Z-Pouch

Neck and Neck with Odell and the voting is still open? Looks like Odell's winning Cinci fans making a late charge.

Frye is now winning by 1 percent. Even if you don't care for the Browns, you can't beat this type of PR for the UA.

Played at the hoops game tonight during halftime. I hope they use it again when the house is full later in the year during conference play. Awesome.

That's a Great Idea.

Thanks ZW. It was getting pretty deep around here but you hit it square on. Isn't this where we want to be ? Forget about how we got here, on the surface, it will look great. It's time to celebrate, play the games and see what happens but we are finally in the hunt(s). That's a good starting point

The impossible is possible.......TOLEDO WINS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice prediction GP1. Have a little faith Did everyone else hear the ESPN announcer's kiss of death to the Zips and I quote "If Can't State beats Akron, it will be the biggest upset of the year in the MAC !! (chuckle chuckle, chuckle)". :screwks:

So it all comes down to OT...........

This team will do just fine without Woods -- No excuses, they have more then enough talent to compete with anyone in the MAC. Expectations should still be very high. Woods made his decision, let's all move on. You never know, this may be a better team without him as some may have suggested by the end of last year.

Last year -- the ZIPS cheer was a disaster. I have no idea why they would try it again. And do we really need an anouncer for this -- I think everyone gets it - Hold up a sign, yell the letter...... The new anouncer though.

I thought Frye played pretty well considering the circumstances. How much did you expect ? Not playing for 9 weeks, Suprise substitution (Noone expected that, clearly Dilfer was caught off guard. I imagine Frye never expected his number to be called that early and up only 9), and we did see glimpses of what he did at Akron. As for the 31 rating -- He played 3 series. The interception hit Edwards in the numbers on a slant and should have been caught, Led the team the team to a FG, The scramble completion to Edwards was a glimpse of things to come.........Not all that bad. Dr Z - Will the Squeelers win a another game ? Baltimore, what happened, the Ravens are playing for draft picks and a chance at Lineart........

The students were great and this seems to be taking off. I hope they keep coming back. One more great addition -- The new announcer !!!! How did we end up with the ex Cavs announcer ? That guy is good. It sure is weird to hear his voice in the JAR. Let's hope he stays for a long tme.

What you are missing is the NI/Toledo, CMU/Ball State, NI/WMU games as noted by BigZipGuy ? This would change the Tie breaker awarded to team whose cross division opponents had the best cumulative winning percentage. These games could work out in Akron's favor - NI and CMU wins. This is just my interpetation of the rule you stated. The final MAC records of (T,WMU and BS) would be the same as (NI, CMU, BS) while the overall records would still favor BG.s group (T, WMU, BS). If it is MAC/Conference records (as the rule seems to state rather then overall), it pushes to the next tiebreaker in a three way tie - You'll have to let us all know what that is....or it even matters.

FYI - Saw this on Ohio.com. They have a writer from the Buchtelite (Mike Rasor) who runs a Zips Blog on the site -- He usually has a little more insight then DLM which is not all that difficult. Anyway, looks like those caps, shirts, and sweatshirts may be coming soon. November 12, 2005 Fear the Roo The UA Athletic Dept will begin a campaign called "Fear the Roo" much the same way Maryland has the "Fear the Turtle." The people at the athletic department have an unenviable task: unite a commuter campus around mediocre sports teams (with the exception of men's soccer). They are full of original ideas that would be resounding successes at Duke or Ohio State. Here, it's not so simple. Students go home after classes on weekdays and most have never spend one Saturday on campus. Anyhow, I've learned there are very few new ideas. It's not bad to swipe a successful idea from someone else. This men's basketball season, MAC teams should Fear the Roo. For women's basketbal, um... uhhhh.... FEAR THE ROO!

Absolutely -- I like Zippy for the kids but this is a Roo with an attitude. I'd like to see more of it. It kinda just got slipped into GoZips without much fanfare. Maybe a BB thing for the AK-Rowdies ?

13,000 I will buy you your favorite beverage (s) after a BB victory all night if there is an ACTUAL attendence (not announced, that would be cheating) of 13,000. I expect the announced attendence to be above 10k. I definately agree with you that an actual 10k on Tday morning is a huge success. Can't will be bringing no one to this game. This is just a tough sell to the general football fan. The high school playoffs will be in full force on Friday and Saturday - although rumor has it that they are not using the Rubber Bowl for either the regional final or state semis. General fans may have some options to go see live football that weekend which could effect general turnout. I still dont understand not having this game at the start of the year -- It is a given 25k-30k. Right now, the rivalry is what it is -- Akron on the verge of playing for championships and Can't still sucking which lines up for a probable meaningless last game. History says - The UA/Can't games at the start of the year have been great, the last game of the year ones have been a disaster in attendence. It's just not going to change unless a championship is on the line or both teams improve making an enjoyable football game for the general fan. I voted for an actual attendence of 5k-7k. Yes CK, I know a mentioned 1k in joking !! BUT if it snows or is 10 below, you never know..........

You think they would have learned from the retro basketball fiasco (those were really bad, these can atleast be mistaken for an 80s or 90s jersey). What a horrible idea when getting some national exposure and having a relatively new logo and colors to promote. There are still websites out there today that have not picked up the new logo and use the Action A. At least there can be the argument that not many people will be watching - but what about the ones that do outside the area - I dont think it will leave much of a positive impression. The Thanksgiving game has all the fixings of a train wreck -- Thanksgiving day, 10AM, meaningless game against a team with 1 win, retro uniforms, students on break -- and all on Semi National TV or whatever you want to call ESPNU. I guess that's the bright spot, ESPNU. Now if it ends up on ESPN2 ? Ouch.

Finally -- Someone not wearing the rose colored glasses on the board. I second the "Great post Zips Win". Thank you. Getsy for another year of mediocrity !!!!!!!!!

I think it will all come down to Getsy in these last three games. BG somewhat started it and the remaining teams on the schedule will stack the box even more to stop the run and dare the Zips to throw. The Zips will have to prove they can pass to keep the defense honest and keep the running game going. That means hitting open receivers. I just dont have the confidence he will come thru but it is too late to change any QBs now. Getsy going to be the guy.

Something seems to be going on here. It's kinda like in politics when some upcoming information is purposely leaked to test the waters. This is in the Local News section and comes a day after the Pluto article. I'd say someone is trying to finish selling some ideas to corporate partners by showing community support for the stadium. On the other hand, Thomas leaving and no AD named yet would seem to slow down anything that was in the works, especially if it were in the final stages and about to go public. Timing right to build new UA stadium By David Giffels The first conversation I had about the possibility of a new University of Akron football stadium took place a year ago in the school's student center. In the Starbucks, to be specific. Next to the grand piano. If you are a UA alumnus circa, oh, about forever to about two years ago, the very presence of a grand piano and a Starbucks says anything is possible. Quicker than you can say, ``Meet me in the Chuckery,'' Hilltop High has changed -- almost completely and forever. It is a campus now, in ways it never was before. Just ask anyone descending the rock-climbing wall in the fitness and recreation center. They'll tell you. So the growing discussion of a downtown, on-campus football stadium is more than wishful thinking. It will complete UA's transformation. And that's just as important for the community as it is for the university. Not long after I looked out the Starbucks window and imagined a football stadium there, I returned to campus for a lecture by Richard Florida. Florida, the ``creative class'' guru, is a thought leader on the vitality of American cities. His talk was at E.J. Thomas Hall, which prompted him to remark how fortunate Akron is to have its college in the city's center. Cities with their own universities have their own built-in brain trust, which is an important catalyst for lots of things. But in many cases, the university is ill-placed -- away from downtown, or in a community of its own -- and city leaders fret about how to link the energy of the campus with the city as a whole. Sometimes it's impossible. Akron's case is somewhat different. For most of the 20th century, the campus meshed awkwardly with the growing, changing city, so that art majors went to class in a former Cadillac dealership and students dodged downtown traffic right in the heart of campus. Over the last two decades -- first gradually, then suddenly -- our quirky ``Action U'' has become a more coherent institution within a resurgent downtown. When a set of private developers said earlier this year it will build owner-occupied townhouses near campus, the logic of how the creative energy of the university could flow into the city (and vice versa) became clearer. The Spicer Village housing project is expected to attract professors and graduate students, to give a greater sense of permanence to academics in transition, and to make ``university life'' a more civic concept. What does any of this have to do with a football stadium? Well, for all the university's improvements, the Rubber Bowl is an embarrassment. The only upside to its inconvenient location seven miles from campus is that it's not a downtown eyesore. (Seeing the Rubber Bowl on ESPN2 last year during the nationally televised game against Marshall was like realizing only after the dinner guests had arrived how grungy your dining room rug has become.) The need for a proper stadium is evident. But adding a new stadium to campus would do far more than shore up a weakness in the university infrastructure. It would inject a new kind of vitality to the city and the campus, more than any other recent improvement. Like it or not, that's what big college sports do. Last year, Zips quarterback Charlie Frye started the season as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. He played himself into the waiting arms of the Cleveland Browns, who drafted him in the third round. (If you believe the sports talk shows, he could be starting Sunday.) Frye's final season in Akron should have resonated in local lore the way LeBron James' story did. Instead, hardly anybody went to see him play. Imagine how different that season would have been for all of us if it were played in a stadium downtown. The university bought the Rubber Bowl from Akron in 1970 for $1. It has gotten its money's worth. A new stadium would pay even greater dividends. David Giffels' column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. He can be reached at 330-996-3572 or at dgiffels@thebeaconjournal.com.

Best part of the article is the last two sentences...... Akron needs to continue progressing By Terry Pluto A new stadium should be next. That's the word from Mike Thomas, the University of Akron athletic director who will be leaving in December to take that same job with the University of Cincinnati. Thomas has spent five years running Zips athletics. He made some people angry by firing coaches such as Lee Owens (football) and Dan Hipsher (basketball). But most Zips fans have praised him for their replacements. Keith Dambrot led the Zips to 19 victories last year, the most since 1989. The football team was 6-2 last year in the Mid-American Conference. Ken Lolla's soccer team has been ranked No. 1 in the country this season. Thomas helped oversee the new $18 million athletic fieldhouse, adding a practice field on campus and upgrading other athletic facilities. The 45-year-old Thomas is proud of the overall program's academic progress, too. ``When we came, the overall GPA for the athletic department was 2.75, which was last in the MAC,'' he said. ``We're up to 3.1, and that has put us second in the MAC in the last two years.'' Thomas departs having done more right than wrong. He leaves having raised the expectations around the program. He also is proud of the fact that Akron has done more with less than about any other school in the MAC. ``We have the smallest staff and smallest budget in the conference,'' he said. ``We do need to increase that over time. But we also need to keep pushing forward.'' That includes a new football stadium to replace the aging Rubber Bowl. In the plans The $18 million fieldhouse came from a combination of corporate and private donations, along with student fees. The facility includes a recreation center that can be used by every student. ``We can't count on any state money or student fees for the stadium,'' he said. ``So far, we've done some studies on what kind of stadium to build, and how we can raise the funds.'' Thomas said a campus survey revealed that about 70 percent of the students favored a stadium on campus, or at least in downtown Akron. ``To us, downtown is really part of our campus because it's so close,'' he said. ``We should be looking at a 30,000-seat facility that can be expanded. You want a couple of dozen luxury boxes. And the key is to either build it in connection to a downtown convention center, or some other facility that can be used for a variety of things. It has to be about more than just five or six football games. Louisville uses its stadium for 150 events each year.'' Thomas talked about playing important high school football games at the facility, hosting concerts, and making the stadium available to both the city and university. He stresses it's time for Akron to be creative. He estimates the cost would be in the area of $55 million. ``You probably need to raise about one-third of that in cash,'' he said. ``You can fund the rest through tickets sales, luxury box sales and other revenue areas. The idea would be to not use student fees.'' The next step The immediate reaction is: Why a new football stadium? The Zips have averaged about 13,000 fans per game over the past five years. It's not uncommon for them to have crowds of fewer than 10,000. That's why I'd push for a 20,000-seat stadium that can be expanded. Make it smaller, but also very attractive -- much as Canal Park is to local baseball fans. It might be hard to imagine adding a new stadium to downtown, but consider what has happened at the university and downtown during the past 10 years. Walk through the campus, and it seems like another place, thanks to the new student center, the fieldhouse. Some streets have been transformed into areas for walking. Much of Akron's old urban university grit is gone. It actually feels like a college campus. The area around Main Street near Canal Park has been transformed and upgraded. It used to be a ghost town at night. Now there are restaurants, nightclubs and other venues that bring people downtown in the evening. The Rubber Bowl was opened in 1940. It has a wonderful feel of old football to it. The new playing surface looks great. But it's 65 years old, and in many parts of the facility, the age is showing. If a new stadium can be built without raising taxes or student fees, then it should be done. It's not a necessity, but it will be a real asset to the community. More of same needed With so many good things happening, why is Thomas leaving? ``Cincinnati is moving into the Big East,'' he said. ``They have many of their facilities already built. It's just a tremendous opportunity.'' He also inherits a mess in the men's basketball program, where Bob Huggins was fired as coach and Andy Kennedy has been named in the interim. Thomas will have to deal with constant questions about the coaching situation and the state of the school's most popular athletic program. ``I know that,'' he said. ``But I also know that Cincinnati has so much going for it. I don't see that job as a stepping stone.'' In some ways, Akron was an interim career stop for Thomas. Early on, it was obvious Thomas would throw his heart into building up the Zips' athletic department, but he also had higher aspirations than the MAC. He came here from Virginia, where he was assistant athletic director. He had interviewed for athletic director jobs at Pittsburgh and other universities. That has happened to Akron before. Successful athletic director Mike Bobinski was hired away by Xavier before Thomas arrived. The key is for Akron to find another athletic director with the vision and skills of Thomas and Bobinski. The Zips have been through several athletic directors over the years, and not all have been able to handle the challenges presented by Akron. ``I really think this job should attract some quality people,'' Thomas said. ``The program is in good shape. We have made so much progress. I would not be surprised if there is a hole in the ground for a football stadium within two years. This can be a great situation for the right person.''

DR Z will love this. Run the Ball and play Defense wins championships. Estwick on college football Running game way to MAC title Conference's top teams have league's top rushers By Gary Estwick Minutes after Northern Illinois defeated Can't State on Saturday, Huskies coach Joe Novak made a bold prediction. He said the winner of this season's Mid-American Conference championship might have two conference losses. Parity is nothing new in MAC basketball, but in the fall? It could happen. Make that probably will. The secret to contention? It's not much of a secret. Name a MAC team with a 100-yard rusher, and you've named most of the teams in the hunt for a conference title. NIU's Garrett Wolfe missed Saturday's game, dropping him to second in the MAC in rushing with 864 yards. He still, though, leads the conference in yards per game (144). Miami's Brandon Murphy has rushed for 933 yards (133.3 a game). There's also Central Michigan's Ontario Sneed (103.7), Toledo's Trinity Dawson (102.9) and Ohio's Kalvin McRae (101.9). Bowling Green needs more than a running game this weekend. It needs its leader, Omar the Great. The Falcons are in danger of losing their top spot in the East Division, as well as their quarterback. Omar Jacobs suffered a separated shoulder in his non-throwing arm during the first quarter of a 45-14 loss Saturday to middle-of-the-road Western Michigan. The loss ended the Falcons' regular-season home winning streak at 20. Jacobs' status for this weekend's game against visiting Akron is questionable. It still is unclear whether he can throw, and it might depend on how he feels when he wakes up Saturday morning. What is known is that whenever Jacobs does return, it won't be soon enough for coach Gregg Brandon. He watched his Falcons fall apart. ``(Losing Jacobs) was a huge knockout blow, and we never got off the canvas,`` Brandon said. Brandon expects more this week, whether or not Jacobs is able to play. Jacobs was replaced by Anthony Turner, who passed for 242 yards, had two passes intercepted and was sacked four times. Brandon said Turner is capable of starting Saturday. ``If he gets the nod, we expect him to deliver,`` Brandon said. West Division-leader Toledo (6-1, 4-0) will play at Central Michigan (4-3, 3-1), which is in the midst of its best season in years. Before this season, CMU hadn't won three consecutive games since 2002. The Chippewas' recent success doesn't surprise Toledo coach Tom Amstutz. ``They do have a proud tradition,`` Amstutz said. ``The players up there want to be good, and they're definitely improving.``

There was no QB competition in the Spring, none in the summer and there is no QB controversy now. All signs say that Getsy is the best available and gives us the best chance at a run at an unbelievable still open championship race. Captain -- Please provide usual edits...... University of Akron football Getsy's job safe despite offense's woes Brookhart gives backup more time in practice By David Lee Morgan Jr. Beacon Journal sports writer Very little went right for the University of Akron on Saturday, and the scoreboard showed it in a 20-0 loss to a winless Army team. The video backed the evidence Sunday. Monday, Zips coach J.D. Brookhart said that there is no plans to remove starting quarterback Luke Getsy, but that backup Joe Ferguson is going to see more time in practice. The Zips play at Bowling Green (4-3, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference) on Saturday. One thing that might work in the Zips' favor is that Falcons star quarterback Omar Jacobs is questionable with a strain of his non-throwing shoulder. Redshirt freshman Anthony Turner would be Jacobs' replacement. Brookhart is more concerned about his offense, though. ``(Getsy) obviously did not have a good game. I thought that was probably his worst game of the year,'' Brookhart said. ``As we looked at (film) of the first half, we had a number of breakdowns, a lot of blunders that really hurt us.'' Getsy was 21-of-45 with no touchdowns and two interceptions. ``There were a lot of things that went wrong,'' Brookhart said. ``As we went down the script of the plays that were called, roughly two-thirds of the plays, someone made a very visible mistake. ``The quarterback did not play well, but it is hard when you are calling your quick three-step drop in the passing game and you have a nose guard on you before you take one step, you get spooked. Akron's running game also was ineffective against a strong Army defense. The Zips rushed for just 44 yards. Ferguson did warm up in the third quarterback against Army, but Brookhart stayed with Getsy. ``There is no question on (Luke) being the starter, but we are going to give John more reps so he is prepared,'' Brookhart said. ``We have not done a lot of that. ``We anticipate Luke to be better, but we will be more prepared if he is not.'' Ferguson is a 6-foot-5, 226-pound sophomore from Reynoldsburg. He has played in one game and is 3-of-9 for 48 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. The Zips (3-4, 2-2) are one game behind Bowling Green in the MAC East Division with Miami University (4-3, 3-2) a half game behind. Akron already has lost to Miami. Brookhart just wants to focus on playing better. ``The way we're playing right now, we haven't even talked about that, honestly,'' Brookhart said. ``We're talking about getting better, improving and talking the program in the direction it needs to go because to look at the pie-in-the-sky like that would be the wrong approach and no way will we do that.''

There are some really bad teams left on the schedule. Even BGSU without Omar can be considered pretty bad after what happened today. I would HOPE that there are several wins left. Thinking positive, Army would probably beat everyone left on our schedule.

Getsy's not going anywhere. I can't wait to hear the lastest round of excuses on the board. You know, it was raining......I'll say it again, sticking with Getsy when he is this bad shows a lot of loyalty or that the QB cupboard is bare and void of any talent right now. Since I still have a little faith in JD, I'll go with the cupboard is bare and Getsy's the best we've got for the next year and a half.

Everyone be at the bowl tonight to cheer on #28 Domenick Hixon. LOL! I think you guys are way over the top on the pettiness on the ABJ. It is funny but I hope no one takes it that serious. It happens all the time and not just to the Zips. The Ohio State stories are also littered with inaccurracies. You'd expect more but it doesn't happen. I wonder if OSU boards are on fire when there are misprints, probably not, they're worried about bigger things --- LIKE, Why are you highlighting the ZIPS over my Bucks !!!! I really think the Beacon is trying after the ambush of emails from Zipsnation members. I cant argue, today, I opened the Beacon and a half page picture of Hixon (with a #23 !!) on the front page of the Sports section was staring me down....Zips football game story and picture... Zips soccer game story and picture... Wait till BB season starts, people are probably going to be sick of reading about the Zips.....