Captain Kangaroo

It will be interesting to see if the Zips put on a performance in Ypsilanti similar to their Bayou beatdown a few weeks ago, how many will put their Drano bong back on the shelf, and cautiously step back on the bandwagon? Zips 31 EMU 20

Lee Owens would have struggled against this year's MAC. He always banked on the K.e.n.t., Buffalo and EMU games to get him around .500. I still like our chances. EMU is ok, but they're still EMU. Miami, K.e.n.t., UMass, Buffalo...those should all be wins for the Zips. Playing 4, 2014 bowl teams to begin the season is a tough stretch for a team in Akron's situation. I want to see how we fare against teams of like, or lesser talent.

I thought the Zips played a tough game against one of the MAC’s Top 3 teams. Woodson had a decent game, considering the conditions. The fact that he’s a sophomore is heartening. He’s made huge strides from last season. I’d expect it’ll continue for the next 2 ½ years. Hope our young WR’s improve with him. Penalties hurt us. The lost 1st and goal from the 5 yard line looms the largest. Although no one’s mentioned it - the roll-out where Woodson had a wide-open Coney, and/or 15 yards of open field in front of him, and chose Option #3 – throw the ball out of the endzone, was a huge mistake in such a tight game. Coe was a force. Sans OU’s initial couple possessions, the entire defense was unbelievable. Scott’s interception was awesome. Stein was clutch. This is essentially the same Zips crew that tanked it in the last half of the 2014 season. I hope they are motivated to not let it happen again. Losing the MAC opener by 2 points to OU is hardly a reason scrap the season, or can the coach. Of the 7 games left on the schedule, 5 are imminently winnable, and the other two are possible W’s if we stay healthy and continue improving. Nice job Zips on Saturday. You fell a couple points short, but only 4 years ago your program was losing to Western Michigan 66-6...in the 3rd quarter! You’ve come a long way, but you need to finish the job this year. Beat EMU and shock BG (a team that’s coming back to earth a bit). Then come back healthy after a bye week and punch CMU in the face. In a steady, cold rain, of course.

#kangaroogrowinggills F this f-ing weather.

I see the key as the opposite. If Woodson can't throw, forget the running game. We're screwed. OU will stack the line and stuff it. Like last week, the pass opens up the run. I love that our WR's now look motivated to run their routes. That hasn't been the case for a couple years. LZip wrote that he was "giddy" after last weeks win. That would have been my adjective, but get it. I told my wife, after last week's win, "That's the happiest I've been after a Zips game in a long time." To see such a complete performance on both sides of the ball, against a solid opponent, on the road, with some young guys like Lane and Woodson emerging, and Hundley flattening people...it was just something a Zips fan hasn't seen in a while. I'd love to feel that way again tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

I think it looks good. Slapping a fresh coat of paint on anything is a cheap way to make a big aesthetic upgrade. Will they stock more than six 8-packs of Sugardales to support "Dollar Dog Night" vs. K.e.n.t. this season? If they do, then we'll know real JAR improvements are being made.

Hopefully in 4th quarter mop-up duty. I don't want to see any "2-QB" stuff in the 1st or 2nd quarter. It's "Sheriff Woody" or Bust from here-on-out. Take the bullet out of Deputy Pohl's gun and assign him to paperwork detail.

Elton Hops on the Zips Bandwagon

Grampa Johnnyzip84 and Grampa Keener?

Amazing our defense played so well without him. He seems as-good-as-advertised. The guy with the most vowels in the MAC, Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara, has played pretty effectively in his absence.

What's the injury to Jamal Marcus? Will he be back this week? Coe - will he play this week?

If your tag line reads "Can't read, can't write, Akron," you are much less likely to get tailgating guidance than if it read otherwise.

In addition to Dr. Z's theory, I think Chapman is probably one of the best athletes on the team. An the staff wanted the ball in the hands of our best athlete as much as possible. You could cut Chapman a little slack in the first two games due to the level of competition and the weather. But there was no excuse for floundering against Savannah State. Kudos to the staff for pulling the plug as soon as they did. And for letting Woodson atone for the early INT. Chapman passes the eyeball test. Woodson's pudgy. Coaches at any level always seem to gravitate towards trying to develop a "sculpted" kid over a pudgy one. Even if the pudgy one wins. Way too much credence is given to 40 yard dash times vs. production. Even in the NFL. I'm sure Woodson's crippling 2014 INTs have surely taken also some time to fade from the staff's memory. I couldn't have imagined starting him vs. OU or Pitt, regardless of how good a summer camp he had. If Woodson gets time to throw, he really looks deadly. With an extra second or two, our WR's can get some separation, and he can sling it on-the-money. Our air-attack has potentially ascended from the outhouse, to the penthouse. Pohl's one hard lick away from moving on to Lot 9 for game days. And Chapman flat-out isn't ready...and may never be @ QB. Who'da thunk Woodson would be the difference between a bowl-eligible season, and 3-9? But he is. Beat Ohio!

OU had a really tough, physical game last week. Vick hurt his ankle and was hobbled the entire game. He's a tough kid, but if his mobility is limited the Zips defense will make his life miserable Saturday. Conversely, the Zips were able to pull their starters in the 4th quarter. We should be fresh. Coe is the one injury that's most-concerning, but other than that we're in great shape. Bobcat Attack Site And to those Bobcat fans perusing our site: You guys got dicked big-time on the delay of game call at the end of last week's game. Your defense let you down at the end, but I've watch football for 4+ decades and I've never seen a delay of game called in that last-second FG scenario.

Very nice write-up.

The reason Louisiana lost - Practice facility is too nice. Just like it crippled the Zips program to move to nice facilities, it's killing Louisiana.

You could see it coming...nice job Zips! Great job Tommy Woodson!!

As evidence by the volume of your posting, you somehow feel that volume is the leading metric to determine the quality of this site. Volume is worthless. Any lonely retiree can post 5...10...15 times per day on this site and create volume. That volume of relentless, opinionless noise drives the creative and the insightful away. That loss of quality content is an increasing concern. ZipsNation doesn't care about "hits," "traffic,"...none of that has ever meant anything. I've spent over $1,000 out of my own pocket to keep this site up-and-running over the past decade +. I keep this site running because I care about Zips athletics, and in lieu of any radio, TV, and for the most part newspaper coverage of the Program, I feel it is important that like-minded people have a place to learn about the Programs, and share their opinions. But the doors here are open to the people with endless spare time, no opinions, and all day to type. I've probably deleted 2...maybe 3 posts in the past year. For whatever stupid reason, I let everyone have their say and edit nothing. The vast majority appreciate the forum. Yet a few act like they are persecuted. Thanks to Dr. Z for providing the awesome game day photos. He's sacrificing sitting in the stands with his buds on Saturdays to enhance the content of this site, and raise its quality. That is dedication, and is really appreciated. And thanks to the others who share their out-of-town news links, insights, humor, creativity and/or passion to make this sight and interesting read. That's the backbone of ZipsNation. Not "volume."

What was there not to like about last week? Taking into account we played a moribund 1-AA program, a 52-9 beating isn't all that impressive. But Woodson looked so much better than last season. Thinner. Bouncing back after his terrible INT, he kept his composure under pressure. He showed maturity, composure and resilience. He looked like everything Chapman was supposed to be. Jerome Lane looked deadly in the open field. Young looked great too, and there MAY finally be a QB to get a good WR the ball. These WR's are only going to get better. If the OL can protect Tommy, they'll rack up some big plays Saturday. Hundley ran hard and strong. The D only surrendered 3 points. There are some really positive signs materializing, if you are objective and open-minded. Beating a team that's won 9+ games for 5 or so consecutive seasons, on the road, is a tall order. But if Woodson has truly turned the corner, it's possible. Pitt played well against Iowa, and should have beaten them. Losses to Oklahoma and Pitt aren't cause to fire anyone at UA. I hate to ruin a great attendance thread with football talk, but sometimes it has to be done. If the mods want to move or delete my posts, go ahead. They're dicks anyhow. F 'em.

Zips fans care about attendance 10X more than they do their team's performance. I can't imagine the time spent trying to dissect the Zips actual attendance vs. butts-in-seats, or trying to disclose the alleged cover up of unsold tickets by their own University's employees is remotely approached by any other fan base, at ANY division of collegiate football. Now, the butt fetish has extended to dissecting opponent's attendance? F*ck attendance. Go Tommy Woodson! Beat Louisiana!

It reminds me that sharing information with a potato is a futile endeavor.

Huskies vs. Buckeyes You know...only 10 years ago we were better than these guys. "Northern Illinois is 5-4 against the Big Ten since 2009, that includes a current three-game win streak. The five wins came by an average of 12 points. Central Michigan is the next closest MAC team with a 3-4 record against the Big Ten in that same span."

There was an old saying often attributed to Ben Franklin: "Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy." Below is proof that God loves me and wants me to be happy: "Flopping and a player favorite, the fake head-whip in an attempt to draw a foul, will now be considered a Class A technical foul (two shots)." Ding dong the fake head-whip is dead!!!

As a wise man once said: "There is not much statistical promise in allowing 2 goals per match."

Does your cousin smoke crack? If so, that would explain his theory.