Ham

With Finn back, coach T better have some magic to limit Finn. I don't think we win a shoot out. I would try to control the ball and take advantage of every opportunity. Gant has racked up big numbers without the 70 yard runs; so, I'm encouraged. Will Finley hit 65%+? Since these guys bounced back mentally from an embarrassing beating, I look for our guys to keep that mental edge. Zips. 24/ Red Birdies 20

Thanks Mark. I looked on GO ZIPS site and didn't find this episode.

I guess Joe and Joe came to that conclusion and canceled the show this week. ?

If Finley was still nursing an injury from the Duke game, why weren't the back ups better prepared? Toledo might have the best D in the MAC. A single dimension O was going to go no where. Our offensive genius could have come up with a back up plan to use Roggow and Johnson. Even at the same time. 👹

Unless Finley was injured Saturday, Johnson and Roggow should have been much better prepared for action. I haven't looked for Morehead's post game comments, but I am eagerly waiting for Zips Weekly. Will they have any positive footage to show? Was there any chance that we brought home Toledo's 3rd or 4th team QB to give us some hope?

Keys to the game: Finley finally bests 65% passing The Dukes boasted a stout veteran front 7 that we man handled. The Rockets will be better, but we will still run the ball effectively keeping their D honest. When we get them behind the chains, we need to rush 5. No stupid penalties! Go Zips.

Looking at the Toledo game thread, I wonder if there will be anyone left to care.

That was the clown on Howdy Duty, Clara Bell.

Finley had mid 50% completion rate. If you give him the drops, his numbers would look much better, but "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride". That int can't happen again! People aren't giving the Dukes much credit, but they are scholarship players. We man handled them. Give the guys some credit. The Rockets are struggling, but I'm guessing that we will be +15 or so. If we can limit the explosive plays on D and create some on O, we will play the Rockets even up. Our D has a real good taste in their mouth. They will limit the Rockets. The O needs to step it up in the passing game complimenting our run game. This is the week we start to put it together. Zips 27 / Rockets 20

You gamblers should pay attention to me for the Rockets game. ( if you excuse my typo in the original.)

From cat daddy's analysis, we better find an effective pass rush. My hope for this game is that we get at least 65% pass completions. In addition, get up early, and get some young guys some meaningful snaps. Zips 48 / Dukes 10 !

.Stats are one important measure, but they don't tell the whole story. I don't know how Catdaddy makes his (VERY welcome) evaluations, but I want to see the whole field and be able to go back over the tape as much as l need. We absolutely need to utilize those free four games to see what we have on the bench. For some that could be now; for others that might need to come later after a few months getting acclimated to D1 FB. I'm not ready to give up this team or Joe. There is a lot of FB yet to be played. Recruiting, retention, and NIL: Many have bigger budgets, bigger staffs, lots of NIL$. So, roll over and play dead? Very few of our athletes play professionally, but we can show recruits that possibility. With the lack of NIL $, what NIL "value" can we offer? Employment possibilities after graduation? Intern possibilities in school? Things a 4 or 5 star wouldn't sniff at, but a 2 or 3 star might find of value. That is where we live. When a starter leaves to sit on the bench at a lower P4, is that NIL$ going to make a difference next year or in 5 years? What else can we come up with to add value to come and stay at Akron?

The mental component of the game is so under rated. Those 2 early goal line stands at Lincoln showed what our D can do. When things got out of hand, that little bit of mental brake down let the roof cave in. Today, l don't think we pitch a shut out, but we will limit UAB's O. Our O has been abysmal. Just like batters go through streaks, I think today the O will put their slump in the rear view mirror. The O line will step up. The RB's will chalk up even more yards. The receivers and QB will live up to their expectations. Zips. 41 / UAB 27 Go Zips.

Sept 5 pick: Nebraska 34 Zips 7 Bend but don't brake defensive effort with one defensive score. Patrick or not, we average 1 yard/carry. Finley completes less than 50% for under 100 yards and 2 int's. Back up QB's : no passes--5 runs for -10 yards. I had called earlier for this to be a throw away game. Let at least 2 back up QB's and plenty of others get some meaning full snaps. (That could make it 80 to 7). At least this time we leave Lincoln with a check. Ham and bride will have a great time pre game tailgating in down town Lincoln. Go Zips

Findley is rated the fourth best QB in the MAC. God help those other 9 teams. Nebraska will be a throw away. We should treat this like a pre-season game. We should see at least 3 QB's have a shot. Just maybe; one will show something under pressure. I don't mean to put the loss on Findley, but so much more was expected. If he is going to make mistakes like a true FR, we might as well see them from the back ups.

Groundhog Day 2.0 !! Frost's debut at Central Florida has been canceled. I wonder if the Knights will stiff Jacksonville like they did the Zips. This will open fresh wounds for next week's match up in Lincoln.

I think this will be a high scoring affair for an opener. Zips 41 / Cowboys 37

My first year as a Zip was 1962. We played Baldwin-Wallace with 36,000 Acme Zip fans in attendance. Since our marching band needed to form their A single file, I think it was Alliquipa(?) HS band that was brought in to perform. When we came out to warm up, we had to wait for the soccer match to end. They were not playing B-W. I don't think B-W even had a soccer team then. I think soccer played Michigan State (College cup semi-finalist in '62). I looked back , but I couldn't find season results that old. I do remember soccer playing at the highest level with all of the rest of us playing at the college division. A great tradition was started that has been carried on!

I'm pleased that the Nebraska game is at night. I'll be able to drive 3 hours; tailgate all afternoon; then enjoy the game. I have a room booked at the Marriot (tailgate central). Down town Lincoln is a fun place on game days. It's a short walk to the stadium. If you are planning a road trip this season, Nebraska would be a great choice.

... to use some of our NIL money to get this suspension tossed.

GP1, ringers are not needed. It's not just Akron. Look at what most of the "scholar" athletes list as their major. Grades are not a problem when assistant coaches teach the classes. With this formula, it only takes a handful of players that are not cutting it on the field to bail and screw the whole team.

Kreed, thanks for doing the leg work. If I had a boss use this type of formula to evaluate my performance, I would look for another job. I couldn't work for someone that stupid! I was thinking about the injured player that was not interested in playing school. What about the many players that enter the portal and don't land anywhere?

@kreed5120 are you sure about the APR formula? 85 athletes earn 2 points each achieve 1000 score. If 12 of those athletes fail to earn one of those two points the "score" would be 158/170=0.929 (929). What if a player is injured or otherwise decides to just drop out of school? The formula can't be that simple.

I bet Illini Zip is smiling as Pearl goes home!

My thoughts on Evan from very far(no in person games). He is supreme support for his teammates. They all show how much they appreciate that when he does get a chance to get on the court. His enthusiasm is contagious. I expect that he will have a roll after graduation if not under JG some where. I think he could do a wonderful job with the younger players.