Captain Kangaroo

Dead Horse will be sorely disappointed.

I will be there to watch "The Kid" get his first win.

This from a head coach? I hope this is just a poor choice of words. There are many successful people in this world who do things "beyond their years".You can read so many different things into those comments --Is JD trying to lower expectations and take the pressure off Nicely by downplaying his performance?Is JD trying to downplay the kid's performance and ability so he doesn't look so bad for not playing him sooner?I know what I saw Saturday night - "The Kid" has serious game. I look forward to 4 quarters of him vs. Buffalo.

1.) Nicely was at his senior prom after spring practice. He didn't practice with the Zips until August.2.) There are a lot of D-1 teams having terrible seasons. None has fired their coach. Mid-season firings of head coaches is simply not done in college football. Especially when the three losses (at that time) were to Penn State, Indiana and Central Michigan. And the AD was still unpacking boxes from his move into town 2 weeks earlier. The new AD's handling of the Reno Ferri situation raises concerns with me. His calculated approach to assessing the future of the Zips football program does not.Winstrcill needs to be putting out his "feelers" now. Once the season ends, then he can take action.Are you with Mike on the "Matt Rodgers is God" bandwagon too?

That is the game I think we'd lose. 5 of our next 7 games are against teams that are, or should be in ESPN's Bottom 10. If JD, after 6 seasons of building his program, can't go 6-1 against that...well...you know the rest.And yes, I do know that the Zips are strong contenders for "Bottom 10" consideration.In Nicely I trust. If he gets hurt, all bets are off.

Is there any other Division 1 school with post-game press conference notes that fit on 1/2 page?

Those of you old enough to remember may recall that on October 27, 1975, Bruce Springsteen made the covers of both Newsweek and Time. In one of the accompanying articles, Jon Landau, a critic for Rolling Stone, declared "I have seen the future of rock and roll, and his name is Bruce Springsteen."Well...I've seen the future of Zips football, and his name is Patrick Nicely.On the Zips first drive vs. OU, Rodgers looked left...LaFrance was covered...then pump-faked...still covered...pumped again...still covered...then threw the ball away. Fast forward to Nicely's first drive: He looked right...covered...looked left...covered...looked middle...then released a bullet. He stood tall in the pocket...went through his progressions and hit his receiver. I almost forgot what that looked like?Nicely was 9-of-23 for 98 yards, but the offense was night-and-day different than with Rodgers under center. It has to be heartening to the wide receivers to know that, if they are option #2 or #3, they still have a good chance of seeing the ball if they finish their routes.Rodgers is a tremendous student athlete and someone I'm very proud to have on the team. He's a gamer. But he had 2 weeks to prepare for OU, and he looked like a rookie. His passes were short, then long, then soft...everything but good.I give Shane Montgomery credit for recognizing that all Rodgers can do is run. And running him out of the shotgun until OU proved they could stop it. But Rodgers doesn't have the body of Tebow...or LeFevour...or Josh Cribbs or Julian Edelmann...it was only a matter of time until he got injured.I think it is justifiable that many on the board are bewildered that Nicely took so long to see the field. It really makes you wonder about a kid like Devoe Torrence. Is he another "player" who's talent isn't being recognized? I would LOVE to see Torrence get 20 carries. I've seen enough of Shuford and Allen to know they can't move the chains in 2009. And Tuzze isn't good for 20 carries. Hey Coach -- Pull the trigger. Start playing Devoe.Our offense scored 7 points against OU. Our soccer team scored 4 points against Western Michigan. You should be out-scoring the soccer team by more than three, Shane.OU is terrible. Their QB can't throw to save his life. Their RB's are pedestrian at best. Their defense is mediocre. Their OL is mediocre and loves to false-start. If these clowns win the MAC East they will get absolutely smoked by the winner of the West. CMU would beat them by 24.As Dr. Z correctly pointed out...it is amazing how well the offensive line looks when there's a poised QB in the pocket. Instead of worrying where Rodgers is going to scramble, or where he's going to crumple...they know where Nicely is going to be. In the pocket. If the pressure came from the back side, Nicely steps up and calmly delivered his throws. It is easy to block for him.Our defense held OU to 12 points. Sewell was a monster.After the game, the first thing that came to my mind was -- "Now I know what it feels like to be a K.e.n.t. fan." It sucks so bad to watch your team lose to a team with lesser talent, simply because you can't execute the fundamentals. Catch a pass. Punt the ball. Field a kick-off. Make a field goal. JD had 2 full weeks to get his special teams ready to play...and other than K.e.n.t. State, I've never seen a group play, across-the-board, so poorly. Every facet was pathetic. And seriously...make a decision on the kicker. Pick the one that sucks the least and go with him.JD stated the Zips would "...violently defend the home field." I think he meant "...we will violently offend in our home field." Going back to 2008, JD is now 2-6 on his home field. Shocker that over 10k seats remained empty...the Zips bandwagon is sooooo enticing. Who wouldn't want to root for a team that boasts a 0.250 home winning percentage over the past 1.5 seasons. It's a freaking party. It must be Marketing that's lacking. Yeah....that's it. I hearken back to a quote from former assistant coach, and the guy my University screwed royally, Reno Ferri when he spoke to the ZipsNation at the OBC during our recruiting preview: "Dr. Proenza doesn't want to be second in anything." JD is 2 losses away from his 4th consecutive non-winning season. The writing is on the wall.You want an prediction? Here's one for you -- the Zips will beat Buffalo this week. By double digits. Furthermore -- The addition of Patrick Nicely has so energized the team that the Zips will finish out the season 6-1 against the MAC Tripe Parade. JD will make the new AD's end-of-season decision an unexpectedly difficult one. In fact...I'll go a step further...I'll say that the AD announces JD won't be retained a week or two prior to season's end, just so he can do so while his record is still poor.OU...K.e.n.t....Miami...BG...Buffalo...they all suck. Temple is mediocre. They'll choke. The Zips will finish the season 7-5. Bet the house.

If we take Nicely off the field, I will return my season tickets.

I think it is important to note that this 17 k...and the 18k...and the 27k...were people who actually paid full price for a ticket. If you compare attendance numbers from the Rubber Bowl era, you should also compare income.17k (of which 8k really attended) at the Rubber Bowl @ $5.00 per ticket17k at InfoCision @ $20.00 per ticket.I'll take 17k, $20-paying patrons over 20k, $5 patrons any day.

So who's hurt? Rodgers and...?Bain has never played, so he doesn't count. How many WR's are hurt? Zero.How many DL's are hurt? Off the top on my head...zero? If Sewell is hurt...look at his body and tell me he is in bad condition.RB is healthy, with the exception of Allen. And blown ACL's coupled with broken hips will slow you down.This Zips team is as healthy as any team in the nation. There are so many legitimate things to complain about regarding the team...injuries? No way.

I agree...but it is tough to dedicate the time to smoking them.

If we get a top 4 seed, Northwestern better get their field ready. We might need to play there two or three times.

There is no "organized" tailgate.In Lot #9 at the corner of Exchange and Brown is where you will find quite a few ZN members. I've seen Bleacher Bum, ZipsWin, Z-Pouch, Dr.Z, myself, Infofan, Johnny Utah, BirdZip and several others. Look for the flying flags and ask for me. I'll have a beer waiting for you. Can you acces lot #9 if you don't have a pass?You can walk in with no problem, but you can't park there.

Looking at the game objectively, I can't see the Zips winning.OU isn't as good as Indiana, so I'll say OU 31 Zips 21.How can the Zips win? The offense needs to get in an aggressive mind set. If Rodgers can stop worrying about making mistakes and start leading the team, we have a chance. OU has given the Zips some cheap shots in recent meetings. I believe Andre Jones has been nailed twice after clearly calling for fair catches on punt returns. Hopefully the Zips remember those plays. The Zips need to get some swagger going and come out to kick OU's ass. If an OU player tries a cheap shot, someone on the Zips team needs to fight back. JD promised the Zips would "violently defend" the home field. It is put-up-or-shut-up time.

A bunch of us will be cooking ribs tomorrow. If you were on the fence regarding tailgate fare, feel free to join in. It would be fun to see a bunch of ribs blazing in the lot! The K.e.n.t. game will be The Chili Cookoff!BTW - The "Lot #9 Band" concept is slowly materializing. I don't think it will happen tomorrow. But I guarantee it will happen for the K.e.n.t. game! I will post the music on ZipsNation. It is up to you to practice on their own! Make sure to buy your kids tambourines and kazoos!

I won't be wearing any hair shirts and saying any Hail Mary's because a ZipsNation member questions a decision of the AD. No major media outlet seems to have any interest in the truth. Or the interest to go beyond the surface. Here, you find the truth. And also opinions. Sometimes that truth, and those opinions will ruffle feathers. That's the result of a vigilant press.If this site turns into "www.GoZips.com/Lite," we've failed.Hopefully the guy is strong enough to withstand a critique of his decisions on an internet message board every once in a while. In three years, when he moves on to...say, as a recent example...Houston...the Houston Chronicle columnists and local radio stations will discuss and critique such decisions on a much larger scale. ESPN will chime in too.With the advent of InfoCision Stadium, the visibility of Zips football has been elevated. Where there once were 500 fans, now there are 18,000. Welcome to the "semi-big time," Tom.

If our procedure is to suspend coaches for extremely minor violations while the issue is being investigated, we need to revisit our procedures.When the AD throws a young coach under the bus and leaves him hanging to the point that the guy has to resign, I don't see how he couldn't have his hand in it either directly or indirectly. I have a feeling the new AD has really stepped in it here by throwing probably the only coach that could be considered a "fan favorite" under the bus.Another question...If this guy is a marketing genius, how come he could not see an overreaction to a minor situation in this case as a public relations disaster?That is the issue. The alleged "compliance issue" is known by UA. I know for a fact that it is "minor," as defined by the NCAA. There are those who say "a violation is a violation." Ok...then murder and jaywalking are both crimes. If you walk out of the office @ 5pm with a Company Bic pen behind your ear...well...that's theft. I hate the fact that the University has elected to keep the investigation hush hush. It has become a public relations disaster. Not because of the alleged violation, but because of the way it is being handled.

There is no "organized" tailgate.In Lot #9 at the corner of Exchange and Brown is where you will find quite a few ZN members. I've seen Bleacher Bum, ZipsWin, Z-Pouch, Dr.Z, myself, Infofan, Johnny Utah, BirdZip and several others. Look for the flying flags and ask for me. I'll have a beer waiting for you.

"small" might be an understatement. This might turn into something huge.I will go on record as saying it will NOT turn into anything huge. Because it is not. Take that to the bank.If you want to sell papers or generate "hits" you create yourself a nice headline that infers a kid was given money, a hooker, etc. ZipsNation doesn't need to sell newspapers, and we get no income from the number of "hits" our site generates, so we have the ability to keep the hyperbole to a minimum...zero if we so choose. The violation of which Coach Ferri was accused is, based upon my research, considered a "secondary violation" by the NCAA. Penalties range from absolutely nothing, to loss of a car trip or two for recruiting this fall. That's it. And those allegations remain unproven/under investigation at this time.If Ferri stepped down, he did what he felt was best for himself and his family. It is as simple as that. He busted his ass for The University of Akron for 6 years. It bothers me tremendously that this is the way it closes for him. He deserved better.If that is truly the case, then I really don't see why he would resign. Something tells me there is more to the story than your "research" has brought to light.I'll put my money on my "research" over whatever you have. My reputation on this board is pretty good, and I don't stick my neck out to this extent without good reason.Believe what you want. It's a free country.

"small" might be an understatement. This might turn into something huge.I will go on record as saying it will NOT turn into anything huge. Because it is not. Take that to the bank.If you want to sell papers or generate "hits" you create yourself a nice headline that infers a kid was given money, a hooker, etc. ZipsNation doesn't need to sell newspapers, and we get no income from the number of "hits" our site generates, so we have the ability to keep the hyperbole to a minimum...zero if we so choose. The violation of which Coach Ferri was accused is, based upon my research, considered a "secondary violation" by the NCAA. Penalties range from absolutely nothing, to loss of a car trip or two for recruiting this fall. That's it. And those allegations remain unproven/under investigation at this time.If Ferri stepped down, he did what he felt was best for himself and his family. It is as simple as that. He busted his ass for The University of Akron for 6 years. It bothers me tremendously that this is the way it closes for him. He deserved better.

Funny that on the Macbbs board they locked a jupitertoo thread where he tried his decade-old tired rant/schitck. Now he's on the Rasor blog under the name joe desjardines with the same schitck. The guy has no life, and is so consumed with jealousy it boarders on creepy. Actually, it crosses the line.

I couldn't find the capacity specified anywhere on the site.Apparently it is 8k for sporting events.

That's what I'm talkin about.First off, what have you got to lose? (besides the game, which has seemed lost anyway)Secondly, deep balls and less-conservative plays are only a turn-over risk if you don't execute properly because you are spreading the defense to the point that they can't converge on the ball from uncommitted positions.Thirdly (and probably most important) even failed plays like that pull the defense off of your line. I remember when Bowser dropped that longer pass over the middle, and the very next play was a successful run call.To me, there's big difference between hijinks and a balanced attack. Going deep to Bowser is not hijinks...it is getting the ball to the you best receiver. I wish we did it more often...like about 8 times more per game.

I think that would be pathetic.This Zips team is way too long on talent to run some sort of entertaining gimmick crap.Boise State runs a a lot of gimmickry. It's fun to watch because they execute it well. When we run gimmicks it looks like the cars driving through the Taco Bell drive thru at 3am.We're talking about beating OU, not USC. F-ing man-up and win.

Who do you see in our backfield beating ANYONE to the sidelines?Allen is too slowTorrence doesn't seem to want to do anything but run east/westShuford is a Freshman, and too indecisive. Needs some strength too.Dale Martin is our best RB, but he reminds be of Jake Schifino...great athlete...always injured. We're a different team if he is healthy for 20 carries/game. At his present pace of 20 carries per season, he doesn't affect much.Tuzze moves forward, and hits the hole relatively fast. As crappy as out OL has played, Tuzze at least gains positive yardage. The other guys lose yardage with regularity, placing us in too many 2nd and 13's. 2nd and 13 ain't where it's at.Hey...per JD, Rodgers is hitting on 60% of his throws, so who needs a running game when you've got our "Arial Circus?"