RowdyZip

Akron scores 63 and I will be VERY drunk on OBC beer and very broke...

I was gonna hang out at home...but maybe I'll go up to OBC... :wave:

Why not get this started...it's wednesday. I can start looking forward to the weekend.Army is awful. Worse than Syracuse. We, however, are catching them at the worst time. After a humiliating 28-10 loss to a 1-AA (FCS) team at home and then two weeks to think about it. Do they have the talent to overcome the Zips after stewing for a couple weeks? I think it's gonna be closer than people think.Zips 31Army 24The line is currently Zips (-11). I believe it opened in the vicinity of Akron giving 8, but I could be wrong. This tends to bode that Vegas gamblers are in disagreement with me. What does everyone think?

Better: *No one expected solid QB play (2 out of 3?) or the WR transfers to step up like the have. Bowser and Bruce seem to be the real deal, although Bruce tends to break out with a case of stone hands periodically. *B Will, could be considered "Same" as well. This guy is an absolute BEAST. My heart skipped a beat when he went down at 'Cuse, luckily I happened to be sitting by his mother and got word that it was a minor thing. If there was one guy we can't afford to lose, this is him. *O-line is solid...so far. Do we have the depth there to maintain a full season?Same: *Poor defense. We miss our 4 year CBs, and the 3-3-5 just sucks altogether. *RB stable is as good or better than expected. I sure hope Allen will be able return sooner than later. Worse: *DL...where are these guys? Are they coming back soon? I suppose this could be an "incomplete."*TE position. Talk about stone hands. I got excited after Poindexter made that catch in 'Cuse. This one could also go under "Same." We need production from that position, especially with Jac's inability to accurately throw the deep ball (am I the only one to notice the exceptional amount of 5 yard post plays?).I voted better...by a slim margin. My expectations were middle-of-the-pack MAC East, and so far it looks like we'll be in the top 1/3...better if we could get that D-Line together to form some semblance of a pass rush. Sewell's a beast, but he can't do squat by himself.

The column lists our attendance @ 16,000 for the past two seasons. If we have a brand-spanking new $60 million dollar stadium...have our home opener vs. Indiana, + home vs. K.e.n.t, both of which will be GUARANTEED 30,000 SRO...there's no way on God's green earth we should average 20,000!! Only 4k more than at the Rubber Bowl!!?? That's lower than the most low-aiming expectation I could have expected to see in my worst nightmare.I expect 25k. Anything less is unacceptable.Regardless of first and second year attendance being driven by the newness of the facility, shouldn't Info always outdraw the Rubber Bowl? Even in down football years, given that the new digs will be on campus, where more students live every year, and near downtown, which should always bring in bodies, I'll be surprised if the crowds aren't larger and quite different. More students, many more people from the North and West sides, the ability to grab a nice meal before and/or after, entertainment venues, likely a lot less MUD on bad weather days. I'm not sure that many hard core fans of the Zips realize just how lowbrow most locals think the Rubber Bowl is. I know many around here who will definitely go downtown to watch the Zips play, given all of the tangibles and intangibles involved, who wouldn't be caught dead going to the Rubber Bowl to see a game. I also wonder what that 20K will look like. I've been at games where the announced attendance was ridiculously overstated. They may have sold that many tickets, but there sure as hell weren't that many bodies in the seats. The crowds at the Info should be large and actual. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZipI've said it before and I will say it again. People are overestimating the effect having the stadium on campus will have on student attendance. Yes we have more students living on campus every year, but the overwhelming majority of them go home on the weekends. If they aren't here, they aren't going to attend the games. Something is going to have to convince them to stay on campus for the weekends and I'm not at all convinced that the stadium and the team will be able to do that. I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt that it will happen. At least right away.I for one think it will have a HUGE effect on student turnout. If you take a look at some big games at the Rubber Bowl such as K-ent and other decent weather days, the students can fill a solid 1 to 1.5 sections in the bowl. Student attendance will improve because of proximity. It's a lot easier to pound a bunch of beers at home/the dorm and walk 1/4 mile than it is to find a 10 minute ride to a dump 7 miles from campus.

Amen. Go get PO'd about your Suckeyes elsewhere. I can understand that you're a fan of both schools, that's fine, and that's only because you GRADUATED from both. Now, Buckzip, you have to understand that the VAST majority of us are fans of ONE school. ONE team. Our LOCAL team or our ALMA MATER. We yearn for a state, like Indiana, where Ball State has A CHANCE to compete. Will it ever change in Ohio? Probably not, there's too many frontrunners out there who are in love with OSU. Including a large portion of all University graduates in Ohio. We can still hold out hope, and every loss, every big HIGH PROFILE loss that's pinned on your OTHER team helps our team out. Don't get me wrong man, we appreciate your support of the Zips. Wish more were like you... but a lot of us will always root against that team from columbus.

Hahaha. Leave without her, that's what I'm doing! See you at the bowl!

I agree. Though Nate Davis recognized for ALWAYS wearing gloves at QB, I don't think the weather will affect this game as much as a lot of people think. Ball State would throw LESS in a rain game, but it wouldn't eliminate that aspect. That being said, the Zips would still have a significant advantage in a poor weather game with our stable of RBs. Zips in a tight one (rains all day)....24-20.

Just read that Ball State's offensive line is #1 in the nation, having not allowed a single sack in two games. It's a shame that our d-line will not be full strength. I'm hoping I see a "Probable" next to Ryan Bain's name tomorrow.

Hey all...I'm looking to make a purchase of a replica jersey (perhaps a personalized one with my name?). I searched previous threads for it, and the only site selling them no longer does. All I can find out there right now is the Jac one that gozips.com sells, and I'm not quite ready to make that jump. Anyone have any hints to pass along?Thanks!

new grill?

I was the same way BZ. Though sitting in the stands as 'cuse tied they game at 28, my brain shifted to thoughts of a "Brookhart Second Half." Boy did they prove me wrong. Let's hope it's the beginning of a trend of closing games out strong. A lot of people made money off the Zips this week, as evidence of the shift in the line from 7 to as low as 3.5. Let's hope we see that line shift the same way this week. It amuses me that people are making such a huge deal over a Ball State team that hasn't been good forever. They have a solid QB/WR combo in Davis and Love, but that's it. That's one sprained ankle from being mediocre. The Zips will pull this one out in front of a very friendly 22k+ crowd.

Best part is: at 3:49 you can see my left arm holding my "Fear the Roo" flag over the Zips' entrance to the locker room. :D

9 straight losses (dating back to last year) will do that to ya. I think they have a chance to get on the board this weekend in their home opener against 1AA (FCS) opponent Delaware State.

You said it. We all were thinking it.

I love this win as much as everyone, but Syracuse does suck.There's no doubt to your comment. However, this was a game against a (horrible) Big East team in their house. We were 5 to 7 point dogs and we won by two (could've been 3) touchdowns. That's a big swing over what Vegas says. We've all been saying it comes down to the skill positions, and if Jac keeps playing like he has and Bruce and Bowser continue to step up along with Jones, we'll be in the thick of things come November. And one other thing: if they could get a coach to turn that place around, that dome would be an unbelievable homefield advantage. Even half-full, it was VERY loud in there on a couple Zips 3rd down plays in the second half.

BEAT BALL STATE!!!(that's all i'm capable of right now after a 6 hour drive home)

One's a fluke, Two's a trend, THREE is CONSISTENCY!See you at the bowl!

What happened to Cowles????Went down with what looked like a knee from my view in the endzone. He was out of uniform leaving the field after the game and on crutches.

Just about to head back to Akron. Talked to some SU fans at the tailgate. Theyve been inflating attendence worse than us since last yr. SU fan says the dome holds 55k, that being said there was probably 25k there. 15k after halftime. GO ZIPS!

Greetings from Syracuse. Glad to contribute via cell phone. Great job by the Zips. Great game-day experience. Friendly fans, long bus ride, but quite an experience. More analysis when i get home tomorrow. GO ZIPS!

well it's 8am, im already excited to get this thing goin. i've got the fear the roo flag in the back seat and a six of 'syracuse pale ale' and of course a twelve of that out-of-ohio delicacy, YUENGLING. See you at the dome!

Beer was $2.00 a pint (20oz)! However, most folks were getting the larger size (28oz) for $2.50. I'll agree on the buffet...i liked the pizza bites, wings were mediocre. I'll be there for the army game!

I know the injury report comes out Thursday. Anyone know if Bain is gonna be in for Syracuse?

Skytop is where I'm headed also. Hey, TexanMark, is Skytop one big parking lot where we'll be able to easily able to seek out friendly faces?