Captain Kangaroo

Maybe 17k announced/10k butts in seats. Hopefully we get decent weather and a real 15-20k this weekend.

He played a lot until he got injured. I would really be interested to know his status, but I don't expect to see any announcements.

Gavin returned 2 kickoffs 98 yards each for 2 TD's in Aurora's loss to Twinsburg Friday night. Also had a 17 yard rushing TD. Good night's work.

Worst referees ever.

Iowa - Iowa State this Saturday

I don't think the conventional wisdom regarding scheduling has been the Zips primary problem since they've been in the MAC. I could write a book on all the problems...I probably already have...I just need to compile my posts beginning in 1997. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Lot 9 this weekend. Weather looks to be perfect.

I would say as a G5 program you play for two things - your conference championship, and a bowl berth. If it is legal to play a cupcake, and the cupcake game counts towards bowl eligibility, you need to do it. That game automatically puts you 17% of the way to a bowl. Bowl berths are important. The $600,000 price UNLV paid for their poison cupcake last weekend is way above the prevailing scale. Historically black colleges can be scheduled for under $400k. The $1,000,000 the Zips got for Penn state pays the appearance fees for Iowa State and Pine Bluff. With some change to spare. That's a fair use of the money. The beating incurred by playing two Top 10 P5 teams in September will kill most G5 teams. Playing a smaller program like Pine Bluff after a physical Big10 team is perfect. For comparison, here are the "major" (non D1-AA) 2017 MAC opponents: Akron Penn State, Iowa State (Home), Troy BG Michigan State, Northwestern, Middle Tennessee Buffalo Army, FAU, Minnesota Kent Clemson, Marshall, Louisville Miami Marshall, Cinci and Notre Dame OU Purdue, Kansas (Home), UMass Ball State Illinois, UAB, WKU CMU Syracuse, Kansas and Boston College EMU Army, Kentucky, Rutgers, Charlotte Northern Illinois Boston College, Nebraska, SDSU Toledo Nevada, Miami FL, Tulsa WMU @ USC, @ Mich State, Idaho

Unlike last season, the Zips have 4 available QB's. Kelley and Johns were specifically added because of their college experience, and the fact that Woodson's health was/is still questionable. Bowden will be fair to Woodson, but won't hesitate to play any of the three guys behind him if he falters.

Glad we didn't schedule Howard this season

It's been a hectic Labor Day weekend. Here is the belated write up on the Zips/Nittany Lions game. Thanks to Dr. Z for taking the time on his holiday weekend to create the layout. Akron - Penn State

How much does Ball play? Does he tear through the Penn State defense like he did in his short stint against Wisconsin? Is Barkley in a ball cap on the sidelines at halftime? Does Franklin try to get him some gaudy numbers to aid his Heisman quest?

I would contend that, since the Zips have won 7 games in a regular season twice in the past 30 years, that 7 is a realistic positive expectation. If winning 7 is a letdown...there's a 28/30 = 93% chance to be disappointed. Hate them odds... The Zips play a very difficult schedule in 2017: Really tough games: Penn State, @ Toledo, @ WMU, @ Troy, Home Iowa State. If you are an Ohio State fan, that's easy stuff. But for just about any G5 program, it's damn difficult. If the Zips are a GREAT MAC team, maybe they'll win two of these games. Difficult games that I expect to win this season due to our "High OFI" include: @ Miami and Home OU. Games I chalk up as sure 2017 wins include: BG, Kent, Buffalo and Ball State. The realistic ceiling on this Zips team is 9 wins. Give me a healthy Tommy Woodson and Ball for 11 to 12 games, and it is achievable. The bowel is 5 games. That would be a repeat of the hellish 100 year injury flood of 2016. And that shouldn't happen again until... 2116. Hope my great grandson is here to type about it.

I don't know if "ooze" is the best adjective, but there's no doubt the Zips team that takes the field against Penn State will be dramatically more athletic and deeper than the one that exited the field against OU last November. Woodson is an awesome QB when healthy. And if he's not healthy, we have 3 guys behind him that can play. I rate that an Ooze Factor Index (OFI) of 89, on a scale of 0 - 100. Warren Ball is an absolute beast. And a healthy Van Edwards is backing him up. OFI of 91. WR's are completely unproven, and their chemistry with Tommy Woodson. who's reps have been limited, is a big question mark. But we have a bucket full of potential at WR. I think everyone's gonna love Williams. So I give the WR's an OFI of 51. With upside. The OL lost LTT, and is probably better for it. Deep and experienced, they're a team strength. OFI = 84 Defensive line numerically lost players, but production-wise, lost nothing. Returning are the injured Moore and Boxen. Reinke looked good at year's end last season, and made huge off-season progress (per coaches). Jamal Davis III and Gilbert are expected to give us the Marcus/Brown disruptive edge rushers we lacked last season. Josh Ward is looking great at end too. Camera and Copeland will adequately plug the middle. OFI = 81 Hauser is back at LB. And you have returning veterans Bell/Lako/Bishoff/Junius/Lloyd/Gilbert too. There's experience, depth and talent at LB. Not "Linebacker U," but certainly in the upper half of the MAC. OFI = 78. The staff says the secondary is the best in the Bowden era, and that says a lot because there have been some good ones. Jordan George isn't even one of our top 2 CB's (per the depth chart)? That's group's OFI is 96.5. Special teams - OFI = 76. Coney does a nice job returning punts. Edwards is solid on kickoffs. O'Leary looks to have improved his leg strength noticeably in the off-season. Punting has competition this year. If Gasser can't hit a long punt, there's three other kids waiting to do it. I'm bullish on this Zips team. They obviously don't match up with a Top 5 program like Penn State, but no one else on the schedule scares me. I expect 7 regular season wins and a bowl game. We'll see how it plays-out.

And a sullen Gordie Lockbaum puts the champagne bottle back in the refrigerator...

Back on September 4th 1999 the Zips played Penn State, losing 70-24. We stayed on the PSU campus Friday evening, drank way too much beer and stayed out way too late. So September 4th 2017 will mark the 18th anniversary of one of my all time greatest hangovers (kudos to Rolling Rock). Other than the evening of September 3rd, my two best memories of that trip were: Reading an absolutely excellent column in the PSU student newspaper on Zips QB Butchie Washington. It was written by Ryan Hockensmith, who is apparently now the General Editor at ESPN the Magazine. Brandon Payne "shusssshing" the crowd after he scored a TD to pull the Zips within 14-10 early in the game. You could hear a pin drop in Beaver Stadium. For fun, below are the Zips-centric highlights from that game. The Tony McCray counter-trap play will bring back some memories for the old-timers. And Payne's gesture is featured at the end.

Bowden podcast from down south

From the original post: "Wolfley’s brother, Stone, remains with the team. Their father, Dale, was a former offensive lineman with the Mountaineers, and now serves on the team’s game day staff in addition to coordinating many alumni events for the university. Wolfley’s uncle, Ron, was a standout fullback at WVU who went on to have a 10-year NFL career. "

At least he admits it's tripe.

Maverick will be missed

Practices were closed to the public. But not the media.

He participated in the August 19th scrimmage and looked fine. I'll also guess "error."

The Zips passing game is unknown right now. QB Tommy Woodson is reportedly healthy and ready to play. That would be huge for the Zips, because he is a talented senior. If receivers get open, he hits them. And he throws a nice deep ball. The receivers are mostly new, but I like them. I look for Williams to have a fantastic Freshman season. Tough to tell with Stewart, because he's been dinged up . If he's healthy, he's going to be a great one. Dixon looks really promising...Wolf and Coney are proven seniors...Chapman looks good in the slot. My only concern with our passing game is how long it will take for Woodson to shake off the rust, and how long it will take for him to develop chemistry with the new guys. I don't have any concerns regarding the actual talent. So to answer your question - If Penn State stacks the box, we have a great chance to bust some big-gainers. Our OL is a strength, Woodson is a talented vet and we have talent at WR. Our secondary is the #1 strength of the team. If Gilbert and Davis can be any kind of disruptive force in the backfield, the Zips DB's will get a pick or two. The Zips staff needs to play-to-win. If we're ultra-conservative on offense, then we'll lose 48-7. In games like this, for the smaller team to win, someone unexpected needs to break out. I'm excited to see Andre Williams and Jamal Davis III (Pitt transfer) make their Akron debuts.

Great to see Ball get the nod. The stereotype for a Power 5 transfer is they're a "mercenary" with an entitled attitude. That's the polar opposite of Warren Ball. I think for Ball to come on Akron's campus and work as hard as he's worked, and be as solid a representative of UA and he's become, is really impressive. It's cool to see his teammates feel the same way. If a player finished 2nd or 3rd to Ball in the Team Captain's vote, there's no shame in it. Ball is just a really special kid. Hope he has a healthy, kick-ass 2017 season!

Wrong station? Nevermind...taped version will play after the BBC game.

What's next...hexagon-shaped tacos? New food for Beaver Stadium.