Captain Kangaroo

Here are a couple truths about the Akron-area Football Fan - 1.) He's not a "football fan." He's an Ohio State and Cleveland Browns fan. 2.) He will show up if you give him El Cheapo tickets (See Acme-Zip games). Unfortunately, $3.00 tickets don't pay the bills. 3.) The Zips haven't won squat for 25 years. Expecting Joe Akron to flock to InfoCision to see 4-2 Akron play Western Michigan is like waiting for The Great Pumpkin. "But Western Michigan is undefeated and Top 25 ranked", you say? Refer to #1. If you neglect a garden for 25 years, you don't expect to be eating tomatoes 1 week after you rototill it. The crowds are what they are. The team is rapidly improving. The butts-in-seats are gradually improving. I'm confident the team, and new administration ,will continue doing the necessary things to fill the stands. But it will take a few years of consistent, hard work to overcome 25 years of abject neglect. I think Zips fans need to enjoy the 70% empty InfoCision and essentially zero game day traffic. There will come a time, probably in about 3-4 years, when you'll be bitching about the traffic and all the idiots surrounding you who don't know 1st Team All MAC Quarterback Kato Nelson from Kato Kaelin.

If there was a disclaimer like below, would you feel any better?: Louisiana-Lafayette - 18,809 - Grossly inflated Ohio (homecoming) - 19,775 - Grossly inflated It makes me sick thinking about the 12k (- actual attendance) we had last Saturday.

Perry Kitchen in the Washington Post

Marshall. And we beat them.

1.) I like the strength of WMU's defense matching up against our offensive line. If WMU can't get the pressure they're used to, we can pick apart their secondary. 2.) How nice it is to see someone write that the Zips will pose a tougher test than NIU? Yeah, is shows that NIU has dropped off this season, but it also shows the Zips have ascended. I would like to think that Woodson, Pittman and perhaps George could have played against Miami, but Bowden felt we could win the game without them. And they were dinged-up to the point where an extra week's rest would be a big help. Just my own personal conspiracy theory. I think Bowden knows beating WMU is a whopper as far as "taking the next step" goes, and he will be loaded for bear on Saturday. It should be an epic game! I know it will be better than Rob I-and-II-o's effort the last time the Zips met the Broncos (66-5 WMU, in the third quarter).

It seems like in every picture of JoJo he’s airborne. He’s probably 5 foot 7, but plays 6 foot 2. I love the pic of Kyle Ritz. He looks exactly like I’d expect him to look under the mask…a snarling, bad-ass OL. The pic of Hope just prior to the INT makes the pick all the more impressive. The receiver had position, and he still got it.

A Bronco Message Board

Can a throwback, "Moving A" helmet be far behind?!

I think it only gets better as the kids visiting UA see so many athletes they recognize from their own region. I'd think your a lot more comfortable coming to UA from central Florida when you meet 25 other Florida kids on your recruiting trip. It also is nice for parents, because trips to Akron to see their sons play are typically inexpensive, non-stop 2-hour flights.

I'll be in Lot 9. Stop over and I'll have a beer in the cooler for you. Look for a black F-150 with a Zips flag waving. Expecting a noon arrival in the lot.

Bottom 25 My favorite line (and there are a couple good ones): 24. Texas State, 2-2 (15): Beating Incarnate Word is worth about as much as beating Microsoft Word would be, Texas State.

MAC Power Rankings

I wanted to say thanks to everyone that enjoyed the column and took the time to write a note or click a "like." It was a lot of work to coordinate, but definitely worth it when I see that people liked it.

I was able to get a close-up look at Saturday's epic match up. With no Dr.Z available for photography, I tried my best to get some shots to go along with the story. Here's how it went... Akron-Kent Game Day

Another fun memory if you have 4 spare minutes.

I remember the time the Zips were up 45-7 in the 4th quarter and Jose Davis brought Kent back to within 45-35. Kent then on-side kicked, and came up with the ball. But the refs somehow gave it to Akron and we ran the clock out. Lots of crazy games over the years...

If the younger QB transfers, he was beaten-out by a better QB. Welcome to the real world. D1 football is big-boy ball, and coaches get paid to win.

Here is the 2008 Kent / Akron post game wrap up. Check out Deryn Bowser's outrageous catch. But more impressive is the Akron Student Section, at Kent, causing the Kent kicker to shank the game-tying OT field goal attempt.

While the recruiting commentary was interesting, I don't see that being anywhere in my top 100 coach's questions during Akron/Kent week.

I think he's at a Star Trek convention or something. Wait...you meant Jordan George. Sorry about that...

I think in a 25,000 seat stadium you'll find a few thousand that have work commitments, But that leaves 20,000 sitting at home playing X-Box. Have an X-Box competition at halftime. Have a competition among students leading up to game day, and the top 2 get to play each other on the InfoCision Jumbotron at halftime. Or have representative kids/teams from the various sororities and dorms play. Make it a season-long tournament. Their friends would probably show in decent numbers. Find a game with an association to whatever the band's playing. Try SOMETHING...

The new interim Dean has stopped by our tailgate at each game so far. Seems like a nice guy with a lot of positive energy. We need more key people at UA like him. Student apathy at UA is a massive ship to turn around, but it can be done. If Mike Waddell were still here, there'd be 3,000 students at each Zips home game. I guarantee it. That's where I hold out hope for Newhouse. He knows what's possible. And I don't think he's a mercenary, looking to pad a resume and move on. I'll guess he's here for the long haul.

That team that got manhandled by Western Michigan? The MAC actually has some pretty good teams right now. Better than the other G5 conferences. Toledo, WMU and CMU are top notch. The Zips offense is at that level too (the OL has improved greatly since Wisconsin). If it keeps up, I can see lower-tier Big-10 programs losing an increasing amount of HS recruits to MAC schools. The TV exposure and bowl tie ins are essentially the same (for programs like Illinois or Indiana, obviously not for Ohio State). And the chance to see the field is better.

I wonder?

Who did you watch this fall that you feel might make a great Zip? I was at the Hudson-McKinley game, and a kid named De'Shawn White was outstanding. Faster than everyone else, had great hands and vision. But he's small. Could he be the next Jo Jo Natson? Beats me. But if I'm Bowden, I get some tape and at least see if he's good enough to be a preferred walk on. Short bio and videos