Captain Kangaroo

You are correct...the OL isn't so hot. I look at the holes that Army created for their RB and I can't remember any holes of that magnatude being created by our OL. But...what we have is what we have. There's no way we waste a redshirt year for any of the true Fr. OL's now.

If our "future" was the next four games, you'd be correct. However our real "future" is the next several years. Jacqmaine and Jackson are the future. They, and the QB's the Zips are actively recruiting now.

It was a pleasure meeting you three. I'm glad you had fun. Best of luck the remainder of the season!

I don't know if Ferguson is a stiff, or a player. I do know that Luke hasn't done squat since the first half of the CMU game. I would love to see Ferguson, if only to see if he's capable. If he threw blindfolded I don't think he could be any worse than Getsy's been the past couple games. I really don't think our defense is all that bad. We held MTSU and Buffalo to 7 points. We've held most of the other teams in check for 3 quarters. We: a.) Have no defensive depth...especially on the line. b.) Are simply beaten down by the incessant 3-and-outs of our offense. c.) Constantly have our backs against the wall due to the offense's turnovers. I think our defense is the least of our worries. Our offense goes 3-and-out 80% 0f the time. The other 20% usually involves a turnover. That's what's killing us.

The Beacon was handed out for free at last night's game. I was suprised to see a big color photo of Domenik Hixson on the sports section cover!!?? Ever the attention-to-detail guy, DL Morgan stated "You can't miss Domenik's parents in the stands because they wear their #28 "Domenik's Mom" and "Domenik's Dad" jerseys to every game." Oh, that DL Morgan. If anything, he's consistent. He must have naked pictures of Terry Pluto and Larry Pantages. That's gotta be how he keeps his job.

Random thoughts, as per usual: * Absolutely pathetic performance by the Zips. Someone above pointed it out very well: We got shut out at home by an 0-6 team. * Mentally, we are a very weak team. The offense has no faith in itself. The defense is demoralized by the ineptitude of the offense. It doesn't take a genius to look at the body language of the OL's and WR's after one of Luke's incomplete wounded ducks to see that they've lost faith in the guy. * Put Jabari in at QB. What good is he at WR if we don't have a QB that can throw him anything but 5 yard dinks. At least Jabari could run an keep a defense honest. * Why no Ferguson? Not even for one series? I don't get it. * Why no Alex Allen in the backfield? Why so little Dennis Kennedy? With the exception of a couple big runs versus Miami, Biggs hasn't done anyting to merit the 85% RB workload that he's been getting. Maybe dropping his workload a bit makes him more effective? * We beat NIU. We beat MTSU on the road. This isn't our most talented Zips squad in years, but it sure has more talent than it showed last night. * I think I'll skip the BG road trip and check out the soccer team this weekend. This uninspired Zips squad is wearing me down. * Will JD do anything different this week? The script that we've followed the past four weeks has been woefully ineffective. It would really hearten me to see the Zips try ANYTHING different...aside from superficial stuff like changing the color of their pants or removing names from the jerseys. * You really notice when Kiki Gonzales is out of the game. Six yards up the middle is a given if he's on the sidelines. * As someone stated above: EMU's getting better. OU's getting better. WMU's getting better. If we don't get our act together we're going to be associated with the Ball State's, Temple's, Buffalo's and Can't's of the MAC. Maybe we already are...which is unreal for a team that put up 48 points and a "W" vs NIU just a couple weeks ago. * Who kidnapped Dominic Hixson? I expected 6 wins this season. I still believe our existing talent and our schedule should equate to 6 wins. That said: I don't think Luke can lead this team to another win. I really miss confidence and leadership from the QB position. I think the team does too. Can Ferguson instill this? Beats me. I'd love to see if he could. Could Jabari? I think so.

Please also keep in mind this was a very short column in the ABJ. If you think the University is going to open up and tell a schelp Beacon reporter the actual plans for the stadium in such a column you're crazy. Until you see the actual announcement from the University, feel free to ignore stuff in the Beacon. People on this board have better sources than the ABJ. Trust me on that.

Cinci just hired a football coach last season. He's going nowhere for at least 3 years, even if he totally sucks. If he totally sucks and gets canned....and IF JD continues to grow the Akron program over the next 3-4 years...then I could see MT calling JD. If that happened I would be estatic, because that would mean we actually had a championship football team. Dambrot is WAY too small a "name" to fill their existing hoops position. His experience is WAY too short. Cinci can get serious, household, proven "name" for that position without even picking up the phone. KD will be @ Akron for the next several years. Again, if he bolts I will be estatic because it will mean our hoops team won a championship or two. BTW: MT first met JD during his interview @ Pitt two years ago. Although they attended the same University they were not buddies.

Too bad you are compelled to jog people's memories instead of those who work in the ticket office. You should submit your resume to the JAR will call window.

Sonogram, schmonogram...the Rubber Bowl is decaying rapidly. The seats in the endzone are shot, and the ones in the adjacent sections are cracked and shattered. My kid will slice his hand open on one of those fiberglass machete seats sometime soon. Also - To compare the Rubber Bowl to the Horseshoe is insane.

*psssst* Lee Owens wasn't fired because we were in good shape. It will be a battle. If we played Army's schedule, we'd have a good chance of being 0-6 too.

I will be in tailgate spot #8 in the front, paved section. Please stop over and say "hello." Beer in our spot is also on-the-house! Hope you brought your rain coat!

We can't compete with the cash UC can offer, or the Big East Conference. We just have to find a way to reload. You like to think that, with all the positive progress that been made over the past 5 years, and with what's planned for the next several years, that the Akron AD's position should draw a good talent pool.

I would say there are about 600,000 reasons why Thomas left. They all look like a dollar bill. I'm guessing his salary jumped from around $200K to at least $800K. Beyond that, to say our basketball program is nearly as goos as UC's is pretty...ambitious? UC has made the NCAA's each of the past 16 seasons. We've never even won a game at Gund Arena. They draw 15K per game and are regularly in the Top 20. We draw 3.5K and have never even sniffed the top 20. The Big East is a 6-7 bid NCAA tourney conference. The MAC is a 1 bid conference 9 out of every 10 years. While UC's football program is down this season, they still are in the Big East...a BCS Conference with 5 guaranteed bowl slots. They also have a beautiful 35K seat on-campus stadium. UC is also in a major market...Akron can't even support one local TV station. Cincinnati soccer? Wonder if MT waves a little cash in front of Coach Lolla to turn UC's soccer fortunes around? Does UC even have a soccer program? Thomas gave it his all while he was here. The athletic future of the school has never looked brighter. The stadium is the one piece of unfinished business he left. I have my fingers crossed that it doesn't lose steam, because if you've sat in the Rubber Bowl stands this year, you know that thing's got 1 year MAXIMUM left in it. Maybe we can play in Canton for a year while our stadium's being built? I also have big concerns regarding the Marketing Dept. If UAM follows his former UVA colleague to Cinci, do we go back to buy-one-get-one-free's on the side of Acme Grocery bags and "Ketchup Soup" commercials during game breaks? People scoff at the "paltry" 10k that attended the CMU game including the 1,000 or so students that attended. In 1999 that that game would have drawn 1k, with hardly a student to be found. Never forget....this (below) happened before. If it happens again, all the progress we've made over the past 5 years will be for naught. If we make the wrong hire...like Helsel...like Crawford...like Faust...like Hipsher...the Roxanne Allen...like Lisa Fitch...it will set us back a decade. We cant afford that.

If anyone suggests him, they get banned from the board for life:

Some of that may depend on who he takes with him to Cinci.

Decision Expected Soon On New UC Athletic Director Reported by: Dennis Janson Web produced by: Neil Relyea 10/19/2005 11:07:57 PM A major announcement is anticipated from the University of Cincinnati about its athletic program. 9Sports anchor Dennis Janson has learned that Bob Goin's successor as athletic director may be Mike Thomas. Thomas, who's currently the athletic director at the University of Akron, emerged as the front-runner among three candidates to success the retiring Goin. So far no comment from anyone in the department other than that Thomas is a candidate. An official announcement could come as early as Thursday.

I agree. 9 points seems to be a huge spot for a team that lost to CMU at home by 14...when Army only lost to them by 4. Army may very well be: "The best 0-6 team in the country."

Herndon grad/Akron, Fr. By Brian McNally Examiner Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 11:32 PM EDT Grant has already made a big impact on Akron’s defense after redshirting last fall. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker is Akron’s fourth-leading tackler through six games with 32. He also has two sacks and five tackles for a loss with a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Akron, which hosts Army on Saturday evening, is 3-3 overall with a 2-2 record against Mid-American Conference opponents. Grant had a career-high eight tackles, including one for a loss, in a 17-7 win over Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 17. He also made five tackles in a 48-42 overtime win against Northern Illinois. Grant has made at least five tackles in every game except the season opener, a 49-24 loss at Purdue on Sept. 10. Grant was the 2003 Examiner Defensive Player of the Year at Herndon, where he led the Hornets to a 7-4 record and a Northern Region Division 6 postseason berth as a senior and became known for his highlight-reel hits. Grant broke Herndon’s single-season record for most solo tackles (75), including a career-high 19 in a 42-14 loss to Robinson, and assisted on 66 others. He also had seven sacks and intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, en route to Northern Region defensive player of the year honors.

How is this for a theory: The staff and existing players perform at a level above their capabilities for a great deal of the time. They have to in order to be competitive. If the players didn't give 110% they'd be run off the field of most games. However, preparation and adrenaline only go so far without talent and depth. Over the course of 4 quarters, we simply have trouble matching the better opponent's talent and depth.

Miami Football Breaks NCAA Division I-A Record in Defeat of Akron RedHawks' 21 Points in One Minute Tops Previous Mark by Four Seconds Oct. 17, 2005 OXFORD, Ohio--Miami University's Athletic Media Relations Office has confirmed that Miami's football team set an NCAA Division I-A record last Saturday when it scored 21 points in just one minute of clock time during a 51-23 Mid-American Conference defeat of the University of Akron. According to the Official 2005 NCAA Football Records Book, the previous fastest time for a team to score three touchdowns and convert three PATs was 1:04 during a 1996 game between Can't State University and Akron, in which the Golden flushes recorded two rushing touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Purdue: Everyone was excited when the Zips posted 24 points vs. the Top 15 Boilermakers. I know I was. Well...the mighty Boilermakers are now 2-4 with 3 consecutive home losses. They are giving up 34.5 points per game. Not as much of a "quality loss" as we thought. On the bright side...man would it suck to be a Boilermaker fan this season. They're competing with Pitt for most-overrated team of 2005. MTSU: Getsy came back to earth a bit. Hixson's outstanding play and some MTSU miscues gave us a win, but a scary pattern began here. Shooting ourselves in the foot in the red zone and closing up shop offensively in the second half. NIU: Our big play offense showed up for 3 quarters. The D did too. Then Part 2 of the seasonal offensive meltdown occurred. O shut it down for the final 15 minutes and the D got pushed all over the field. At the time, I thought it was just the D being winded from the offense's 4th quarter ineptitude. Now I wonder if our D has the mental toughness to protect a lead. Like MTSU, a win allowed us to overlook a lot of bad things. CMU: AGAIN...the O comes out like gangbusters and the D plays solid. Zips take a 17-7 first half lead. AGAIN the O shuts it down in the second half and AGAIN the D is either too tired or not mentally tough enough to hold the 10 point advantage. Or...both. CMU has proven they're a solid team this year, but we gave them that game. Buffalo: Things are reversed from the typical patter, but essentially the same. This time the offense does nothing for the first two quarters, then picks things up in the second half. The D appeared solid throughout, but lets face it...Buffalo's offense isn't all that difficult to stop. Buffalo's defense played well in that game, and held BG to 28 pts this week, BTW. Miami: Here we go again, Zips fans. The O rolls out to a big 17-7 lead. We then get outscored 44-6. The O and D try to outdo each other in one of the worst halves of football the Zips have played against a MAC opponent in some time. Penalties, crucial turnovers, mental breakdowns, you name it. One thing I'll take out of this game: You could tell that Miami had no fear of losing to the Zips. At no point did they begin to panic. This is a team that knows what it is like to win a championship. Knows what it is like to be in a bowl game. And certainly knows what it is like to beat the Zips. Our guys and our staff need to figure out how to get that confident, killer mindset instilled in the Zips program. Or once the start of the game adrenaline wears off, we're going to keep blowing leads and falling apart. Summary: The most frustrating thing about this Zips team is the flushes of brilliance you see. For two...sometimes 3 quarters we can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Then things go in the crapper. If we sucked all the time, it would be much easier to say "Give the staff some more time...these aren't their recruits...we're young..." etc. Somehow in the last 5 games I want to see us learn how to "finish." No simply hold on for dear life and win, as we did vs. NIU....not simply eeek out a win vs. a bad team like Buffalo, but beat them convincingly...not simply hold on against a mediocre team like MTSU, but build on a lead and punish them. It is obvious that the staff is building for the future by redshirting the majority of last season's class. I thought more kids would play once we were in the race (after beating NIU). That said, I've seen the kids that are on the field right now can play good football. The have the talent to win. I just wonder what it is going to take to grab them by the scruff of their necks and get them to play to their capabilities for a full 4 quarters?

What happened to this attitude from only one week ago (see below)? Truth be told...Mackey is the last one who I could say mailed it in early last week. However, it only takes one or two of the 11 guys on the field to start hanging their head and the ballgame is over.

I saw JD in the hotel hallway before the MTSU game and asked him how he thought we'd do. He said "If we play like 18 year olds, we'll lose. If we play the way were capable of playing, we'll be fine." It seems like we get the 18 year old Zips for at least 2 quarters every game? Mental toughness is sorely lacking on our team. The ability to put someone away when you're ahead is lacking. To overcome mistakes and not dwell on them is lacking. There were several player quotes after the Buffalo game describing when the offense came off the field dejected after a bad series, the defense said "No problem...we got your back" and went out and stuffed Buffalo. This week when the offense struggled, the defense rolled over with uncanny predictability. Zips turnovers were immediately met with Miami TD's. 21 points in one minute? Holy hell. Army only lost to CMU 14-10. I guarantee they'll play with poise. If we don't, we'll have a 3 game losing streak on our hands.

Although there is mention of TV coverage via Time Warner, it won't happen in the Akron area. Only in SW Ohio. The silence of the Miami fans is deafening. They are usually the most frequent opponent visitors to the Blue Board. If they have lost their bravado, I have to believe their team is doubting themselves a bit too. Jump on 'em early, Zips! Revised prediction: Zips 34 Miami 24