Captain Kangaroo

In usual random order:* Very small crowd, but not disappointing. To be disappointed I would have had to expect more people. The crowd is pretty much what I expected, for a game:- Pitting a 4-5 team vs. Buffalo- On a Thursday night- @ 6pm, when most people don't even get home from work until thereaboutsThe Zips will never draw a "real" 15,000 with more schedules like this one. How much more fan-unfriendly can it be? Zips season tickets went from about 1,500 to over 4,000 this season.That amazing considering the pile of crap schedule we had as our primary selling point.* Evan Laube has been getting in on special teams action and making plays. For some odd reason, he stands out to me as a guy that will contribute in the future if given a chance. Seems like a solid football player.* Yes we had some dynamic, long TD's, but did anyone notice how often we had 2 WR's in the same spot. I counted three times where our WR's looked to be colliding, or way too close together. Twice we converted on the catches, but it was dicey.* People, we have a Chris Kasparek sighting! Good to see him getting back in the mix.* Poindexter looks to be a guy that's actually getting bigger as the season goes on? If he can get his drops under control, he looks to be an animal in the future.* When Buffalo's QB had a false-start in the first half, Groza flew over the line and creamed him. Heady move...a great time to take a free shot and send a message.* Walker did a great job subbing for Kennedy. For once, he actually got a decent amount of carries. Hope the extra breathers make Kennedy a bit fresher for this week's game.* We settle for a field goal at the end of the half...3rd and goal from the 1-inch line? Profoundly disappointing. You give that ball to Kennedy behind Alleman, and Kennedy scores 10 out of 10 times. You let McClain kick it, and he'll miss 5 out of 10 times.* Why is McClain kicking for us? He's a nice story, but it seems to me he's equally as inaccurate as Domonokos, but with a weaker leg.* Solid blocking by the OL all night. Running and passing plays. Kudos for Shepp filling in for Wills. He did an admirable job.* Speaking of that late first half FG...what kind of clown is Turner Gill for calling three consecutive time outs to end the half? And worse than that was his decision to take the Zips FG unit off the field and let the Zips have another crack at a third down TD play? One of his assistants should have beat him silly. That final 20 seconds of the first half turned into one of the most unwatchable 25 mintues of football I've ever witnessed. I can't blame those who stayed in the $1.00 beer garden rather than watching the game. * Our 3rd quarter playcalling was way too conservative. The guy in from of me was begging Buffalo to score just so JD could take the shackles off our offense. Thank God we played a strong 4th quarter.* Carlton Jackson made a nice toss to Lindsay. The CB cheated us out of some real excitement with his penalty...but it was a smart move on his part.* Saw the Zips team shop was selling those Zips logo face tatoos for $4.00 ea. What's the profit on that...like $3.99?* Games are won in the trenches, and for the first time in a while we dominated the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. I hope we get a repeat performance Thursday night. We'll need it, because OU will be a lot tought than Buffalo.* How the hell did this Buffalo team score 41 unanswered points vs K.e.n.t?* David Harvey rules.

Sure beats the 38k we pay our head women's soccer coach! Does Akron pay the women's soccer coach? Cause they shouldn't with the results they have gotten. Up until 2006 I would have agreed with you. Seemed like they fared ok this season?

I think that such sightings have been few and far between because the Zips merchandise had been so f-ing shoddy for decades. It's tough to get placement anywhere when no one wants to wear your polyester clothing with 3-rd grade logos.The visibility of U of A logo'd things is exponentially higher than ever before. I see Zips stuff in airports, at Indians' games...and when I wear mine, people recognize it. A lot of that has to do with the football team's exposure last season.BTW - I noticed a lot of nice U of A gear on sale lately. Shirts that were $50.00 are now $25.00. Sweatshirts that were $60.00 are now $30.00. Is there another logo change on the horizon (is this a clearance sale?)? Has the sales volume of the old gear driven the price down? I'm curious.

We need to beat a pretty good OU team on the road this Thursday. We do that, we're in great shape. Can we? We haven't beaten a decent team since early September, so I'm skeptical. To win, we need to stop the run and keep penalties low. That's something we haven't done all that well for 10 games. Keep the game close, and let Luke work his late-game magic. Luke's played well the past few weeks. We need him to keep it up.

I watched a little bit of the game tape today. Did you notice the Zips trainer with the buzz cut that the announcers kept panning to, telling people it was Charlie Frye?

Apparently you missed last year's pre-season games. Check out the Dennison box score.

That's because we've had Z-E-R-O pass rush. We've been dead-last in the MAC in sacks all season. It's funny how good the opposing QB looks when he goes untouched all game. Look at Getsy...he's looked great the past couple games...because he's actually had some protection. It works both ways.Anderson, Jones and Corner have been excellent this year. Tate's been "average." Nedd has filled in well for Pace.The secondary is the least of our problems. Our 3-man D-line has killed us this year.

Pride is 5' 9". No D1-A school takes an academic "flyer" on someone that size. The Zips took him because he's an amazing athlete and a good student (he's the QB of the #1 Div 1 HS in Ohio). Academic rolls-of-the-dice are taken on BCS-level kids. Lots of "stars" on their Rivals bio. You'll typically see them on signing day at the last minute. They commit to a non-BCS school only after they're certain whatever BCS school that was interested in them has backed off.

I intentionally made this tricky. Don't be embarassed if you guess incorrectly.

Yet. At this time, he's taken a 1-10 team and put them in the MAC East driver's seat. OU's winning percentage is starting to rival Solich's BAC percentage after a kickin' New Year's bash, so you have to give the guy his props.BTW - Based upon Solich's resume', it would seem like he'd merit substantially more money than JD. If JD were 60 years old, coming off some 9-win seasons at Nebraska, I would think his salary would be a bit higher.$180,000 per year + incentives (important) isn't too shabby. You can lead a pretty good life in NE Ohio with that kind of cash, so I don't expect he'll need to be shaking any empty soda cups outside the Rubber Bowl, post-game, looking for spare change.If, through the next 3-4 years the program continues to progress, I'm sure he'll make another decent salary jump at UA...or a huge one to somewhere else. Either way I'd be satisfied. If he tanks it...hey, we've eaten "extended" contracts before - Faust...Owens...Hipsher...I hope this one works out better. I think Huggins is the last coach we've had that's left for greener pastures in ANY sport. That was almost 20 years ago.

I hail from a Division 6 Ohio high school (lost in the playoffs last week 27-8, BTW). I don't see a kid from a bad D 6 program going to Boston College. If the kid were any good he would have transferred to Warren JFK or Mooney.I await signing day. I bet he's at YSU...if he's any good.

The cynic in me would respond "no." HS players typically need to graduate before becoming eligible for a college program.

That was him top-right, I think?Must have gotten so big eating all Pop's pizzas?

Since the topic of recruit retainment is so hot, I figured I would research the status of the recruits announced on February 2006's National Letter of Intent Day. Here is the status as of Nov. 2006:QB Sean Hakes: On campus since the spring. Will definitely be in the mix for the starting QB position for the fall of 2007RB Andre Boone: Family problems caused him to drop out of high school at the beginning of his final semester. He apparently will not complete his HS diploma work any time soon and is not ever expected to be a Zip.RB Sheldon Dennis: Decided to attend a JUCO in Kansas. Still in contact with the U of A and could still be a Zip in the future.RB Aris Reed: Was expected to contribute in 2006 after the knee injury to Alex Allen. However, he sustained a concussion during practice the week following his Zips debut and is now execting to get a medical redshirt.WR DJ Henderson: Will never be a Zip. Did not qualify academically.WR Curtis Brown: Seriously injured in a late summer automobile accident. Has told the staff he will enroll in January. No one really will know his physical condition until he gets on campus. WR David Harvey: Slated to break every receiving record in school history.OL Mark Jackson: Elected to attend a prep school. Still a shot at being a Zip...but certainly not probable.OL Mike Ward: Redshirting. He is looking very good in scout team workouts.OL Jason Sekinger: RedshirtingOL Corey Woods: RedshirtingDL Dantley Cline: Redshirting. It was a tough decision whether or not to play him this year. He's good to go for the fall.DL Tevlin Petit-Frer: Redshirting. Looking great in scout team workouts...scout team POTW virtually every week. Comfortable at 210lbs, and looks to be an impact player at LB (not DL) next season.DL Jerrel Stoudemire: No-qualifier, but enrolled and doing fine. Fingers are crossed that he continues to hit the books. He will be an immediate contributor if eligible next fall.DL Blake Smith: Non-qualifier who is on-campus and enrolled.LB Mitchell Magloire: Redshirting.LB Mickey Baker: RedshirtingLB Derron Smith: Non-qualifier, and not enrolled. He is expected to be in classes this January. Incredible talent, and worth taking a flier on him. Fingers are crossed.LB Jacquon Williams: Decided to go the JUCO route. Still hoping to be a Zip in the future.DB Wayne Cobham: Playing in 2006.DB Delvin Davis: RedshirtingDB Amin Kabir: Playing in 2006. Big, strong, fast and physical. He'll make an impact in 2007.DB Anthony Barnes: Got caught up in an NCAA clause where he improved his ACT score by 4 points on a re-take, so it got flagged. Like The Bill in School House Rock, he's stuck in committee. It will take a few more months to sort out whether he will get 3 or 4 years eligibility. He's on campus taking classes this fall.K Igor Iveljic: Contrary to recent reports, he is not suspended from the University. He is taking classes, and if he does what's expected of him, the Zips won't need to recruit a kicker for the 2007 class. DB Andre Jones: I love this guy. Great special teamer. Great DB. And he'll only get better.DL Sean Lemon: A grey shirt. I believe he goes on scholarship this spring.P John Stec: Starting Punter. Has had his ups and downs this year.Ryan Brinson (Canton McKinley) is enrolled. And, as stated in a different thread, Antwon Hight is giving school a shot after a stint in factory work.Summary:Of the 27 publically associated with the Zips signing class of 2006, I count 21 that are enrolled at UA. I count 4 that still have the Zips on their radar. I count two that definitely are out.Mr, Sky is Falling will likely say: "Hey, look at all the partial qualifiers. They'll never make the field." In response to that, I say: These kids are all top-level athletes. If only half of the ones presently listed as a non/partial qualifier make it, we are WAY better off than if we recruited some D1-AA-level athletes who get 4 years of eligibility. If you want an Andre Jones and a David Harvey on your team, you're going to need to accept that there's also going to be a DJ Henderson and an Andre Boone that comes along with the package. To me, that's a great trade off.JD & staff are recruiting a caliber of athlete to UA that hasn't been seen in the school's history. But remember, he's in his 3rd season. Season #1 was a mad scramble to assemble a recruiting class and a staff in all of 2 months. It is a miracle we got any contributing players under such circumstances. Season #2: Most players redshirted. They're freshman now. Freshman, by and large, don't make an impact their first year.Season #3: Many of the guys are redshirting or gaining eligibility. The few that are playing are doing great.Yes, we had a bad spell with DL's not making grades. Some people think is requires MENSA membership to realize that...but it doesn't. Other than that, we're fine.Check back in the fall to see who's on the two-deep before knocking JD's recruiting. Based upon what I've seen...not the hyperbole that is so easy to buy into...we are in good shape.

It would hearten me for us to play 4 solid quarters of football. No epic scoring droughts...no killer red zone turnovers...keep our penalty yardage below 60 yds...stop Buffalo on their first offensive series, since you KNOW they're coming out in the no-huddle. That would give us the decisive win vs. Buffalo that we should see. And, it would give me hope for OU.

Toledo beat Northern Illinois @ DeKalb last night. An interesting stat they brought up after Toledo got an early TD:Toledo was 12-12 in their last twelve trips to the red zone. All 12 scores were TD's. That's pretty impressive. Hell, for a Zips fan that's downright unfathomable.Yes, Toledo is in a "down" year. But they're still a decent team and well coached. They're improving as the season goes on.I think this game also hurt our 3-way tie breaker possibilities, since K.e.n.t. beat Toledo and we didn't.

Done. I have no problems putting it back, should it be shrunk to a size smaller than King Kong.

Oral Roberts looks to be a heck of a test for the Zippers come early December?Click to View Oral Stuff

Look for Jeremiah Martin of Maryland and Tyler Holmes of Canada to be at the Rubber Bowl for official visits this week. Holmes is 6' 5", 280 lbs and would be a huge boost to a 2007 Zips DL that loses both Kiki Gonzales and Jermaine Reid. He would enroll this spring. His selection is down to Houston, Akron and Tulsa.Martin's info is below:Klick me

Excellent! So Stoudemire is enrolled, eh? He looked awfully impressive on film.But what happened with DJ Henderson? Academics? Henderson was indeed a grades casualty. He didn't qualify. Never enrolled.

Off the top of my head, I can say:Derron Smith is not out of the picture. He's hoped to enroll in January.Stoudemire is taking classes, as is Lemon. DJ Henderson won't be a Zip.

Having seen all 8 minutes of Mike Bardo's career, I feel uniquely qualified to offer a money-in-the-bank prognostication of his next 3.99865 years at UA:Mike had a nice block in the paint vs. Hillsdale. The next time down the court, he got stuffed by a pretty short guy. Mike was positioned way too far under the hoop on that one. That's it for 8 minutes.This year, if Mike can give us 5 decent minutes per game, he's doing well. There will be several DNP's this season, and also some 10-minute efforts..typical of a freshman big man. Mike has skills. He needs to get used to the speed of the game, develop some moves and get some strength. If you want to come up to a game to see Mike, come up to see Tiffin. Any other game will be a crap-shoot as to whether he gets in or not. That's not a commentary on Mike...its a reflection of this team's depth. If you want to come up for a great game, where Mike may/may not play...come up to see OU or Can't. Those games will be absolute WARS.

I hope Andy is finds a kick-ass knee brace for the OU game. We will need him. Holley blew his MCL in practice last week and is apparently done for the season. Despite radio reports, Shepp (not Holley) finished the game vs. BG. Shepp did so on one leg, since he's still on the mend from the Cinci game.We've had some severe lapses on the OL this year that have really overshadowed some solid performances. OL is a tough position...if someone gives up a sack, everyone thinks the entire OL sucks. Conversely, if a WR drops a pass, that WR is the only one singled out. Wills has been solid for a couple years.I hope someone can fill in for Wills this week. Despite what many think, the Buffalo game could be crucial to any bowl hopes. To-date, we have not played like a bowl team. But we have the talent to do so. I hope the seniors get a sense of desperation and kick some ass in practice this week. This is their last chance to make an impression on the youngsters. I hope that, if that happens, the youngsters learn what it takes to win. Just showing up ain't enough. In the MAC, if you let down, you'll lose. I want Luke's legacy...and Andy Alleman's legacy...and Reggie Corner's legacy...and Kiki Gonzales's legacy and Jermaine Reid's legacy to be how they finished 2006. They can't do it alone. The TEAM needs to get their act together and win-out. If they care, they can do it. Look at Jabari's last several games. Brandon Anderson. Andre Jones. Kennedy last week. Individually, the fight is there. But we can't let up. If one guy out of 11 falters on either side of the ball, we're done. Finish tough, guys. For the program, for yourselves, for your legacy, for a bowl.

Antwon Hight apparently became tired of his factory job and is enrolled at UA this fall. That would be a HUGE lift to our 2007 DL...should he stick with it.

Anybody have a guess to why CJ got no action?I talked to Luke after the game and asked, he said he had no idea about CJ playing. Our defense never gave JD a chance to mess with any CJ experiments. In a close game, the staff isn't going to place a kid in who tripped and fumbled on his only play from scrimmage at the helm. The staff needs to win. Luke, despite his red zone INT's, is still our best chance to win.