johnnyzip84

I didn't know dreal played computer games. Well if he did play this particular scenario, wouldn't a certain DE with a copious carpal region have earned all-NCAA recognition instead of the victim of "textgate"?

Akron also won the GMAC bowl over Houston 30-16. MAC was 3-1 in bowl games *sigh* What do you think some of our players ratings will be this year? I had to create Nicely, Wagner, and upgrade Rodgers and Bowser to satisfy my dynasty. Besides Wagner, it's hard to imagine them rating any of the Zips too highly this year. From purely a numbers standpoint, last year's stats for the returning offensive players probably don't justify high ratings.

Don't ask how I stumbled on this, but apparently someone played out the season in NCAA 2010 (2011?). There are three points of interest to Zip fans. First, the Zips win the MAC at 8-5, defeating NIU in the championship 17-10. Second, the Zips go on to win their bowl game, defeating Houston 30-16 in the GMAC Bowl (take that Mack!). Last, and certainly not least, check out who is named 1st team all-NCAA!! I guess that must be the alarm clock ringing in my ear Link

Zip Mart......I actually bought freaking FOOD at that place

ESPN now has him rated fairly high at an 80. Link edit: I guess an 80 isn't all that high in this system, since Euton is at 85, Egner is at 84, and Green is at 80. But there seems to be a fair amount of good pub for Alex out there nonetheless.

It looks like the Orange have fired the first volley. Let the pre-game smack begin! Link ps. we had to know UA would take some external flak over this.

After transfering from UA to EKU a few years back, it looks like Stephon Fuqua has been hired as a graduate assistant for the Colonels now that his playing days are over. Link

Fortunately, it doesn't appear as though his previous hamstring problems have resurfaced yet this year. If he stays at CB, he'll be downright HUGE by Zip standards.

I propose that we put anyone suspicious of being a statistician on one of these along with one of these

If it is, I wonder if he realizes how appropriate it is to have a car model of the name "Zeppelin" in a town with such a rich lighter-than-air history? While the Maybach model shown probably caused quite a stir, things could have really gotten interesting if he showed up in one of these (Maybach T3 Assault Gun)

Anyone else see #11, Steve-O's third goal of the season on Saturday on a breakaway? He's starting to break out. I didn't get a chance to see it, but while checking out the result against the Crew I noticed that he is currently leading the Sounders in goals with 3 so far this eason

KD makes a prognostication regarding LBJ's future in this article. Link

At the very least, it allowed "The University of Akron" to be named twice during the playoff game tonight.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not one of the "insiders" on this board. The last few players I knew personally where from the LO era. So indeed some of you may have a clearer perspective on Mr. Lemon, particularly his attitude and work ethic. There is one small thing that gnaws at me before I agree to defer to the wisdom of the insiders. Marcus Lemon walked on at UA after Shawn came here on scholarship. One might presume the two Lemons had a few conversations (maybe even a text message or two lol) about the situation at Akron. Does it seem logical that Marcus would go through the effort required of a walk-on unless he had been given a pretty good impression of the place ahead of time? Of course this was during JD's reign and perhaps Shawn's allegedly poor attitude had not surfaced as yet. Regarding his potential as a pass-rushing DE in his senior year, many would argue that we'll never know now. I based my high hopes for him this season on the opportunity to play in a 4-3 and Shawn's relative speed and quickness. IMHO his stats are not that impressive because he played limited time as a Sophomore (nice game at Army where the Zips actually fielded a 4-3 on defense) and played out of position at linebacker last year. It will be interesting for me to see where he lands. I'm hoping he plays somewhere like William & Mary, because I think this would go a long way towards resolving this debate. In this scenario, should Shawn put up weak stats, I will gladly say that I was wrong (about his potential on the field, not his character). On the other hand, if Shawn prospers in a league like the CAA then that's enough for me to believe he could have done the same here. And if any of you don't believe the CAA is AT LEAST as good as the MAC, then you're clueless about college football in general. BTW, none of this colors my view on whether RI did the right thing or not from a Zip point of view. If RI and Shawn didn't see eye to eye and Shawn was not responsive to RI's demands, then it's probably best for Shawn to leave. My arguments here are restricted to his potential play on the field.

Hot damn, it almost makes me want to be a Chanticleer!

I realize the number of bowls is a little crazy, but the MAC now has 5 bowl "tie-ins" as a result. Link1 In fact, with 70 teams qualifying, there is the possibility that the MAC might even get more (teams in) should other conferences struggle to field bowl-eligible teams. A 6-6 season is almost a guarantee this year. Does RI have what it takes to get the Zips to squeeze out 6 wins? We'll see. Of course, the NCAA could change bowl-eligibility rules if they want (Link2). Link2

:wall: So much for the HUGE senior season I was predicting for him........well at UA anyway. I wonder if this means Richard Hall will be given every opportunity to get serious time at rush end?

It's a total guess, but I'd have to say a mid-afternoon (1:00 or 2:00) kickoff is most likely. By the way, do you think Delone Carter will play in the opener, given the fact that he'll reportedly just be returning to the team in the fall? Link

Here's some more front-page pub for Ben and Gavin (go to Chivas team ranking). Link

Howard AND his brothers will ALL be attending UA

Congrats ZW! Here's a Gaffney article that provides some more information. Glad to see the CSU series finally being renewed. Leakin' Urinal

He looks like the kind of forward we've been wanting for some time I don't know that I've seen much discussion here about the new rules that prevented UA from hosting these games again. We all knew the big schools would eventually do whatever they could to minimize KD's ability to use his Lebron ties.

For anyone who can't get to his blog. Football Rob Ianello's first season will have uncertainty because of the players lost, the new scheme and another training camp without a proven starting quarterback. His first spring was marked by bringing the returners up to speed on a new offense, defense, set of terminology, and — apparently most difficult — the snap from under-center. Here is my outlook for each position: Quarterback — With Matt Rodgers still recovering from a knee six months before, Patrick Nicelytook most of the competitive snaps. The good news is, Akron has depth with two players who have shown they're capable of playing. The bad news is, the Zips enter another season without having "the guy," which often retards offensive development. Nicely's spring was up-and-down. He struggled mightily with the under-center snaps. He made some good throws, but his weakness was clear: touch passes. It's hard for me to imagine Nicely not playing, at least some. The question, therefore, would be: Do the quarterbacks split time — a notion that Ianello refused to dismiss during the spring game press conference? Outlook: Bright Running back – This is a position of strength for the Zips. Alex Allen looked quicker and stronger than ever. Broderick Alexander and Dale Martin (if healthy) can take some carries as his eventual successors. None of these three backs is a bruiser, so the emergence of a pounding fullback will be important, not just for lead blocking, but also for short-yardage situations. Don't dismiss LeVon Morefield as that person. Outlook: Very bright Offensive line — You can't complain with how J.D. Brookhart kept the offensive line cupboard stocked. For the past three years, there has been a nice mix of experience and talent. Mike Ward (at either center or guard) and Corey Woods (left tackle) are the stalwarts and potential All-MAC performers. Run blocking and pass protection are great, but the team cannot afford fumbled snaps. I hope that gets fixed before August. Outlook: Bright Wide receiver — The Zips have a clear No. 1 target in Jeremy LaFrance. They have a hopeful No. 2 in Jalil Carter. If Akron's track record in converting players to receiver continues (Domenik Hixon, Andre Jones), he will be a good one. But that's more uncertainty than you want out of a No. 2. Also, there is a dropoff after Carter. Anthony Meriwether played well at times last season. Nadir Brownhas the physical tools if he toughens up and improves his hands. Curtis Brown has looked great in scrimmages, but he hasn't done anything when it matters. Gary Pride has not found his niche yet. The list goes on. Ianello might look to a true freshman to get serious minutes if these underclassmen don't figure it out by the end of August. Outlook: Dim Special teams — We have the usual suspects back at place kicker: Igor Iveljic and Branco Rogovic. They've both had their chance to claim the job, but neither had done it. Josh Couch orZack Campbell will punt. Campbell, a junior, showed a big leg at times last year, but he is a walk-on. Couch grayshirted last season. It appears Jeremy LaFrance and Nate Burney will be the primary returners, unless a true freshman steps in. Outlook: Mixed Defensive line — The 4-3 scheme will allow Akron to take advantage of its depth along the line and open more playmaking opportunities for players like Shawn Lemon and Almondo Sewell. At tackle,Dan Marcoux, Joe Rash and Cowles Stewart will see time, along with the anchor, Sewell. At end, Lemon is the best pass rusher, and you'll also see plenty of Shane Shead, Hasan Hazime and Deni Odofin. Outlook: Very bright Linebacker – Brian Wagner, Sean Fobbs and Mike Thomas make up the best linebacker corps in the MAC — and I'm not even bothering to look at other rosters. They are all big-time playmakers, and Wagner should be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Matt Little, Will Fleming and Troy Gilmer are more than capable of providing depth. Outlook: Blindingly bright Cornerback — Manley Waller is a shut-down corner by MAC standards. The other corner appears to be Diamond Weaver, who has played OK. Ideally, one of the younger players, such as Marvase Byrd, will earn time as the year progresses. Outlook: Bright Safety — Taking Carter from this position hurts. Only five players on the roster are listed as safeties (Kevin Davis, Thomas Miller, Jared Province, Doug Richardson, and Josh Richmond). By my count, only two are scholarship players. None has contributed significantly before. Three-star recruitAnthony Holmes might see playing time sooner than desirable. Outlook: Very dim Overall – The Zips won't be rebuilding next season. There is plenty of talent on the roster. The three critical questions are: 1) Whether a receiver or two will emerge to make the passing game effective. 2) Whether the weakness at safety can be masked by an uber-effective front seven and decent cornerbacks. 3) Whether Ianello can motivate the team to provide a consistent effort throughout the 12-game season. Outlook: Bright I think RI is merely suggesting a QB competition to make sure PN7 continues to work hard on "the little things". Does anyone know for sure if Igor or Shead are still with the team?

If a conference had Buffalo and Toledo in it, there's no way it would be a decent FBS conference I'll admit, I'd like to see U@B involved based mostly on athletic and market POTENTIAL. But I have no idea why some people of this board don't respect Toledo football. They are historically a winning program. They are one of the few MAC teams that routinely knocks off BCS teams, and this has pretty much always been the case. Don't be shocked when they beat Arizona at the Glass Bowl in 2010. If there's ONE MAC football program that should be clamoring to jump ship it's UT.

Nice find, Cap'n! This should be an excellent opportunity for the Zips. I think our gameplan for this one should be simple --> eliminate the gophers Hmmmm maybe someone does?