Captain Kangaroo

OU has had 17 player arrests in the past 9 months...and they just beat Illinois. Control is overrated, I guess?The few things that have popped up over the past few weeks are nothing in the big scheme of things. We suspended a kicker that never played, and may have lost 2 reserve DL's. Pace's absense is somewhat of a hit, but we won a championship without him last season. Crouch? I like Tim, but it doesn't bug me to see the staff giving someone else a chance on the left side.Beat Miami and Toledo and the world will again be rosy.If you think JD has lost control, whaddya think about Larry Coker?

QuarterbacksLuke Getsy : BWhen he's had time to throw, he's been very good. He's had little time to throw and had little running game to support him. He's typically throwing to 2 Fr. WR's + Jabari, who remains a hot/cold work-in-process. Considering the circumstances, he's doing fine. Wish he was a bit more elusive...it would help his health.ReceiversB-Jabari has been inconsistant. Harvey has been pretty solid. Overall, too many drops...routes abandoned too soon. A #3 WR hasn't stepped up.Tight ends CKris Kasparek hasn't done much since that nice 4th and 7 snag vs. Penn State. One of the bigger disappointments of the 2006 season. Merce Poindexter is playing well, but still has some key drops. Jose' Cruz seems to has fallen below Flaherty? Not much help coming from the TE's in run or pass blocking.Running backsCRunning game has disappeared since the team left Raleigh. Even NTSU shut us down in the 2nd half. And before you say "Who cares...we were up 33-6," I'll offer this: When you're up 33-6 in the second half you should impose your will on the opposing defense...run it down their throats...eat clock and get out of dodge. We couldn't move the ball to save our life against a really crappy team. K.e.n.t and Cinci were no-shows by the RB's too.Offensive lineD"It has been hit and miss," Brookhart said about the line. "Little bit inconsistent..."I would say our collective OL has been very consistent. Consistently bad. No time for Luke to throw. No holes for the RB's to hit. Penalties galore (how familiar is 2nd and 25 to this Zips team?). The opponent has a sack-fest every week. Unlike the WR's, where one guy can be outstanding and make the overall WR grade good...if only one, two or three OL's are pulling their weight and one or two are not...it is crippling.Defensive lineC+Good run defense, Z-E-R-O pressure on the QB. LinebackersBGrant, Mackey(I'll call him an LB) and Groza have been great. Stokes is solid.SecondaryB-They aren't playing too poorly. The lack of pressure on the opposing QB is really making their job difficult.Special teamsDBad punting and punt protection. Horrific place kicking.Kick offs have been ok (deep enough). Kick returns have been good. Special teams coverage has been good.

Really? I thought you were pretty indifferent on this topic?

Akron (AP) Miami University mascot "Mr. Scabs" arrived in Akron today and was immediately quarantined. Said Summit County Aviary Specialist Roy Brookhart; "We has reports of a foul stench approaching Akron from Columbus and Mansfield authorities. It was pretty easy to narrow the source down to the Miami cheerleader van. Cars were diving into the median...doing just about anything they could to avoid it. It was a very dangerous situation." Miami cheerleader spokesperson Janet McGillicuddy (shown top) was stunned; "Mr. Scabs has been to K.en.t several times and no one noticed a smell any different than normal. In fact may of the locals seemed to enjoy our mascots scent. I am shocked." Akron hosts Miami University Saturday evening at 6:00pm.

Phil Steele is a God.

Not to change the subject...but how bad will it suck to see K.e.n.t football in the "Others receiving votes" sections of some polls in a week or two?

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For as much ridicule as the football schedule received this season, I'm surprised no one is bitching about the atrocious hoops schedule. One D-1 home game through December 18th. K.e.n.t on a Wednesday night?

I think the topic of replacing Luke with a Freshman QB is ludicrous. Luke is the man. Period. Rarely has Luke missed his man when he's had a few seconds to throw. He's made some great tosses this year. Unfortunately, he's getting snowed-under about 0.56 seconds after the ball touches his hands. I think Alleman and Wills have done a solid job this year. However, some of the other guys have struggled. You can tell by the penalty calls...those are the guys that are getting beat. When 2...or 3...or even 4 of your OL's are pulling their weight, and even one doesn't, your QB is in trouble.Is Luke the most elusive QB in the conference? No chance in hell. But with the time he's had to throw this season, I don't think even Fran Tarkenton could buy enough time. In addition - Keep in mind he's throwing to a converted QB and a Freshman as his primary tarkets. That's not exactly Cherry, Irvin, Sparks and Hixson. As nice as Harvey has played, he's also in the very early stages of learning to run college-level routes. Him being in the wrong place has contributed to some of Luke's seemingly errant attempts.The easy "out" is to blame a coach or the QB for our troubles. It goes much much deeper than that. Our DL can't pressure the opposing QB to save their lives. That's killing our pass coverage. We also can't stop the opposing QB from getting 10-15 yards per rush. Our LB's have been solid in run stopping, but are letting the opposing TE run wild. Or RB...or whomever is 7 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The don't get near the QB on blitzs, which sucks when you have a 3-man front.Offensively, our running game has been terrible. Some of that is due to Kennedy's injury. But a lot is due to our run blocking that seems to pack it in after one or two quarters. Our WR's and TE's are dropping passes.Our kicking game has been terrible.Get rid of Luke in favor of either CJ is waving a white flag on a season that is only half over. That would be pathetic. The remaining 6 games are emminently winnable. The seniors need to suck it up and pound these next six opponents. They should. If they do, that's an 8-win season and a bowl bid. We (the MAC) get three bids this year. K.e.n.t will get one. The MAC West winner will get one. The last one is up for grabs...and to be honest, the competition isn't all that stiff. We beat BG, OU and Toledo and the third bowl bid is ours.If we play like we've played the first 6 games, finishing 8-4 is pretty unlikely. I'm hopeful the Zips start playing with some pride and effort. And the coaching staff starts getting a little more creative. If so, we have the talent to be 8-4 in the MAC. JD said exactly that in the preseason. He should know.

To be fair, we are playing like MAC champs for 1or 2 quarters per game. That's what's most frustrating. You can see the talent is there.

Random, as usual:* Great day for football...FINALLY. No cold, wet rain to be seen...just sunny and in the 70's.* Nice tailgate party. Had 15 or so Zips fans in the schoolyard. It was an "urban" setting, amongst an older student housing area, but close to the stadium and paved, with a port-o-let. Several excellent local microbrews were unearthed. Helped to dull the pain of what was to come...* As usual, the 2006 hot/cold Zips were true to form. Unfortunately, the heat only lasted about 15 minutes. The frigid cold drug on for 45min.How about these stats:39 total combined offensive yards in the final 45 minutesSeven consecutive 3-and-outs beginning in the second quarterFive of the seven 3-and-outs went for negative yardage* In the history of college football, there can't be many teams that rolled up 180 yards in the first quarter, then ended up below 220 yards for the game. That was horrific to behold. Cinci has a good defense...but that is utterly ridiculous.* The defense only made Cinci punt three times, but did create 3 turnovers. At games-end, after being on the field almost the entire game, they needed to make one more stand and couldn't do it. I can't blame them too much.* Defensively, out least-imposing players again stood out. Someone told me last year, when I asked "Who'll replace Jay Rohr?" that "It will be someone stronger and faster." It doesn't appear to be the case. John Mackey has stepped one of Rohr's shoes. Groza stepped into the other. Both these guys "bring it" every down. Grant and Reed do too, with a nod to Jason Nedd and his 11 tackles Saturday (shows why he passed Chevin on the depth chart). BUT - Our D-line is really bad. And we're coming up with ZERO blitz packages to get any pressure on the QB. AND - We're missing a ton of tackles. In summation - We have a few guys on D that you can bank on play-in-play-out, and some guys that lost their fire somewhere along the line. Or, that simply aren't that good.* Offensively...holy hell. The collective O-line continues to struggle. Crouch is the easy scapegoat...and justifiably so...but he's not the only guy not pulling his weight. When Luke has time to throw, he is deadly. You can see it in his pin-point TD tosses to Jabari and his bombs to Harvey. But there is a cumulative bad effect when he's heavily pressured. Luke ain't the most elusive QB in the MAC. If there's a breakdown, he's usually going to get hit. And we have way too many breakdowns. When a breakdown occurs, Luke's only outlet has be a swing pass to an RB for no gain. No WR's or TE's seem to be in a position to help him out. Jabari, for all his progress, seems to quit on his routes with some regularity. Lindsay and Harvey are freshman still learning how to be a WR. That combination of "green" WR's...plus no protection...plus and immobile QB...plus some conservative playcalling...plus a TON of simple mistakes...is adding up to some terrible football.* The running game? How is a back as good as Kennedy getting 29 yards in a game? It is because our OL isn't getting any push up front and he's forced to swing it wide...often for negative yardage. It seems like we're way too predictable. The defense knows what's coming before we snap the ball. Maybe it takes them a quarter to figure it out, but after that, we're sunk. Our best offensive plays are when an opposing DB is called for interference. If it weren't for that, I seriously wonder if we'd ever move the ball?* Once again, the opposing QB leads the team in rushing. How old is THAT becoming?* At games-end you saw some new faces on D...Kabir...Pendleton...Balaam...at least we were subbing to try some fresh faces. * Tired of going for 4th-and-anything when we're in field goal range. Kick the ball.Is Luke too immobile...does he hold on to the ball too long...is our OL total swiss cheese...is our playcalling so vanilla it should be sold at Strickland's...is there an inter-team competition for "Most Missed Assignments" and "Most Crippling Penalties?" It really makes you wonder. Despite some nice individual efforts, we're playing terrible, Jeckel and Hyde football right now. I hope the off week is put to good use, because it couldn't come at a better time.We still have a very good shot at an 8-win season. That hasn't been seen in Akron for 2 decades. We still have a decent shot at a bowl game if we run the table. K.e.n.t is one QB hit away from losing every remaining game this season, so the MAC championship is still a feasible goal. We haven't beaten Miami in forever, so a win against them would be HUGE...there's a lot of season remaining for the Zips...a lot of football to be played. It will be interesting to see how the team responds. We could go 4-8...we could go 8-4. How we adjust over the next two weeks will dictate which is more probable. If we don't make some major changes in personnel, philosophies and mental preparation we're on a collision course for sub-.500.39 total yards over three quarters...after we took a 14-0 lead. Terrible.

Crouch quit the team earlier this week after being told be would be splitting time @ Cinci with Kemme. A couple days later he asked to re-join the team. He's suspended. Will he play again? It is probably up to him, but I'm guessing he's out at least one more game.Pace was suspended for a similar reason. He "reacted poorly" to an announcement that he lost his starting job. Return status is still unknown.

Not true. We win out and we have a solid chance at one of the MAC's bowl bids.Can we win out? Not if our offense doesn't get their act together...or the defense plays another game like K.e.n.t. But, it is very realistic that we get a bowl bid if we win-out. The 15K+ we brought to Detroit last season coupled with wins vs BCS schools makes (or will make) us very attractive to the bowls.

We were without Kennedy for most of the CMU game. Injuries happen. Sucks to be NC State.

Two words: Vandelay sports.Has as much credibility as Elton Alexander, circa 2005, speculating JD would become Colorado's next coach because...well....JD is from Colorado.

OK...you have to pull the hair back...

Any old MTV fans in the house?

The lot where the ZipsNation will meet is the Shields School Lot, located on the corner of Vine & Daniels streets across from the Sigma Sigma House. It has 120 spaces. It typically fills up by 2pm. Tents and charcoal grills are cool. It is one block from the stadium.We will set of shop a little before noon. ANY Zips fan is welcome...in fact, encouraged...to stop over and have a beer, cook some brats and rap about the upcoming game. TAILGATING RULES• Tailgating lots open four hours prior to kickoff and will close one hour after the conclusion of the game.• There are no designated parking spaces, cars will be parked on a first come, first serve basis.• Alcoholic beverages must be kept in a cup at all times.• Grills are allowed in tailgating lots but a fire extinguisher must be present with your grills at all times.

This is pretty much as far as I can let this one go. This board is not a site to bash Mike Waddell. His contributions to the image of U of A athletics are undeniable. If you have a problem with Mike, you likely have some agenda. This site is not a forum where such agendas are welcome.Mike was, and continues to be, a friend to many participants on this board. He treated every fan...be they $10,000 donors, or Joe Schmoe that buys a general admission ticket...with equal respect and gratitude for their support. As time goes on I appreciate that attribute as much as any other Mike embraced during his tenure. It is more rare that I ever thought.Topic closed. Please move on.

Which is the best lot to raise a tent and fire up a grille?

For anyone heading down to the Queen City this weekend...and I will be there...here is the parking and tailgate information:Click me for Tailgate Info, etc.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that 17 OU football players have been arrested in the past NINE MONTHS!!!Kinda' casts doubt on Frank Solich's claim that he was given a date rape drug, huh?Well...unless one of his renegade players slipped something in his Grey Goose that fateful night...

Our offense has struggled for consistency all season. Penn State was sporadic...We couldn't score more than 7 points vs. NC state in the 1st half despite moving the ball at-will...we had negative yardage in the 3rd quarter of the NC State game...we were down 21-0 at CMU in the second half...we couldn't muster a point vs North Texas in the 2nd half...and then there was Ke.n.t.If David Harvey wasn't a drop-in replacement for Hixson, I really wonder where we'd be offensively?Until Saturday, our D had really done an unbelievable job of covering for our offensive lapses. I wonder if the staff will do anything different personnel-wise this week? Something needs to be shaken up.

I remember Astron Whatley running wild in a game the Zips had easily in-hand with about 6 minutes remaining. We blew something like a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter. That was the game Jason Taylor ripped a banner off the Dix stadium wall to get the F.l.a.s.h.e.s all fired up.I also remember the Dwight Smith final game in 2002? In our win we scored about 34 points, and 28 of them were directly attributed to Dwight. K.S.U grossly outplayed us otherwise. It might have been the single-most unbelieveable game by a college CB in NCAA history. Me and about 78 others saw it @ Dix.The only positive coming off this loss is that so many people are crushed by it. The University wants people to care about the program...now you have it. 5 years ago, you wouldn't have had 10 posts after this type of loss. Now there's 100's.The Miami game can still be a decent draw on the 21st, but we need to win this week. You feelin' me, JD? ARE YOU FEELIN' DA ZIPMAN??!! (speaking of old timers, whatever happened to that nutcase...in an odd way, I miss him?)One final note: This must have worked for the K.e.n.t guys, huh?:An "Akron Effort" is characterized by extreme individual effort during a workout. This type of effort signifies the qualities needed to be a Champion.