visitor side to have great seats and at least show some people on that side. I think that side got the brunt of the wind and it was BRUTAL. We made it to half time and I lost a 2-1 vote for staying longer. The crowd was awesome for the conditions and it was a great time. Anyone who says it wasn't a success wasn't there. My father in-law, who is a BG and a UT grad came along with us, and agrees .. says he won't pass up the chance to do that again, weather or no weather. It was a cool thing to do on Thanksgiving morning. On the game: -Biggs must have had 4" spikes on .. his cutbacks were pretty impressive given the conditions. -Defense did a nice job of containing the Can't State RB's for the most part. Can't State wasn't going to have much success in the air on this day .. even though they're a "Throwing Team". - I thought that going with the wind would afford some opportunity for some short over the middle dumps to the TE position, given how many guys Can't State kept in the box, but I'm not a football coach. - I've now seen the Zips in person 3 times this season (Purdue, BGSU, Can't) and the D has gotten steadily better with each game. I'll admit that I thought Luke looked best agaist the Boilers, but the team in general has progressed nicely. I like our chances very much for a win on Thursday. Defense wins championships, and this should be a great game! Go Zips!

Most of my observations have been covered above. A few more however: - YSU is MUCH improved. Slocum has added some discipline to an athletically gifted group of players, and that combination will yield immediate returns. They host Can't State on Wednesday night, and I look for them to give the flushes everything they can handle. Props to the Pens & I hope they win the Horizon. - Quickness: YSU had it, UA did not. This will continue to be a factor this year. The Zips are just not generally good enough or quick enough to be effective in the man to man defense. As much as it pains this M2M fan, it just isn't getting it done. Being late on help and rotations leads to teams shooting the lights out like the Penguins did in the first half. I'm betting KD didn't want to crack open the 1-1-3 this early in the season, but it was needed to beat YSU. - Shooting: The Zips shoot 16.7% for the game from outside. I'll go on record today (28 NOV 05) and say that they won't shoot lower than that the rest of the season. 3 for 18 is horrid. This is a much better shooting team than that. - Futch, aka Chocolate Faulknor: I'm here to stand up for the big guy. He had a monster game on the glass in only 20 minutes of action. In the late 1st and early 2nd, he kept us in it on the glass. 13 boards in 20 minutes is HUGE. He does like the outside J a little too much .. but he got in there and banged at the glass for most of the game and had some big rebounds. - I like having Cedric on the court as much as possible. He's showing that he can provide good defense on the perimenter, and he is one of a few Zips that consistently can break his guy down and get to the rim. This Zips team doesn't have many players that can win the 1on1 battles, and Cedric is one of them. Clearly, he's not our best option from 3pt range, but I think he is our best perimeter defender and off the dribble penetrator. He'll end up playing big 2nd half minutes this year. - Dials looks for real. What will he be like in January after more work and practice? He's going to have to be on the floor .. not a guy that will sit much in crunch time. Overall a good win against a solid club. I think this kind of game is much more valuable than a 40 point win against Wooster or Mount Union. A reality check early will help. This game really illustrated the need for inside outside balance, and moving the offense through RT to get better looks outside. When you do that, 1 of 2 things will happen: RT will begin to recognize the double team and find the open shooter .. or he will simply beat his man one on one and destroy the other team inside. The latter happened Saturday and it was enough to pull out the win. Looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday. Go Zips! ZW P.S. UAM: No matter what Z-P says, your ass looks fine .. it'll look good in the AD chair also.

That's a nice short bus you've got there!

Well done! That's the spirit! That's the kind of respect for Can't State that we need around here.

Make that 2! 2-0 Zips late in first half.

Some of you guys amaze me. The Zips are standing at the doorstep of having the opportunity to play NIU for the MAC CHAMPIONSHIP. An NIU team that the Zips beat early in the season. All you can talk about is how "we'll get killed in a bowl game anyway" and "we won't beat NIU in a neutral site" and "woe is us the Zips Nation, forever doomed to be pissed upon." Wake UP and read your papers, Zips Fans! You need 2 REASONABLE things to take place, and your Zips are playing for a MAC Football title in a little over a week. You can't win championships unless you put yourselves in position to play for the championship. The ZIps are in that position for the second straight season. Let's all put our Turkey's in the crock pot and head out for a championship play in on Thursday. Gotta play the games fellas. The Zips are currently: 1. MAC Men's Soccer champs .. poised to compete for a NATIONAL Title. 2. Poised to become MAC East Co-Champs in football and play for the LEAGUE Title. 3. Picked by many to contend seriously for the Mens Basketballl MAC Title. Isn't that what we all want? Compettition at the highest level? Seems to me that's what Thomas and company have provided. Can we enjoy the ride, or should we just hunker down and wait for it to end miserably? Geeze ... reading some of these posts makes me want to rename the site EEYORE Nation.Org. One other thing:

I'll bet against that. I think that he's just not ready to go. The guy's sticking around, and he has a boat load of talent. The Zips can afford to be patient with JW, and they will because he'll play 2 years with Conyers one way or the other when this all clears up. My guess is that the team will move on for now, but that he'll be back. By mid season, he'll be a force in practice for the interior guys to bang against in prepration for the postseason. Go Zips ... ! Go Rockets ... Go Huskies ..

Need some Wood? I think the Zips do! Here's hoping the Conyers situation clears up. Get ahead in your coursework Jimmy so you can get that degree in time. P.S. ...

I'll be the first in line to say that I'm happy to hear this interim news, and hope that Mike remains a part of UA for a long time no matter what the national search yields. Keep up the nice work Mike & I'm sure we're in capable hands! ZW

What say you, Zips Nation?

I agree that it seems like a disappointing loss, but showed something of the Zips. An OT loss at the 2 time defending national champs, without your (probably consensus) All American scorer isn't the end of the world. While knowing virtually nothing about futbol strategery, it would seem that IU did control the game, given the shots on goal ratio. I guess it shows the Zips where they need to be in a couple of weeks. In basketball anyway, I'm a big proponent of the theory that teams that win the National Title usually have a late season loss to sharpen the resolve and motivation. Perhaps that can be the case here. I think there's a good chance the Zips will see the Loosiers again this month. Let's hope so! Go Zips!

I think I read somewhere that BSU got all of thier guys off of suspension in the past 2 weeks. So going into Dekalb may have been the first game that they had their whole roster available. If that's the case, they are certainly better than their record would indicate.

What's it gonna be Zips fans? Make your thoughts known!

Actually, the 17th should be the day I'm cleared by team doctors to enjoy milk of the cow variety. No more of this powdered crap. I'm very pumped.

I think I can fill a couple of seats. .. not me personally, but if I keep eating ....