Captain Kangaroo

As a old Zips fans, I guess this is where I should chime in:* Yet another crappy day for football. Tailgating in the rain is getting old.* K.e.n.t's QB was awesome. I would never have guesses a 5' 10" K.e.n.t QB in his 4th career game would throw for over 300 yards vs this Akron defense. Yeah, his long jump balls the the WR's looked like "anybody's ball" but they always seemed to be placed in a position where we had no chance at the INT and the WR had the best chance to get the ball.* Kudos to the K.e.n.t offensive coordinator for keeping his foot on our throat the entire game. After every big play, there was the K.e.n.t offense winging the ball down the field while our D was on its heels.* Edelmann also made numerous mid-range completions to wide open WR's and TE's. At NC State, Stone threw a lot of those at people's feet. Stone made us look a little better than we really were.* Speaking of feet...is the book out on the Zips that running the QB out of the shotgun is a "money" 7 yards+? Edelmann did the same thing to us that the CMU QB did a couple weeks ago. Run at will.* What a stupid play by our DL to hit the K.en.t QB late in the 1st qtr. 3rd and 17 and we give them a first down.* The OL isn't playing as well as they did last season. And...for the life of me...I can't figure out why some of the heralded Fr. reserve OL's aren't seeing any playing time. We play essentially the same 5 guys every down whether or not they're holding every play...getting beat every play...whether we're up by 30 or down by 22. At some point we need to start getting our youner players some time on the field. Especially if some of the vets are struggling.* Luke is great when he has time. But, he's slow. This exaccerbates our OL's struggles. Luke really can't buy too much time with his feet. Conversely, the few times we got pressure on Edelmann, it was no big deal for him to sidestep our guy and buy another 5 seconds.* Our LB's couldn't cover the short pass, and never could spy the QB. We were always guessing, and guessing wrong.* The season-long lack of a pass rush finally bit us today. * Going back to mistakes...what was Kennedy thinking when he sat on his butt on 3rd and 1?! He had the 1st down...no whistle blew...and he just sits on his butt and loses 3 yards. K.e.n.t was converting 3rd downs left and right, and we were waving white flags.* Kennedy also had a brain fart when he let Luke's fumble roll instead of falling on it. Another K.e.n.t TD soon followed. * Yet another puzzling decision was JD, after a K.e.n.t running-into-the-punter penalty, deciding not to go for the 4th and 2??!! We were down by three scores and our defense hadn't stopped K.e.n.t all day?? Did we have something to lose?* Kasparek's head wasn't in the game. Couple of uncharacteristic drops.* How bad would our offense be without David Harvey's emergence? He pretty much IS our offense now-a-days. In fairness to Jabari - he did have another nice TD grab in the endzone. * The K.e.n.t punter looked like he totally sucked. Too bad we could never make them punt.* Eugene Jarvis was not impressive.* Wow...we got drubbed by K.e.n.t in football. Pretty much knocked us out of the MACC game. Does it get any worse?* We beat Cincinnati and we'll have two wins vs BCS schools on our 2006 resume. That should get us on of the three available bowl bids even if we stumble once more down the stretch. The game this week will tell us alot about the Zips' moxie and the staff's preparation skills. Cinci isn't better than us. We should win. After what I saw yesterday, we could also lose by 25.* Hats off to K.e.n.t. Great crowd and a solid ass whuppin'. I finally saw what it was like for a team in a Zips game to put together 4 consecutive quarters of playing to their capabilities. Unfortunately, it was K.S.U that did it, not the Zips.* I'll figure out where the tailgate lot is in Cinci and let everyone know. My guess - Gameday will be cold and rainy. Just a hunch....

It is F-K.e.n.t Friday...are you wearing your Zips gear??If not, get you butt home and put on the Blue and Gold!!My secretary got into the spirit of things...so should you!

Kennedy is money inside the 10. With him, we're solid in the red zone. We missed him at CMU. I'm not worried as long as Kennedy is ok. And, allegedly he's good to go tomorrow.

Bought my "On the Hunt" duck calls at Gander Mountain the other night. Game day can't get here soon enough...for my wife. I hope my kid doesn't wear his out before kick off.

Too f-ing busy with work this week. Killing my hobby! Quick notes:Grant played one hell of a game last week. Amongst several great performances, he really stood out.In the first half I counted 4 absolutely bone-crushing, "Holy Crap" hits by our defense. They hurt me just watching them from the stands.The first half offense was outstanding. The second half was pretty brutal to behold. The second half defense, sans one NTSU drive where we missed a bunch of tackles, was outstanding. How they only gave up 7 second half points with the situations our offense and special teams put them in is unreal.How good can we be if we play a solid 4 quarters of football?How bad could we be if our special teams doesn't improve...and our offense doesn't disappear for quarters at a time?Ever notice how no one is within 15 yards of Harvey when he catches a ball?Tomorrow is "F-K.e.n.t Friday." Wear your Zips gear to work. Greet your fellow alumni with a hearty "F K.E.N.T" in the hallways!See you Saturday for the annual Wagon Wheel Beatdown.

I hear he's actually "Bobbyake?"

If we EVER call off the dogs vs. K.e.n.t I'm forfeiting my season tix.Take out the starters once it is a laugher, but keep the pedal to the floor. 63-6 with Aaris Reed and Carlton Jackson's monster mop up duty numbers netting them MAC Co-offensive Players of the Week. That's what I want to see!

K.e.n.t.'s kicker is as bad as ours, so the special team's play this week is a wash.You don't go on the road and beat NC State, then go to K.e.n.t. and lose.K.e.n.t.'s QB is terrible. He'll throw 5 INT's this week. Jarvis will get nowhere.Dennis Kennedy has 150 yards and 3 TD's by halftime.Somehow we'll have a punt snapped over someone's head and lose a couple points, but this game is a big wake up call for K.e.n.t.. They won't have 100 yards of total offense in the first 3 quarters combined.Zips 42Can't 6

He's a punter. And if you saw him punt in the spring game...holy moley.We're screwed at PK unless Igor heals.

He was at the Rubber Bowl for the Akron NTSU game, so I think it is safe to assume he is a football recruit.FYI: Place your informational faith regarding Zips recruiting in this priority:1.) ZipsNation2.) Pittsburgh Trib/Post Gazzette & Ohio Varsity3.) Scout/Rivals4.) OthersDo this and you can't go wrong.

Spotted in the stands at the North Texas GameClick me for VideoClick me for Story

I just wanted to bring this one to the top in case anyone missed it.

Randy Robinson and Travis McGraw:AKA:

There is one tailgate lot at K.e.n.t State that allows "real" tailgating. If you are traveling on Summit street towards the stadium, the stadium will be on the left side. On the right side, essentially directly actoss from the stadium, is a field that K.e.n.t State is renting for the season. This is the only lot to tailgate in without hassle. If you park in their paved lots, you risk open container arrest. K.e.n.t State also has a pre-fab "Tailgate City" rip off, and I am told beers are $1.00.Go to K.e.n.t's (www.K____.edu) web site to find parking info and maps. I tried to post the info here but the stuping system changes everything to "Can't" and corrupts the links.

Maybe that is why tents, grills, etc were stolen from the tailgate lot Saturday night. I am going to write Mack and suggest that some patrols are going through the lots during game time. Seems like some people are there to get plastered prior to the game...wait until people leave...then raid everything that isn't nailed down. Very embarassing.If you saw someone stealing stuff...or stole it yourself...F you in the skull. You will ruin tailgating for all of us if you keep it up. If anyone in the lot sees someone stealing property or destroying it, it is your duty to punch them in the face, or call the cops. We don't need that crap.

If the stadium is 1/2 empty, umbrellas should be allowed. If you can't see, move a foot left or right. There's plenty of space. At a sold-out Browns or Indians game - no umbrellas.

Probably around 12:30pm. The truck is already packed. I will have a couple "warm up" beers in my belly in an hour or so. (Don't want to shock the system tomorrow.)

I heard there is severe punishment in Texas for dropped passes:Apparently WR Johnny Quinn dropped a few too many last week?

Running smack after a loss to K.e.n.t. in Oxford. Priceless!

That's hilarious. There were 3 challenged referee's calls in that game. Shockingly, all three went against the Zips! All three were subsequently overturned, including an obvious TD by Jabari. The refs blatently tried to give the game to CMU. JD should sent that info to the MAC office.The CMU coach knows if they make it to the MAC Championship game, it will be against the Zips. He's just employing some weak gamesmanship in hopes he gets a few calls come December. There couldn't be a more appropriate emoticon:

I see the same thing. I went to the IPFW...or whatever that school's initials are...last week. They were the worst soccer team I've ever seen at Jackson Field and we only beat them 3-0. The week prior the same IPFW team lost 9-2 to Wisconsin Green Bay. IPFW has been outscored something like 35-3 in 7 games this year. Last year's Zips squad might have hit double digits against them. BTW: Why the hell did we allow these clowns in the MAC? I guess so we can keep our automatic NCAA bid after Kentucky departed. IPFW will bring down MAC soccer much like the addition of Temple football is embarassing the MAC.

We will set up in the lower bowl grass lot, either along the airport fence, or along the fence that separates the old tailgate city lot (now the $5,000 Gridiron Club lot) from the common folk. Look for a white EZ up tent next to a green F-150 with the license plate ZIPS FAN, a 20 foot tall Zips flag, and you'll find me. We will have around 20 people, including many kids. We'll be playing corn hole...lots of beer...and our tailgate food theme for this week is Texas Bar-B-Que.Please stop over. I always enjoy meeting folks from the 'Nation.

All in all, this "announcement" is a yawner. Until I see a final design, with a cost and a construction deadline I am not even considering getting excited about the stadium.

Ummm...that describes about 70% of the parking at Penn State 3 weeks ago.

I'll try to help as best as possible:Tailgating at the Rubber Bowl begins around noon with a few hearty souls. Things start filling up around 3pm. Look for a white EZ up tent next to a green F-150 with the license plate ZIPS FAN and you'll find me. We'll be playing corn hole...lots of beer...and our tailgate food theme for this week is Texas Bar-B-Que. Feel free to stop by and rate its authenticity. The best local beer to drink, if you like good beer, is from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Anything from them is excellent. If you like light lagers, the Dortmunder Gold is very good. Try the Elliot Ness if you like a fuller-flavored brew. These beers can be found at the "better" local grocery stores (not likely at the corner gas station).This is the first game under the new AD's regime, so we don't yet know the "Nazi-ism" regarding seating. If the past 20 years are any indication, you'll be able to sit wherever you'd like regardless of what your tiket says. Sneak in a flask if that's your thing.I would drive downtown along main street next to the Aeros stadium to check out places to eat and drink. There's a new Irish Bar downtown that recently opened...very big and very nice...you can't miss it, but I forget the name. Several other decent bars...Jillian's, Panini's, 69-Taps are also downtown. There is a BW-3's on campus (Exchange Street) if you like.Any other questions - Just let us know.