Captain Kangaroo

Could he reach over the center and tackle the QB without moving? Imagine him blocking FG and XP's...

Rats...I was hoping The Armadillo would make a comeback.

So what's the difference between someone apparently ripping off a University of Houston Marketing effort, and someone taking artistic leeway with a University of Maryland Marketing idea? Or even an Austin University designer taking a creative shortcut? Just curious.....

We are all #TeamTexas

I bet Hunter Yurachek agrees.

Seems like the Zips campaign isn't the most original design in college football... No rip-off could be this blatant, could it?

Kwadarrius Smith is still listed as an "athlete." Can we pick a position for the guy? Darius Copeland is listed at 266 lbs. Wasn't he 300+ in his Freshman season? Fransohn Bickley returns for his senior season. There's a story in there somewhere... Daumantas Venckus - I liked this kid last season. I look forward to him making a bigger impact in 2016. DJ Jones from Ravenna is still hanging around? Seems like he's been here forever. Travonte Junius - 6' 3", 198 Soph. Tough to be a D1 LB at 198 lbs. Wonder if that's a misprint? Newman Williams - 6' 2", 273 lbs. Listed as a TE/LB? He was always a thick kid...but 273 lbs? Holy Moley. Hope he can stay healthy for more than a few plays this season. Hayden Grover still hanging around as a long snapper? His web site still stands as one of the all-time best. Unfortunately, I think it now belongs to the ages... At 6' 5", 302 lbs, Jelani Hamilton will either be an absolute force, or winner of the Ryan Bain award for most imposing Zips DL in street clothes. Let's hope he's healthy, and it's the former.

Nope. They were right. It didn't work, so it wasn't used. Maybe the new formula will be an accurate barometer of a team's tournament merit? That would be welcome, because the RPI was garbage.

One of the "...premier tailgate spots in NE Ohio."

Chase Blackburn Gives Back

VMI - W - Chapman gets plenty of PT in this laugher. We'll see if the positive reviews of his progress are true. Wisky - L - New OL needs more time to gel. A 4th string OSU RB behind a new Zips OL doesn't bode well. Hopefully Bowden tries to win and opens up the offense a bit. I could see a 45-24 score. Marshall - L - Winning at Marshall is tough. I don't know that we're at the level we need to be to beat Marshall on the road. Appy St. - W - The litmus test for how far the Zips have progressed. I say the Zips eek out a 42-40 win, and Lane and Natson make the difference. Should be a fun D1 college football game! Kent - W - Kent sucks, and the Zips are improving. Look for Kent to begin yet another HC search after a dismal 2016 season. Miami - W - Miami is improving, but they aren't at the Zips level. WMU - W - Broncos row their boat back to Michigan with a loss. But a lot of recruiting stars. BSU - W - No comment, other than Zips win. Buffalo - W - Buffalo hired Rob Ianello. Teams electing to hire Rob don't win. Toledo - L - Toledo is at another level of speed and depth. The Zips won't sneak up Toledo again...unfortunately a loss. BUGS - W - New coach. Big holes to fill. Game @ InfoCision. Look for a big ESPN2 Zips win. Ohio - W - The Zips can't possibly lose to OU again? Would it be for the 9th straight time? Amato holds the simple OU offense in check, and the Zips explosive offense racks up enough points for a double-digit win. Terry gets the Gatorade bath. MAC Championship game - W Bowl Game - W 9 wins. So I guess I get the "over?"

It makes some sense if you read this, and then you read this. I'd love to see him in Akron.

He obviously feared the turtle.

"Z" is for Zingale... and Zip?

5 Year Plan

Another column "He will have two years of eligibility remaining."

What Michigan fans are saying...

Article A 5-foot-10, 211-pound running back from Akron, Ohio, Sibley had offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky and Akron and was previously committed to Ohio State before the Buckeyes asked him to grayshirt and sit out a year.

He always seemed disinterested to me. Traylor-Bennett has received rave reviews at the TE/H-back position. I think we'll be better off this year at TE.

I think our QB situation is as good as, or better than anyone in the MAC. Woodson has proven he's a legit starting MAC QB. By all accounts, Chapman has had a great offseason and is ready to contribute in 2016. Kato was the highest rated recruit in the 2016 class. That's ok with me. I'm more concerned with linebackers.

Things are Luke-ing up for this former Zip

I guess I'm glad someone cared enough to write a June column on the Zips QB situation, regardless of the content. I mentioned in my golf outing notes that the Zips staff felt Chapman had made some great strides and would see the field more often in 2016. He will. And if Woodson struggles, he'll sub in. But that's no different than any other #2 QB.

To say 2013 WMU was "near RI's level" is not true. There's 1-11, and there's RI, back-to-back 1-11. WMU beat RI's Zips 66-6 (at least that was the score in the 3rd quarter...I forget the final). They played in a bowl game in 2011. That tells me they were several talent notches above the RI Zips. Their 2015 wins included EMU, Murray State, Miami OH and Ball State, so half of their wins were against cupcakes. I think the argument that Fleck and Bowden are on relatively the same level is seen in their 2015 bowl results. Both won their first MAC bowl last year. We'll see who's best on October 15th. The scoreboard don't lie.

Fleck's done a good job. But he's only winning the vaunted "Recruiting Stars" Championships. Sorta like winning the RPI Championship if you're an OU fan. Back-to-back 8-5 seasons. Won their first bowl game last season. Fleck is younger and hipper than Bowden, but the results are the same thus far.